Customer Reviews

Astronomers [VHS]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This set of videos does an excellent job of covering the field of astronomy in a comprehensive fashion. It covers both professional and amateur astronomy.

It has segments featuring John Dobson, who teaches amateur astronomers how to build their own telescopes and travels to public events to familiarize people with astronomy.

There are also segments on the many different areas of professional astronomy, including astronomers studying the stars and planets as well as those studying astrophysics and cosmology.

There are interviews with the astronomers where they talk about their work, how they got involved in the field, and segments on how they work to bring an interest in the field to young people.

The focus of the series is on astronomers themselves, but there are also many current subjects in the science of astronmy discussed, such as the structure of large groups of galaxies, the cores of galaxies, gravity, and so on.

I highly recommend this series for anyone with an interest in astronomy or those who are astronomers. If you or someone you know has an interest in becoming an astronomer, either as an amateur or a professional, this series is indispensible.

This video is the best tool I have seen for use in potty training. After watching this video, my son went from totally not interested in potty training to using the potty happily in one week's time. The video is very well done--captivating enough to catch their attention, and fun enough where they want to watch it over and over again.

I don't know why I didn't expect much from this set - somewhow I visualized a lot of talking heads telling me about every astronomer from Newton forward and backward. Not!

The series uses current astronomers to explain the theory they are investigating, complete with research steps and glorious pictures of what they saw and hoped to see. It was not biographical, but historical. The story line was the development of a theory. Several astronomers and their work were used, for example, to explain dark matter - what it was, the theory, and how they hoped to prove something that cannot be seen. Planets, star birth and death, supernovi,searching for the moment of creation, and other current matters of interest are given one tape each.

I am not saying this as well as I might. These videos taught me while keeping me so entertained that I just watched the set straight through. It was neither too simplistic nor was it over my head.

I liked it well enough to search the box with a magnifying glass for the producers so I could go to their web site and find other masterpieces. Sigh! They were a one masterpiece group.

You won't be disappointed in this one - and if I didn't say so, the visuals are gorgeous and unusual.

This is effective and lively cartoon for both girls and boys. It introduces different types of pottys(gas station,outhouse,airplane)as well as the typical ones we use everyday. It also offers practical advise for parents and how we can encourage our children. My son really enjoys watching it.

I was so disappointed in this video. You should know it's underwritten by Huggies Training Pants--they only tell you about the AMA part. The advice from the doctors is the same as you will find anywhere. The video is short, doesn't go through any of the steps of actually using the potty, and the animation nothing to rave about. I purchased one book and one video for my son for potty training, and wish I had gotten a different video for sure!

I was hoping to find a helpfull video to get the point across and this isn't going to be it. The story is cute and harmless enough but it is too short. It would be better for a Boy, although it has both boy and girl lead charactors. The story was real short... deffinatly not as long as the Parent's section at the end. IT does have interviews with 2 pediatritians to help the parent. The pediatritians have very basic information that you'll hear almost everywhere. They do focus largly on Boy potty training.
Unfortunatly, it isn't very catchy or use much detail. The story line is basically that Winston mentions he recognises that he's wet and wants to know if he'll always use a Diaper, he's told he will someday be a "big Boy" like the rest of his family. Winston then goes to the playground, talks with his neighbor and she mentions she's learning to potty too. She "learns" first (or is successfull at making something in the potty) and is given "pretty panties". Then Winston does it. Then it has a moment clip about how they are away from hom and have to use a different potty. Covers one accident with Parent being OK with him making a puddle. Doesn't get into much detail about hte process of using hte potty or about how to ask for help. That was a main point I was hoping for... getting my girl to ask for help un/dressing and/or telling me before she goes.

We love this video. We watched the more popular potty video with our girls, but no results. A neighbor gave us this video to try, and it clicked. The kids identify with Winston and his friend becomming big kids (ie: big kid beds, etc.). Within weeks of getting this video they were out of diapers. Buy it!!!!

This series was produced in 1990. I was a fan of the original PBS series and watched the VHS tapes. The series discusses topics like dark matter, the microwave background and exoplanets that were cutting edge in the early '90's. These topics are in the news to-day and even though they have advanced since 1990, the quality of the series' presentation is so top notch, it still fascinates in 2007. It is also very entertaining with magical graphics and music. For the astronomy buff the DVD is an historical record. For the novice, it is an introduction to the grass roots work of astronomers.

I own the VHS tapes of this series and enjoyed it very much. It has beautiful visual effects and shows much about the personal lives of the astronomers. It would have been even better if Carl Sagan, the most lively and interesting astronomer of our time, had been involved in the making of this series. Unfortunately, he does not even appear in any of the episodes. A decade had passed since the Cosmos series, and Sagan, perhaps because of health reasons, was apparently unable to contribute his talents to this project. But it is a very compelling series since you can see the work astronomers do from a very personal perspective. The graphics and animation are attractive and appealing with the use of the best technology that was available at that time.

The plot of the story is, of course, Winston's learning to use the potty chair. (There is a girl named Molly, but the emphasis is on Winston.) In the story, unlike real life (lol), Winston asks his mommy how long he will have to use diapers. Mom smiles and assures him that he will be free of them soon.

Mom and Dad then surprise him with a potty chair. At first, Winston has no idea what it is and his imagination goes wild. He imagines the chair taking him to all sorts of exotic places, engaging in all sorts of adventures. He even wears the potty on his head for awhile, before Dad corrects him and shows him how to use the potty properly. All throughout the story, `being a big kid' is emphasized, which might be motivational for some children.

I got this video from the library, along with two others. None of them worked with our recalcitrant 3 year old. (Oh well-just a question of time I suppose (LOL))

Three Stars. The tape is a little short and didn't work for us. Still, I think you need to read all the reviews to see if you think it would work for you. Certainly other reviewers claim it worked for them.

Also, other reviewers have noted that the production quality is not overly professional, but from what I gather from my children that's not really a drawback. Children are just not that critical.