Burrud, John

Explains how fossils form and how paleontologists determine their ages; visits the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, showing how fossils are restored for display; and demonstrates how molds and casts are made.

Presents an overview of what distinguishes mammals from other animals, and looks at the defenses and common characteristics of mammals, including a hands-on investigation that shows how mammals use their hair to stay warm, and a visit to Monterey Bay Aquarium, where sea otters that are orphaned or hurt are rehabilitated and released back into the wild.

Discusses several kinds of bugs, describing their characteristics and the roles they play in the natural world, and includes a demonstration of how to make a vacuum trap for bug collection and study, and a visit with an entomologist, who describes how bugs use their bodies to adapt to their environments.

Explains the defining characteristics of a fish, describing their body structures, foods, defenses, and reproduction; describes special repellents developed for scientists to safely study sharks underwater; and includes a hands-on investigation of the effects of temperature change on a goldfish.

Describes the physical characteristics and behavior of different kinds of birds, discusses the traits they share with reptiles, and includes a visit to the aviary at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and a demonstration on bird digestive systems.

Examines the relationships between living things, focusing on the interdependency of animals, with specific examples.

Examines the reasons why animals become endangered or extinct, looks at the conditions that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs, and explains how children can play a part in preserving animal life.

Explains what fossils are, looks at some of the ways in which they form, and discusses what paleontologists have learned through fossil study.

Examines the structure and history of Earth from the perspective of visitors from a distant galaxy, focusing on different types of soil, their formation, components, and conservation; and includes an investigation of the relationship between the size of soil particles and their permeability.

Examines the structure and history of Earth from the perspective of visitors from a distant galaxy, focusing on the sources, uses, and conservation of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources; features a visit to a geothermal plant; and includes an investigation of differentkinds of particles in the air.