Program Information

Series: NASA Connect
Program: Hidden Treasures: Landscape Archeology
Segment Number: 1 (Watch entire program)
Duration: 00:03:08
Year Produced: 2005
Description:

First segment of NASA Connect Hidden Treasures giving examples of how remote sensing is used. The end of the first segment asks student to define remote sensing and use it to describe objects across the room.

NASA CONNECT™ is a series of Emmy®-award-winning, math-focused programs. Each program supports the national math, science, and technology standards and has three components that include (1) a 30-minute television broadcast; (2) a companion educator's guide; and (3) an online activity that further explores topics presented in the broadcast. These programs establish a connection between the math, science, and technology concepts taught in the classroom to those same concepts used everyday by NASA researchers.

For more information visit: http://connect.larc.nasa.gov/

Transcript

Hi, I'm Jennifer Pulley.

And welcome to NASA Connect,
the show that connects you
to math, science,
technology, and NASA.

Right now, we are
at an archeological dig site
in historic Jamestown, Virginia.

Imagine being a settler
in Jamestown in 1607.

You and your family gave up
the comfort
of the life you knew in England
to set off on a perilous
transatlantic journey
in a small boat.

Now, you and the others
in your party
were headed for a place
you knew little about
and would need to find a way
to survive.

What if you had a way
to remotely gather information
about the region
before you began the journey?

Would this have influenced
your decision to go?

Could the information
better prepare you
to face the living conditions?

This is not unlike
the journey we envision
for human settlement on Mars.

What can we learn from the past
that will help us tomorrow?

On today's show,
you'll learn how researchers
observe the Earth from space
in ways that we can't do
here on its surface.

You'll see how the data
they collect from satellites
is being used
to help us make better use
of our environment today
by looking at how
yesterday's civilizations used
their precious resources.

During the course
of this program,
your teacher will stop the tape
and ask you several
inquiry-based questions.

Now, this is your time
to explore
and become critical thinkers.

Just as archaeologists
in Jamestown
are looking to the past
for answers to the future,
so is a dedicated team
of researchers
in the rainforest in Guatemala.

Imagine you and your family
are farmers
in the northern corner
of Guatemala.

Your family is using the land
in the same way
as your ancestors have
for thousands of years.

Now imagine that a group
of scientists warn you
that the type of farming
you are practicing
could jeopardize
your family's way of life
and the future
of the Petén rainforest
that you live in.

You could even be changing the
Earth's climate for the worse.

While you have noticed
few changes
in your immediate surroundings,
scientists tell you
they have been observing
this region from space
and have evidence you are making
the same dangerous mistakes
in your environment
that your ancestors did.

What would you do?

You know,
this is a real problem
facing the people
of Guatemala today.

So on today's show, we will look
at one of the ways
NASA is working to preserve
our environment
by learning lessons
from the past.

But first let's put on
our thinking caps.

Students, working in groups,
take a few minutes to answer
the following questions.

Virginia Standards

4th Grade SOLs » History-Social Science » VS.3
4th Grade SOLs » History-Social Science » VS.4