SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A MAN'S REACH SHOULD EXCEED HIS GRASP
VCR No. 2590-H, 1983, 24 mins. 

This program treats the history of aviation and space exploration in a masterful and moving way. Narrated by Burgess Meredith, the story ranges from the Wright brothers' first flight to man's landing on the moon.

 

MILLENNIUM EVENINGS AT THE WHITE HOUSE

VCR No. 4084 - 4088, 1997, 60 mins.

 

Millennium Evenings at the White House are a series of lectures and cultural showcases hosted by the President and First Lady that highlight creativity and inventiveness through our ideas, art and scientific discoveries. Millennium Evenings are a program of the White House Millennium Council, which the President and Mrs. Clinton created in 1997 to harness the millennial spirit and commemorate this unique time in history.

 

STEPHEN HAWKING: IMAGINATION AND CHANGE – SCIENCE IN THE NEXT MILLENNIUM (VCR No. 4085) 

In this Millennium Evening, “Imagination and Change – Science in the next Millennium,” the President and Mrs. Clinton host Stephen Hawking, the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, UK. Professor Hawking draws on his deep understanding of the laws of science and their effect on human life to lead a discussion on how scientific and technological advancements will shape and be shaped by human knowledge.

 

THEMES IN AMERICAN ART: INGENUITY, TECHNOLOGY AND AMERICAN ART
VCR No. 3188-H, 1987, 33 mins.

This segment looks at how technology has had a profound effect on the history of American art. The achievements of Americans such as James Bogardus, John Roebling, Louis Sullivan, Philip Johnson, Nathaniel Currier, and Mathew Brady are examined in terms of their continuing impact and unlimited potential for American art.

 

NOVA: WRIGHT BROTHERS’ FLIGHT MACHINE
VCR No. 4147, 2003, 60 mins.

One-hundred years ago, on December 17, 1903, a wood and cloth biplane took off from the dunes at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, with Orville Wright at the controls – thereby making history’s first controlled, sustained, and powered flight. To bring the Wrights’ technological genius to life, this program features authentic replicas of their brilliantly conceived craft being used in thrilling test flights. The climax is the construction and maiden flight of a replica. Wright 1911 Model B, the pinnacle of the brothers’ accomplishments and the world’s first practical passenger- carrying flying machine, with all the essential technical features of today’s aircraft. The NOVA team’s replicas of Wright machine recreate the exact designs and materials used by the brothers – a considerable challenge since the two were notoriously secretive and destroyed most of their plans. In recreating the Wrights’ journey of discovery, this program begins where the brothers did: with gliders for testing the efficiency of wing shapes to produce lift, along with a three-axis control system to keep the plane balanced in flight. This program shows that the Wright technology is still an impressive, awe-inspiring sight.

 

 

 

Updated: February 2008