Documentaries?

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Wings5
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Documentaries?

Post by Wings5 »

Going off on a slight tangent here but we could all use a break from the noise.

We are looking for educational documentaries for our 3rd and 5th graders, perhaps those on a streaming service, that might be more educational and less gold mining/tuna catching. The NOVA and Nat Geo docs we’ve been able to find are only 4-5 minutes long.

Does anyone know of any good online docs about:

The development of the smallpox vaccine or any other medical breakthroughs
Civil or mechanical engineering
Public utilities

If so, thanks in advance!
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Sandwich
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Re: Documentaries?

Post by Sandwich »

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Flyer24
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Re: Documentaries?

Post by Flyer24 »

Topic moved to Personal Consumer Issues.
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lthenderson
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Re: Documentaries?

Post by lthenderson »

If you are a Netflix or Prime subscriber, both have documentary categories on their sites for streaming them.
bob60014
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Re: Documentaries?

Post by bob60014 »

The Library of Congress has a online stream for some documentaries and educational videos. You wont get the latest and greatest as you will see old films mainly from the 30s-40s-50s. Sometimes it's fun just to look back.

https://www.loc.gov/collections/nationa ... ning-room/
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JupiterJones
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Re: Documentaries?

Post by JupiterJones »

Not really any of the topics you asked for, but if I were a 3rd or 5th grader, I'd probably get a kick out of either of these two very entertaining documentaries:

Mad Hot Ballroom (2005)

Spellbound (2002)

Both follow a group of kids as they prepare for and compete in a competition (a dance competition and a spelling bee, respectively). Maybe more "inspiring" than "educational", but still...
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ScubaHogg
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Re: Documentaries?

Post by ScubaHogg »

Not the requested topic but there is a Nova one on Netflix called “Blackhole apocalypse” that I thought was very interesting. Maybe too advanced? Maybe not, I don’t know.
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Nearly A Moose
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Re: Documentaries?

Post by Nearly A Moose »

I can't think of any offhand, but you should definitely spend some time exploring PBS.com for this. Curiosity Stream is an online streaming service that popped up to try to fill the gap when History Channel and Discovery converted over to weird reality TV 24/7. I had it for a year on free offer and found it had some decent stuff, although it required a little elbow grease to sort through things, but I don't watch enough TV to keep it. I feel like I saw some sort of option to get it for free given current circumstances.

Plant Earth and Blue Planet I and II are really beautiful to watch if you're into nature documentaries, if a bit light on substance. But probably substantive enough for a 3rd and 5th grader to watch together and both get something out of.
Pardon typos, I'm probably using my fat thumbs on a tiny phone.
JakeyLee
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Re: Documentaries?

Post by JakeyLee »

"The Biggest Little Farm". Fun, informative, and educational for adults and children. Best documentary I've seen in the last couple years. I rented on line for $2.99. Well worth the price of admission. Check it out.
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InMyDreams
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Re: Documentaries?

Post by InMyDreams »

Two PBS series come to mind -
For engineering, PBS had a series about feats of engineering that were performed in ancient times. Includes
- building an obelisk (how did they create a single piece of stone, transport it to the site, and make it upright?)
- how did they shade the coliseum?
- how did they build a trebuchet?

In each of these, they have teams of engineers who must use the materials and tools that were available in the time period. They didn't necessarily solve the problem in the time they were allotted.
It might have been the series, Secrets of the Dead, but I'm really not sure
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secrets_o ... n_1_(2000)
Maybe a bright BHer can confirm the name - or tell me the real one?

Found it - it's Secrets of Lost Empires
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/

The other series that comes to mind looked at mystery illnesses and the work to identify and control them. I don't recall small pox, but they looked at Hepatitis B and the development of the vaccine against it (uh, there are mature themes in that episode), kuru (a South American neurological disorder). And I found the name of the series = Quest for the Killers
https://search.library.brown.edu/catalog/b1867484

Both series were good (IMO!). I think the first one would be of more interest to your age group.
Last edited by InMyDreams on Fri Mar 27, 2020 12:04 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Miriam2
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Re: Documentaries?

Post by Miriam2 »

Wings5 wrote: Wed Mar 25, 2020 2:36 pm Going off on a slight tangent here but we could all use a break from the noise.

We are looking for educational documentaries for our 3rd and 5th graders, perhaps those on a streaming service, that might be more educational and less gold mining/tuna catching. The NOVA and Nat Geo docs we’ve been able to find are only 4-5 minutes long.

Does anyone know of any good online docs about:

The development of the smallpox vaccine or any other medical breakthroughs
Civil or mechanical engineering
Public utilities

If so, thanks in advance!
Weather
American westward expansion
Well, this is certainly educational, well-filmed and produced in a light-hearted way. About an hour long. "The Cane Toads: An Unnatural History."

It's an incredible environmental science documentary about cane toads in Australia, who were introduced there to eat the cane grub which was destroying the sugar cane plants. Instead, the cane toad eats anything that moves that it can fit into its mouth and destroyed most of the natural species in that area of Australia, then turns out it doesn't even eat cane grubs.

Not sure about 3rd to 5th graders, but it sure is an absorbing break from the current noise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SBLf1tsoaw
Colorado
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Re: Documentaries?

Post by Colorado »

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Ferdinand2014
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Re: Documentaries?

Post by Ferdinand2014 »

Wings5 wrote: Wed Mar 25, 2020 2:36 pm Going off on a slight tangent here but we could all use a break from the noise.

We are looking for educational documentaries for our 3rd and 5th graders, perhaps those on a streaming service, that might be more educational and less gold mining/tuna catching. The NOVA and Nat Geo docs we’ve been able to find are only 4-5 minutes long.

Does anyone know of any good online docs about:

The development of the smallpox vaccine or any other medical breakthroughs
Civil or mechanical engineering
Public utilities

If so, thanks in advance!
Weather
American westward expansion
"America revealed" PBS.

https://www.pbs.org/show/america-reveal ... /season/1/

4 episodes. Electric power grid, Made in USA, Transportation infrastructure, Food machine

Free to stream. 60 minutes each.
Last edited by Ferdinand2014 on Fri Mar 27, 2020 10:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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HawkeyePierce
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Re: Documentaries?

Post by HawkeyePierce »

A friend of mine in the coffee business produced a documentary about his travels to Kenya to find new coffees for import: https://browncoffeeco.com/coffee-movie
Compound
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Re: Documentaries?

Post by Compound »

JakeyLee wrote: Thu Mar 26, 2020 3:56 pm "The Biggest Little Farm". Fun, informative, and educational for adults and children. Best documentary I've seen in the last couple years. I rented on line for $2.99. Well worth the price of admission. Check it out.
Watched this movie with my family (for free — back when the libraries were open!). Parents and children alike all loved it! Highly recommended for a nice diversion and a little enlightenment.
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