About
the Movies
|
These movies vary from one to seventeen minutes. We recommend testing your classroom computer with a movie ahead of time. If a movie halts and skips, try shutting down other programs while running the movie. If a movie on a CD is running slowly, try copying it to your hard drive and running that copy. For best results, you should upgrade to the latest version of the (free) Quicktime player and plug-in.
The Pixel movies were animated by
Scott Hammond and produced by Lee Vierling and Robb Campbell. Music was
composed and performed by Quinn Capen. Jason Ward assisted with Welcome
Movie audio recordings. Welcome
Movie © Lee Vierling 2004. All Pixel the Satellite animation and Leonard
Littlefinger movies © Lee Vierling 2002 and 2005
Click for descriptions and links below. The scripts can be printed for hearing impaired students. Some notes and numbers from the original scripts are retained here.
Pixel the Satellite movies
Leonard Little Finger movies
Approx. 2 minutes. In the "About the Movies" folder.
"Welcome to the
Earth Systems Connections Elementary Curriculum. This CD contains all
that’s needed for you and your students to get started learning fundamentals
of math, science, and technology, all in real-world contexts that inspire and
excite the young mind. With ESC, you and your students will learn about
how the Earth works as one interconnected system. Along the way, you will
be introduced to the cutting-edge ways that scientists are currently studying
our changing Earth through the use of NASA satellite technology. Track a hawk along
its annual migration using actual satellite data. Describe the changing
seasons from 400 miles high in space. Investigate other changes on our Earth
that are otherwise difficult, if not impossible, to see in any other way.
With ESC, you and your students will have these opportunities and more, all in
contexts that are appropriate for the young learner.
"Each lesson in the
ESC program has been designed with integration in mind. Students will
master skills that are embedded in real world, cultural contexts that are
designed to resonate with children, with the primary goals of inspiring them to
observe, think, and solve problems. ESC was developed with the financial
and scientific support of NASA through a nationwide network of educational
partners. Lessons are built on a tradition of educational research showing that
learning best occurs when students are actively exploring their world. Through
ESC, you will have tools to cultivate a spirit of curiosity and confidence in
your students. And in the end, you will help them become the next
generation of leaders and problem solvers in a global society.
"Enjoy
your time working with ESC, and please stay in touch. The ESC development
team encourages you to register this preview copy CD now to receive updates on
obtaining the full curriculum when it becomes available. As Pixel the
Satellite says, 'See you soon!'"
Approx. 1 minute. In the "About the Movies" folder.
Approx. 1 minute. In the "Deer Tracks" folder.
1.“Oh
where, oh where have my little deer gone? 2.
Oh where, oh where could they be??” 3. Oh, hi there everybody!
4. Have you ever known that an animal was around you, without even seeing
it? 5. Well, I just got a message
from some of my friends at the Tatanka Ecological Research Station, who asked if
I could help them with finding a herd of deer in the forest. 6. They told me that they had some good maps of the area, but
wanted to know if I could send them a picture of the forest from way up in
space. 7. Well, I looked at their map, waited until I orbited over that
exact area, and presto! 8.
Click! I snapped a picture
of the exact same spot where the deer were last spotted!
9. How could you use this picture to help my friends at the
Station study the deer? 10.
That’s what you’ll find out in the next lesson.
11. As for now, I’m off to check out a snowstorm over Mt. Everest! 12.
See you soo-oon!
Approx. 1 minute. In the "Global Greenup" folder.
“1.
Ahhhh…the four seasons: salt,
pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 2.
Oh, those aren’t 4 seasons, they’re 4 seasonings! 3. Can
you tell me what the four seasons are? (Pixel
looks as if he’s listening to the kids…waits for a moment)
4. That’s right . . . spring,
summer, fall, and winter! 5. I have a great job, orbiting the Earth all year round, because I
get to see how the Earth changes as the seasons change. 6.
Did you know that I can see changes in the seasons from all the way up here in
space? 7. In
this lesson, you’ll get to see a whole years’ worth of Earth pictures taken
by one of my satellite friends, and you’ll use these pictures to track the
changes in the globe’s colors through time. 8. What could those color changes mean? 9. Your teacher
will help you get started with that-- in the mean time, I’m off to see some
glaciers in Alaska! 10. See you soo-oon!!!!
Approx. 1 minute. In the "Hawk in Flight" folder.
“1.
In this lesson, we’ll explore the life of a very interesting bird
called a hawk. 2. There are about 16 different kinds of hawks that live on our
continent of North America. 3.
Did you know that some hawks, like the Swainson’s Hawk (gesturing
towards the Swainson’s Hawk on the blackboard), don’t spend the whole year
in North America? 4.
Instead, they migrate thousands of miles to the southern part of South
America and back every year! (shows map on the blackboard)
5. Of course, these hawks
can’t buy a ticket on an airplane—they have to fly all this way by
themselves! 6.
Why do you think a bird would want to fly so far to spend several months
of the year thousands of miles away from its nest in North America?
7. And, what clues do you
think we might be able to gather in order to understand a hawk’s migration?
(gets out his radio) 8.
Well, I just heard the news that our fine feathered friends are soon to
be on the move, so your teacher will take it from here.
9. See you soo-oon!”
Approx. 1 minute. In the "Biological Clock" folder.
(Pixel
is listening to a clock ticking in outer space) 1. “Time is so
interesting! ‘Time for dinner!
Time for bed!’ You probably know these times very well.
People tell time by using watches, clocks, and calendars.
Animals need to know when to eat and sleep, too.
But how does an animal tell time without having a watch, clock, or
calendar to read? There are many
secrets of nature that animals use to tell time using what is called the
“Biological Clock”. And you
know what? People have biological clocks too. What is a biological clock used for? And, how can you learn to read your own biological
clock? You’ll learn all about
this with your teacher in the next lesson.
In the mean time, I’m late for a meteor shower!
See you soo-oon!”
Approx. 1 minute. In the "Migration Mania" folder.
“1.
I want to introduce you to a few friends of mine. (Turns towards
floating blackboard) 2. Here’s a sea turtle…3. Here’s a
caribou…4. Here’s a hawk… 5. And these are big insects called
locusts. 6. Do you know what these animals all have in common?
(pause) 7. They all are animals that make a special type of
journey in their lives—and that journey is called a migration!
8. Some animals migrate over long distances in order to find nicer
weather, more food, or a better place to have and raise their babies. 9.
Can you think of other animals that migrate? 10. Do you and
your family migrate? 11. You teacher will help you think about these
questions and others in this next lesson. 12. In the mean time,
I’m off to take a look at the Mississippi River. 13. See you soo-oon!”
Approx. 1 minute. In the "Pixel Mosaic" folder.
“You
know, when you orbit a few hundred miles above the Earth like I do, it's
sometimes hard to see all the little details way down on the ground.
9. For example, just the
other day I was in the mood to look for some flowers.
But, darn it all, from so far away, I couldn't pick out a rose bush from
a pine tree. 10. It's like
this: stretch your arm out as far away from your body as you can, and look at
the back of your hand. Even though
you can't see them, I'd bet you my satellite dish that you have little hairs on
the back of your hand. (Try it and
see!) 11.
But, even though I may not be able to see such details from where I hang
out, I can still see patterns made by larger groups of flowers or trees as their
colors blur together! 12.
That's what you and your teacher are going to think about during the next
lesson. In the mean time, I'm off
to fly over Africa! 13. See
you soo-oon!"
Approx. 1 minute. In the "Satellite Mobiles" folder.
(Pixel
is looking quizzical) “1. Can you
help me answer a question? 2.
What exactly am I??
3. My name is Pixel, and I
am a satellite, but what is a satellite?? (4.
looking pensive, saying “Let’s see here…” then grabbing a book
and leafing through 2 book pages until finding the right one)
5. Aha!
My handy little dictionary says, 6.
‘a satellite is a natural or human-made object that orbits around another
larger object such as a planet’. 7.
Now it all makes sense! 8.
I orbit around a large object, the Earth, many times each day!
9. Watch me as I orbit once
(camera backs up to show entire Earth with Pixel orbiting once around it and
then coming back to the camera). 10.
Wow, I saw a lot of neat things down on the Earth during that orbit!
11. Now, I’m off to check out a storm I saw developing over the
Pacific Ocean. 12. So I’ll turn
it back over to your teacher, who will help you learn even more about
satellites. 13.
See you soo-oon!"
Approx. 1 minute. In the "Scenes of the Earth" folder.
“1.
Did you know that I’m not alone up here orbiting the Earth?
2. That’s right, I’ve
got lots of satellite friends who take pictures of the Earth just like I do!
3. But, just like people on Earth, we satellites are all a little bit different from each other.
4. Some of us look at big,
huge areas while we orbit the Earth – so big that we can take pictures of the
whole Earth in one day! 5.
Other satellite friends of mine, though, look at the Earth in smaller
portions – and it takes them about 2 whole weeks to take pictures of the
entire planet. 5. Do you think a large area can be studied in more detail or in
less detail than a small area? 6.
This next lesson gives you a chance to think about these things with your
teacher. 7.
As for now, I’m off to fly over the yellow sands of the Sahara Desert!
8. See you soo-oon!”
Approx. 1 minute. In the "Separate Vacations" folder.
(Pixel has a suitcase, which has one or
two stickers plastered on its side) “1.
Have you ever heard of families who sometimes take separate vacations? 2. In this next
lesson, you’ll meet a family that takes separate vacations every year!
3. An osprey family, that
is. 4.
Osprey are large, fish-eating birds that spend the summer months in the
U.S. and Canada, then migrate south when the days get short and cool weather is
on the way. 5.
An especially interesting thing about these birds is that the male and
female adults each fly to wintering grounds far far away from each other before
returning to the same nest the next year. 6.
How will you discover where they go?
7. Your teacher will help you with that part…in the mean time,
I’ve got some pictures to snap over Australia!
8. See you soo-oon!”
Approx. 1 minute. In the "Animal Tracking" folder.
Note: This is a large file which runs for 17 minutes. In the "Animal Tracking" folder.
Approx. 2 minutes. In the "Search and Rescue" folder.
Approx. 5 minutes. In the "Search and Rescue" folder.
Approx. 2 minutes. In the "Search and Rescue" folder.
