Xploration Earth 2050

Sound - you don't think much about it, but futurists do. Host Chuck Pell catches up with two college-age inventors who've created a fire extinguisher that puts out fires with sound waves. Another inventor has created a 'sound cloaking' device that could make submarines invisible to sonar. And sound waves can also be used to defy gravity; provided you can generate enough noise.

High tech is revolutionizing the way kids learn AND the way teachers teach. Join host Chuck Pell as he gets elbow deep in the 'sandbox of the future'--and 3D topographical sandbox that allows young students to test earth science theories with their own hands in real time. 3D printing is also helping students create historical artifacts that they used to see only in photographs.

Humans have always used their best technology to save lives, and new tech--and even some OLD tech--is now being employed by doctors the world over. Host Chuck Pell meets a designer who uses old car parts to help 3rd world doctors keep babies from getting jaundice. He takes a ride in a wheelchair that's built to work like an All-Terrain-Vehicle. Doctors and botanists join forces to GROW medicine.

Green technology is radically changing the way people get around. Host Chuck Pell will take to the road in a hybrid between a solar powered car and an old fashioned tricycle-- that has no carbon footprint. He'll visit the factory where electric powered buses are changing the daily commute for millions. And trains that float just inches above the ground will get you there faster than ever.

If you want to see some of the world's most famous treasures you often have to travel thousands of miles. Now high tech is bringing fossils, artwork and historical artifacts to classrooms around the world. And virtual reality is changing the way teachers learn to do their job. Chuck goes to the virtual classroom to test himself in front of the students of the future.

Inventors are up to some crazy things. We'll see a mirror that records your reflection - from all sorts of angles - and downloads all those images to your cell phone. Host Chuck Pell will demonstrate a bulletproof material made of a new kind of foam. And a New York City hotel has a new employee: a two-ton robot that loves to handle visitors' luggage.

Doctors and botanists have come together to GROW medicine. Host Chuck Pell visits a lab where vaccines are developed inside of plants and then processed into pills - a development that could save millions of lives in the developing world. Drones are being used to deliver medicine not only across town - but across your living room. And virtual reality is giving doctors a new view of the human body.

Humans have always been interested in the workings of planet Earth and high tech is giving them all sorts of new insights. Did you know that Earth's magnetic poles have shifted dozens of times during the planet's history? Host Chuck Pell visits scientists who've created a huge device that shows how this happens and predicts when it will happen again.

Movies and video games have been creating simulated environments for years but now the military is creating physical environments that simulate rain forests, deserts, combat situations, and even the surface of Mars. Host Chuck Pell goes to a lab where he's in a blistering desert one minute and a tropical rain forest the next - all in one building.

Environmental bad guys beware! Trees are now safer thanks to new satellite imagery giving us a view of our planet like we've never had before. We now know how many trees are on Earth and - almost in real-time - can tell who's cutting them down. And host Chuck Pell samples a new kind of tree - one that's built in a lab and designed to stop global warming.

New sources of power are transforming people's lives, particularly in developing countries. Host Chuck Pell meets two young entrepreneurs who've invented a portable light that's virtually indestructible and runs on sunlight. And, believe it not, sewage is being used to create clean drinking water and electricity.

Hi tech is a serious business, but it's also fun and games. Host Chuck Pell gets in the virtual cockpit for a new kind of drone racing that's going international. He'll watch as robots compete in the world's most futuristic soccer match. And a new football 'dummy' isn't as dumb as he seems.

New tech is allowing all of us to become inventors. Welcome to the Maker Movement - a worldwide phenomenon designed to get everyone making all sorts of strange and unusual gadgets. Host Chuck Pell visits a Makers Faire for some hands-on experience in how young and old alike are creating the future.

As society advances new technologies are applied to what we learn and the ways we learn it.  What will learning look like in 2050?  Host Chuck Pell shows us a place that's taking a hands-on approach to learning with robotic creatures.  Can video games teach us anything?  You bet they can.  Specialty schools help kids learn things they are passionate about.

We don't often think about what things are made of, but the materials that go into our vehicles, homes, and appliances are undergoing a revolution. Chuck Pell will see how industrial diamonds are transforming manufacturing. He'll experiment with a type of metal that gives new meaning to 'waterproof.' And he'll get in the lab with a brand of concrete that heals itself just like human skin.