Humpback whales’ songs carry thousands of miles, while a sperm whale scans the ocean depths with a sonar laser beam louder than a thunderclap. “Voices of the Sea” reveals a surprising underwater world where sound takes the place of sight.
Nature: Ocean Giants
Watch Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 7pm.
Five thousand sea creatures, including sharks and stingrays, are finding a new home in Kansas City, as the new $15 million SEA LIFE Aquarium finally opens its doors tomorrow at Crown Center. There are 30 display tanks including a massive ocean tank with a walk through underwater tunnel where visitors are surrounded by fish and sharks. A Legoland Discovery Center is being built next door, but that won’t open for a few more weeks.
KCPT partnered with the new SEA LIFE Aquarium on a journalism contest where we invited high school broadcasting students to cover the arrival of the fish to their new home in Kansas City. Using the theme “The Fish Are Coming,” ten high school teams put together a two minute news account about the sea creatures arriving at the aquarium.
The winning high school team would have their report featured on The Local Show and we are pleased to announce the winner is…Park Hill South High School.
Winners of the SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium and KCPT Video Journalism Contest: Park Hill South High School and the reporting team of Sung Huh, Jacob Orlowski and Raymond Hadlock. Congratulations!
The second hour, Deep Thinkers, explores the cognitive and emotional lives of dolphins and whales. Like us, cetaceans have special brain cells, spindle cells, that are associated with communication, emotion, and heightened social sensitivity. These cells were once thought to be unique to us, but research is now showing that whales and dolphins may have up to three times more spindle cells than humans.
In some respects the brains of whales and dolphins are more complex than ours. Whales and dolphins work co-operatively, show empathy and are self-aware. “Deep Thinkers” finds out how clever — and how much like us — whales and dolphins might be.
Watch Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at 7pm.
Watch Ocean Giants “Giant Lives” – Preview on PBS. See more from Nature.
The great whales – such as the blue and the bowhead – are the largest animals that have ever lived on our planet. Yet these mighty leviathans feed on tiny shrimp and sardines. “Giant Lives” discovers why size matters in the world of whales.
Watch Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 7pm.
Watch Ocean Giants – Preview on PBS. See more from Nature.
