Physical & Ag Archives - Into The Outdoors

This episode unravels some of the foundational chemistry that affects everything on planet earth.

It begins with the primary conversion of simple chemicals into complex compounds that form the building blocks of all life.

Using the further conversions that occur in a dairy cow, the ITO team decodes how plant material is converted to a variety of dairy-related foods that impact our lives.

They also explore both the history and hands-on science that viewers can take into their kitchens to learn more for themselves with simple experiments… about the chemistry of life.

So what exactly is this "sustainability" stuff? Discover the answers by watching the four parts of this science show and reading the information below. And to take this learning adventure into your classroom, have your teacher download the free Lesson Guide at the bottom of this page so everyone can share in the fun of this inquiry based learning.

By definition, it's maintaining the conditions where humans and nature can coexist in productive harmony, that also fulfills the social, economic and environmental requirements of present and future generations of humans. In short, it means giving back as much as possible compared to what we take out of the environment. Or, more simply, sustainability is the capacity to endure. But hold on... we also need to consider what species to include when we think about the term "capacity to endure".

Another way to look at how sustainability works is through Einstein’s Law of thermodynamics as it relates to the basic laws of nature and physics. You see, Einstein knew that matter can be converted into energy and energy converted into matter. An important concept there is that ENERGY can neither be created nor destroyed. That's because it can only change form. Just think about a closed ecosystem that’s self-sustaining. We can’t see anything entering or leaving the ecosystem, but it keeps sustaining all the things that live there. So if you look closely enough, you can see examples of how Einstein's law of thermodynamics works in sustainability.

In recent years, more scientists and environmentalists have expanded the study of sustainability into a whole new realm of scientific study. In fact, thousands of new programs and initiatives now focus on sustainability, in hopes of minimizing our consumptive impacts on the planet - you know, minimizing our footprint. To get some ideas on what and how sustainability can really work to make a difference, watch the four segments of this ITO episode. Then consider how you might apply what you've learned into your life at home or work to make a difference in our planet. Also take a moment to explore the pages and videos on the various resource links noted below. Explore all these websites and you'll almost become a "sustainability wizard".

Plus, the educational partner noted below supported the video content here for all of us to learn from. They also offer other learning opportunities on their website. Educators are encouraged to evaluate and consider their science sources. So click on their logo to discover more!

Click on the image below to see or print a clearer version of our Planet's sustainability

Why had few people in the United States before 1900, ever heard of the pea-sized yellow beans called "soybeans", much less eaten them? Discover the answers by watching this Serious Science video and reading the information below. And to take this learning adventure into your classroom, have your teacher download the free Lesson Activity at the bottom of this page so everyone can share in the fun of this inquiry based learning.

But this amazing little legume from East Asia has been creatively processed into edible staples – think tofu and soymilk – and ate by the Chinese for thousands of years. Soy foods from China have slowly grown in popularity in the United States in the past several decades. Today, soy foods have joined the ranks of spaghetti and tacos as popular ethnic cuisines in mainstream America. The reach of soy goes far beyond adding soy sauce to our stir fry’s and stocking edamame on our supermarket shelves.

More than any other plant, soybeans have shaped our lives by revolutionizing the way we eat, travel, grow food, and build cars and homes. But how can one little bean have this big of an impact?

Well let's find out by watching this video. Or better yet, let's share the video with the whole classroom then take it to another level with the companion Lesson Guide.

Plus, the educational partner noted below supported the video and lesson guide content here for all of us to learn from. They also offer other learning opportunities on their website. Educators are encouraged to evaluate and consider their science sources. So click on their logo to discover more!

Did you know that soybeans are actually native to Asia, where they’ve been grown and eaten for over 5000 years? Discover this and more by watching the four Parts of Soybean Science from the Into the Outdoors episode reveal the scientific and technological impact of soybeans on agriculture and industry. It explores how properties in the legume seed can be converted into a wide variety of products used in industry and its impact on society. The free companion classroom Discussion Guide at the bottom of this page let's everyone learn together, so have your teacher download it.

Soybeans finally made their way to America in the late 1700s when sailors loaded the lower compartment of ships with heavy bags of soybeans. The soybeans were cheap and helped stabilize the ship on rough seas. Once ships arrived in America, they offloaded the soybeans, loaded new cargo and then set sail back out on the high seas. By the 1800s, American farmers began growing soy and some even started making soy sauce out of them. But it took one very special American chemist to help people realize the amazing secrets of soy. His name was George Washington Carver.

George Washington Carver developed ideas about crop rotation that were based on the idea that plants need certain vital nutrients to grow, like nitrogen, which they get from the soil. There’s a limited amount of nitrogen in the soil. Once the plants use it up, it needs to be replenished in the soil, and that’s where soybeans save the day. Unlike most plants that only take nitrogen from the soil, legumes can convert nitrogen from the air into nitrogen in the soil. The process is called "nitrogen fixation" and is just one of the science subjects covered in this video and classroom lesson guide series.

Plus, the educational partner noted below supported the video and companion lesson content here for all of us to learn from. They also offer other learning opportunities on their website. Educators are encouraged to evaluate and consider their science sources. Click on their logo to discover more!

Why do 3 million people in the WORLD die each year of water-related diseases? Discover the answers by watching the four parts of this science show and reading the information below. And to take this learning adventure into your classroom, have your teacher download the free Discussion Guide at the bottom of this page so everyone can share in the fun of this inquiry based learning.

It's all part of Knowing Your H₂O – like where it comes from and if it's safe to drink.

The whole thing begins with the water cycle that our water sources depend on. It's broken into three major stages. The first stage is evaporation. As the sun’s energy heats the surface of lakes, rivers, plants and soil, the water turns into "water vapor." After it rises up into the sky, winds push the water vapor through the atmosphere until... it forms into the next stage – condensation. That forms clouds. When air currents cool the clouds, water vapor particles combine to form water droplets or ice particles, and once they get too big, gravity takes over, and they fall as precipitation.

All that's cool, but how does precipitation get into the water wells that many people and cities depend on for water supplies?

The hydrologic cycle is the continuous movement of water on, above and actually below the surface of the Earth. So water falling from the sky collects on the Earth, and eventually it infiltrates the soil and the bedrock surface to become part of the aquifer. And to have an aquifer, you basically need three things: number one is you need porosity, in other words you need the interstitial spaces that the water can be stored in. Number two you need permeability, which is basically the connection of those pore spaces. Then number three is obviously you need water to saturate the pore spaces in the rock.

People in rural areas often have their own well that pumps the ground water to the surface. Cities also have wells and pumps – big ones and lots of them!

Now that you've got some solid (or liquid) background on H2O, you can either dive into more information on the "Lean More" link below, or kick back and watch the four parts of the video. Make a big splash in school by having your teacher download the free Discussion Guide below so the entire class can get "wet behind the ears" with their brainy knowledge of H2O.

Plus, the educational partner noted below supported the video and lesson content here for all of us to learn from. They also offer other learning opportunities on their website. So click on their logo to discover more!

How many glaciers advanced across the landscape and retreated back? Discover the answers by watching the four parts of this science show and reading the information below. And to take this learning adventure into your classroom, have your teacher download the free Discussion Guide at the bottom of this page so everyone can share in the fun of this inquiry based learning.

All this glacial activity started about 2.5 million years ago, and ended about 12,000 years ago. During that time, we had four major periods of glacial activity that shaped and reshaped our land surface. When the ice sheets finally retreated, they left behind some really interesting features. So in the end, the glaciers changed much of our surface geology. And it's the geology of the land that affects a great many things in our lives today - from the water we drink to what forests grow where. The coolest news of all is that some scientists think we may be living in an "interglacial period". Should we consider getting out our cross country skis?

The four parts of Trailing Ice Age Mysteries from Into the Outdoors and their companion Discussion Guide below, will help guide you and your classroom into unlocking many of the ice age mysteries the glaciers left behind. This is seriously COOL science, so just chill.

How has dairy farming changed in the past 200 years? Discover the answers by watching the four parts of this science show and reading the information below. And to take this learning adventure into your classroom, have your teacher download the free Lesson Guides at the bottom of this page so everyone can share in the fun of this inquiry based learning.

Historically, many families had their own dairy. Well, kinda - they had a cow. It was a pretty simple operation back then. The cow ate grass, its udder filled with milk, and the farmer and their family milked the cow by hand – twice a day. As more people started living in cities, dairy farmers began selling their milk in towns. It involved milking more cows by hand, pouring it into barrels then selling it door-to-door from a wagon. That was a lot hard work to make a living. Many of them also began making their own butter and cheese from their cow’s milk. It grew to the point that by 1900, Wisconsin had become the leading state in the nation for producing milk, butter and cheese.

Join our adventure team as they explore the science and technology of today’s dairy farming. Spanning the history of old-time milking to the hi-tech present, the ITO hosts discover how the dairy industry has changed dramatically in the past 100 years from raising cows to milking them.

Plus, the educational partner noted below supported the video and lesson content here for all of us to learn from. They also offer other learning opportunities on their website. Educators are encouraged to evaluate and consider their science sources. Click on their logo to discover more!

What are these strange things called “Ice Caves”?

It all began hundreds of millions of years ago when sands were washed into an ancient ocean, forming bedded sandstone rock layers across Northern Wisconsin. Much later, the area was “geologically uplifted” and exposed the massive sandstone layers to the erosional effects of weathering from waves and water.

To learn more about the rocks along the shores of the Great Lakes, download the free lesson activities at the bottom of this page.

Now back to the ice caves…. Over time, the powerful forces of wave erosion along the shoreline of Lake Superior carved sea caves along the Mainland Unit of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Where wave action erodes and undercuts the base of a cliff, a feature known as a “reentrant” develops. Sea caves are produced when a number of these reentrants join behind the face of a cliff, leaving behind supporting pillars and arches. They develop most easily where the sand layers comprising a rock formation are very thin.

The sandstone bluffs that border the lakeshore there make for an ideal setting for the formation of ice caves – when winter weather conditions are right. Each winter ice forms on Lake Superior when waves splashing against the rock face begin to freeze on the sandstone cliffs. The more frigid the weather, the faster the ice forms along the rock bluffs and within the eroded caverns. Adding to the ice formations, water seeping between cracks in the sandstone rock layers freezes and forms a variety of features similar to limestone caves. But here, the stalactites and stalagmites are made of ice. Iron leached from the rocks can stain some of the ice formations pink or orange. While some formations with water splashing from the crystalline waters of Lake Superior can appear “ice blue”. There are also large icicles and formations hanging off of the cliffs that form curtains and columns of ice, and abundant ice crystals.

Before planning a summer paddling or “ice cave” winter trekking trip to the area, check the websites below to find out conditions and safety concerns.

How would you decode this earth science mystery?

Geo-scientists ran into a glacial mystery when their mapping of glacial material called "drift" revealed an area in western Wisconsin that didn’t have any glacial drift material. They named the place the driftless area. But what really made this driftless area such a mystery was that the entire area of 15,000 square miles was surrounded by drift. This meant that glaciers went entirely around the driftless area but didn’t cover it. Are you kidding? How was that possible?

To find out some of this mystery, watch this video. To really "get with the drift" of what happened here over the past 2.5 million years, take this learning adventure into your classroom, have your teacher download the free Lesson Activity at the bottom of this page so everyone can share in the fun of this inquiry based learning.

Okay, here's the deal. When glaciers advanced across Wisconsin, they reshaped much of the landscape. The thick ice carried boulders, sand, and gravel as it advanced. And when it finally melted and retreated, it left behind all that material. Scientists called it “glacial drift.” This glacial drift of sand, gravel, rocks and boulders covers the ground where the glaciers once were. Earth scientists map areas where this drift is present to recreate the history of glacial activity.

To get the rest of the this story, click "Learn More" below here. Or, if you have the time, also watch the amazing half-hour Emmy-winning documentary from our educational buddies at Untamed Science on "Mysteries of The Driftless". Just click on the movie in the upper right window. We bet you a bag of popcorn that you don't "drift off" while watching it!

These educational partners supported the video and lesson content here for all of us to learn from. They also offer lots of other learning opportunities on their websites. So check them out!

Learn how to safely navigate and trek the Ice Age Trail as you explore how the past impacts the present. Discover tips and tools for a learning adventure that will boost your health and your brain.