Space Shuttle

Careful design mixed with cutting-edge technology has made Las Vegas an intoxicating oasis in the middle of a desert.

43min | Aired on Jan 06, 1996 | TV-PG | CC

Tennessee: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned corporation in the United States created in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly hard hit by the Great Depression.

46min | Aired on Jan 07, 1996 | TV-PG | CC

Used in technology, photography, and decorative arts, silver is one of the most versatile metals known to man. In this episode of Modern Marvels we'll explore the methods, men and machines that extract this precious resource from the earth.

The world's largest concrete dam--and the second largest concrete structure in the world--lies on the Columbia River in the State of Washington. It is also one of the largest hydroelectric power plants in the wrold, and it's huge irrigation pumps are big enought to pump dry most of the rivers in the United States. It's construction in an isolated and thinly populated area of the U.S. during the Depression years, was one of the greatest achievements of the Work Projects Administration, President Franklin Roosevelt's bid to restore prosperity and jobs to a nation in trouble. Constructed by Mason-Walsh-Atkinson-Kier Co. in 1931, it is 550 feet high and 4,173 feet in length.

46min | Aired on Jan 27, 1996 | TV-PG | CC

Construction of the second-longest suspension bridge in the Unites States took 25 million man-hours and 80,000 miles of cable to complete�but the cost in human life proved high.

45min | Aired on Feb 03, 1996 | TV-PG | CC

The oil industry in the United States begins in 1853 Pennsylvania.

46min | Aired on Nov 09, 1995 | TV-PG | CC

With California finally part of the United States, two rail companies raced to connect the monied East and the promising West. Along the way, fortunes would be made, lives lost, and adversity overcome. This is the story of the largest, most expensive challenge of the 19th century.

Begun during the Civil War, the transcontinental railroad links a tattered nation.

Sculptor Gutzon Borglum supervises miners and quarry men in order to carve Mount Rushmore.

Luxurious ocean liners rival world-class land resorts.

The construction of the Panama Canal opened up trade and changed the world.

44min | Aired on Feb 25, 1996 | TV-PG | CC

The People's House

46min | Aired on Feb 29, 1996 | TV-PG | CC

Built of stone and glass, persistence and prayer, gothic cathedrals are an epiphany of imagination and an articulation of joy. Featured are such masterpieces as Chartres, Notre Dame and the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.

46min | Aired on Mar 09, 1996 | TV-PG | CC

Conceived and constructed to astound the public at the 1889 Paris Exposition, the tower is a worldwide symbol of triumphant spirit and elegant artistry.

45min | Aired on Mar 10, 1996 | TV-PG | CC

Discover the remarkable story of how this landmark New York City skyscraper was constructed during the depths of the Great Depression.

The domed structure is one of the earliest forms of shelter.

There is no more potent demonstration of man's resolve than the design and construction of tunnels--avenues that slice through a conspiracy of elements in the single-minded determination to connect two points. Whether underwater, blasted through solid rock, or negotiating the shifting strata of earth's unstable crust, we explore the design and engineering of famous tunnels...and the motivation behind them.

45min | Aired on Apr 27, 1996 | TV-PG | CC

American roads: from pre-World War II highways to the interstate system.

Opened in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge is the engineering wonder of its time.

Thomas Edison registered over 1,000 patents, but his favorite invention was one of his first. Rare photographs and early recordings show how the young inventor and his team outfoxed Alexander Graham Bell.

45min | Aired on Sep 08, 1996 | CC

Considered one of Thomas Edison's most famous innovations, the electric bulb changed the world we live in by literally putting the power to control light at our fingertips.

46min | Aired on Sep 08, 1996 | TV-PG | CC

The complete story of the feuds, the mistakes, ingenuity, and successes that made movies possible--and kept Edison at the front of the inventor pack. Includes rare early films from the Edison Studios.

43min | Aired on Sep 08, 1996 | TV-PG | CC

An exploration of the world's most popular entertainment, from the boy genius who invented it to the RCA General who made it a reality.

45min | Aired on Oct 20, 1996 | TV-G | CC

A look at the inventions that have revolutionized society as we know it. They began as behemoths which weighed over 2 tons!

46min | Aired on Nov 24, 1996 | TV-PG | CC

A look at the history of photography beginning as early as the eleventh century.

46min | Aired on Dec 15, 1996 | TV-PG | CC

A look at the B-2 Stealth Bomber.

Standing majestically for centuries, the world's great pyramids have long inspired and mystified. Leading experts and historians explore the engineering genius that created some of the largest structures on the planet, from ancient Egypt to Central America.

Since the turn of the 20th century, designers have competed to build them faster, taller, and steeper. But as technology pushes the envelope with flips, weightlessness, and more g-force than a jet, how many thrills can the human body take?

45min | Aired on Apr 13, 1997 | TV-PG | CC

The stargazers of mankind build observatories to unravel the secrets of the universe.

The Great Wall Of China