Nova: Hunting The Elements

Some dated sexist jokes, "You run like a 5 year old girl" etc. Also spent about 3 minutes on a urine joke montage.

As a chemistry teacher, I really love this film. Good stuff, as it shows how the elements relate to the real world in a variety of ways, many of them surprising and dramatic. The story is told with some humor (some of it kind of corny), a sense of history and fine demonstrations of very practical properties of the real matter represented on the Periodic Table.The table of elements is brought to life dramatically with a huge, beautifully crafted wooden "table" of elements built by a chemistry genius. The table has chambers which hold substantially-sized samples of most all of the elements, including the noble gases, which glow. Very cool.Students really seem to enjoy this film and definitely have a much deeper appreciation of its history, meaning and connection to their daily lives.

This two-hour documentary on the PBS science program NOVA explores basic chemistry with a blend of hard science and absurdist humor. The narrator takes the audience on a wild ride through the periodic table of elements. The journey starts out with metals and alloys, which shaped civilization even before the industrial age. This is followed by the surprisingly simple elements that go into making up organic chemistry. Next come explosives, followed by rare earth elements, and finally, radioactive isotopes. At times, the comedic touches seem overdone, but the documentary does cover a great deal of material in two hours.

It was fun to see the many demonstrations, a few reminding me of amusing stories my high school chemistry teacher liked to tell. Although it provided some history of discoveries, I thought there was a lack of a consistent chronological perspective which I believe is important to portray progress in science. There was a kind of "gee whiz" feel to the program, which probably appeals to younger audiences, but the narration was at times silly. I preferred  Mystery of Matter: Search For the Elements

Perfect for emergency sub days! There’s an online version but I don’t want to have to rely on the WiFi working when I’m out. My high school chemistry kids like it and it’s long enough for my 95 minute block schedule. There’s even worksheets to go along with the video of you do a quick google.

For someone who was/is absolutely hopeless at math and chemistry, this show parted many clouds for me. I wish I'd had this kind of introduction to chemistry back in highschool. I got a dismal science education because the teachers just did not care if their students were prepared for college level science courses. And many of my science teachers just could not teach. This show would have been so incredibly helpful to establish some foundational understanding of what I was dealing with. David Pogue's humour, humility, and interactive demonstrations make the subject matter fun and interesting. I'm gonna watch it over and over just for the entertainment while I actually learn something. Thanks PBS and NOVA!

I show this to my middle school science students every year. It is available free on PBS's website but I wanted to get it in case they take it down. While adults may find this childish, it is perfect for middle school students as they find David Pogue funny and entertaining.I highly recommend this to add to your science curriculum. Very informative and keeps students interested.

A must have for any student of chemistry. It is also filmed for the layman as well. This is a video you can watch many times to get more out of it each time you watch. A very well produced show on how many of the elements were isolated and discovered. Chemistry-science teachers, I would recommend showing this at least once during the semester to your students.

I SAW THIS FIRST ON TVAND ENJOYED IT SO MUCH I HAD TO PURCHASE THE DVD.IT WAS DELIVERED ON TIME AND IN GOOD CONDITION. I ENJOYED WATCHING IT AGAIN VERY MUCH.

Presented as a more friendly piece for the average person, the information contained is still very informative for the enlightened individual.It would be cool to see something of this production caliber, produced for the science buff, to acquire some of the more intricate information.Regardless, this is a GREAT DVD to add to any collection.

Wow, if this video would have available when I was in high school chemistry, I may have passed the class. I appreciate the way things are explained, so that a person can easily understand the "elements."