Upcoming Themes for ASK ^®

2010

January In the Ice

Exploring science in the ice: a stone-age hunter preserved in a glacier, diving under Antarctica, and what is ice, anyway?

February Do You See What I See?

How to see better and how not be seen. Exploring the optics of animal eyes, telescopes, cameras, mirrors, and invisibility cloaks.

March Can We Save Them?

A look at efforts to save endangered species around the world, the amphibian crisis, and what kids can do to help.

April Lost and Found

Finding the Emperor's terracotta army, the lost art of mummy-making, and a prehistoric fish, plus some things we'd forgotten we'd lost.

May/June Try, Try Again

Penicillin and zippers took many tries to get right-and they're still working on those Jet Packs.

July/August Born to Build

Animals and insects don't build like humans, but they do pretty well.

September In Other Words

All about language, human and animal. What other ways are there to communicate?

October Secrets of the Alchemists

The real alchemists were not magicians, but chemists.

November/December Behind the Scenes

Aquariums, museums, movable bridges, movie monsters-what really goes on behind the scenes?

2011

January Just the Right Size

Examining the question of why things (people, bugs, dinosaurs, inches, the universe) are the size they are, and not bigger or smaller.

February Secret Life of Forests

Exploring forest biomes across the world, and their place in the planetary ecosystem.

March Blowing in the Wind

Why is there wind? What is it, and how can we use it?

April Can You Trust Your Senses?

We rely on our senses for information about the world, but what if we can't trust them? How trustworthy are they, and how can they be fooled?

May/June Why Can't I Have a Tiger?

What makes some animals wild and some tame? How did some animals become domesticated, and why those and not others? Why is it not a good idea to keep wild animals as pets?

July/August The Far Reaches of Space

Exploring some of the odder phenomena of deep space, beyond the solar system: black holes, the size of the universe, the birth of stars, space travel, etc.

September In Your Face

Why are faces so important? What makes a face attractive or frightening? Do animals have faces? Should robots?

October Kingdom of the Fungi

Exploring the often overlooked kingdom of the fungi, in all their weird and useful glory. Molds, mildew, yeasts, ergot--what role do they play in Earth's ecosystem? What surprising uses do they have? Are they plants? Should we fear them?

November/December New World of Robots

Recent advances and inventions in robotic science. How are we making better robots? And what will they do for us?

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Updated: 2/8/12 07:08 pm
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