General Engineering

This video examines how the need to protect communities from external threats over the centuries has given the engineer a crucial role on which lives depend. Viewers will travel from a medieval castle in Scotland to a citadel in southern France before looking at the modern defenses used to protect the population from the sea. (24 minutes)

The principles of design are visible almost anywhere, but too often they are explained in an abstract, intellectualized way. This hands-on video presents the basic elements of design and their importance in a wide variety of fields and professions-architecture, landscaping, fashion, furniture design, the culinary arts, information technology, and other disciplines. Studying balance, contrast, cropping, hierarchy, scale, proportion, pattern, and figure-ground relationships, the program demonstrates methods in which color, texture, form, line, shape, point, tone, and letterform are put to practical use. Interviews feature design experts who share their real-world experiences and strategies. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. (27 minutes)

As a structure, the dome is considered a thing of great beauty and is often believed to have mystical properties. But domes are also supremely functional and ideal for sheltering congregations of all sizes. This video visits a variety of domes in Italy, France, and the U.K. (24 minutes)

Pleasing the eye is important, but a skilled designer also pays attention to the consumer's mind, emotions, and needs. This program explores the basic elements of design and how they can be manipulated to create powerful visual and interactive experiences. Detailing the properties of line, shape, tone, point, texture, color, and letterform-and how designers organize these elements through contrast, patterning, figure-ground tension, and other methods-the video uses examples in architecture, landscaping, graphics, and other fields to reinforce essential concepts. Students will find the program's lively animation sequences helpful as they absorb each design lesson. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. (31 minutes)

As much an art as it is a science, the model maker's trade requires an unwavering dedication to craft and a profound knowledge of materials, methods, tool operation, and tool upkeep. This program provides an informative look at all facets of industrial model construction. It contains five main sections: the different types of model making; the correct and safe use of hand tools; portable power tools; a comparison of human-made products and natural products; and the various techniques used in the woodworking room. An ideal primer for students starting a design technology course or those wishing to refresh and enhance skills. Correlates to all National CTE Organizational Standards (including the provisions of the Perkins Act). Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. (20 minutes)

Using original source footage, this program examines several major disasters, including the space shuttle Challenger, and discusses the scientific principles behind the engineering failures. Analyzing each project, a professional engineer uses practical demonstrations to illustrate the miscalculations that cause bridges to collapse, the fuselage of planes to crack, and the roofs of a newly built hotel and a stadium to give way. The program illustrates a series of tests that can predict project failures. The efficiency of modern computer engineering design is compared with that of traditional engineering methods that require more decision-making and risk on the part of engineers. Original BBC broadcast title: To Engineer Is Human. (51 minutes)