“You have such outstanding programs. I am so impressed. Since doing mystery science my students love when I say it is science time!”

“All of it! The video of the close call in Japan was mind blowing. Students learned the reality of landslides, and that they could be affected by them just as easily as they are by fires and other natural disasters.”

“The students loved hearing each other's plans to save the Slide City home. They enjoyed commenting on the plans. This problem and solution activity inspired several students to start thinking about engineering as a possible career path. It was interesting to see that an activity without hands-on manipulatives was so engaging for the students. Thank you, Mystery Science!”

“The videos had us in awe...and the activity made them really feel like engineers...it was so nice to do with them...they asked me in the end if they could put all the plans together and come up with one plan like real engineers have to work to a point of having only one plan...(I wondered if they were not too young to go further...but you guys make so many things possible for kids to dig into...thanks ”

“The part that I think the kids enjoyed the most was seeing the real life creations that engineers have made to solve this horrific problem. Thanks again for an incredible lesson!”

“Seeing the creativity in my students was phenomenal, but, even better, was watching their minds work with this activity. I heard a lot of great discussions take place.”

“After the students brainstormed some amazing ideas, we had them build their houses, walls, wedges, etc. Then we set up stream tables to test them out. The design process was the most beneficial portion. (We learned a lot about what we SHOULD have done with our stream tables, since the land didn't actually do a lot of sliding.) Kids loved the lesson and the visuals provided by Mystery Science really showed them the destruction that could occur. Thanks!!”

“The students have come up with very practical and useful ideas of stopping a rock slide from hitting their house. They absolutely love science with Doug and all the footage that comes along with each lesson. Thanks for helping me feel a lot better about my students getting good science curriculum taught to them. I am learning right along side them. ”

“The best part was that students were able to get creative and really think about how they would prevent a landslide. We had fun listening to students share their creative methods of stopping a landslide”

“Watching the video caused a great impact. We went to the Niagara Gorge (Niagara Falls, Ontario) and we would think about the rock sliding and how some rocks got there!”

“Listening to the kids' ideas and watching them think on a deeper level.”

“The students in my class brainstormed some really plausible ideas for stopping a landslide. They wrote about their ideas afterwards and had some incredible pieces.”

“I modified the end sharing by doing a 'gallery walk' where students then put suggestions, questions, or gold stars for parts of each other's design on posit-its. It was very successful!”

“My kids especially enjoyed the brainstorming part. They liked coming up with their own ideas to try and stop landslides. The Show and Tell part was helpful, too, for them to present their ideas to each other. In the optional extras, it was really neat to see the "soccer ball house" as well as the rock shed on Highway 1 in Big Sur, California. Neat! ”

“My fifth graders LOVED the brainstorming. Especially since they got to start off with some crazy ideas. It really solidified their understanding of what causes landslides. They thought it was so cool that they got to be engineers for the day! :)”

“My kids came up with super creative solutions to landslides. I was really impressed with how they got into it. With more time, I could have really made this a STEM connection lesson! ”

“Everyone (all three kids) loved the post-it section of the class!! They all wrote some really great ideas and enjoyed hearing each other's ideas as we "posted" them on the wall. What a great interactive way to get them excited about the subject matter! My youngest son, Jack (8 yrs) came up with a great idea: use the rocks from the mountainside itself to build the protective wall. We all really enjoyed the lesson! Melanie (Mom) Leo, Kira, and Jack Hoffman”

“They really enjoyed the creative aspect of it, and now comment on every greater than 35 degree slope we pass on the highway.”

“The videos! The kids were FASCINATED.”

“Students were super engaged and were allowed to show the creativity.”

“My students loved the brainstorming activity and realized that some great ideas can spring from what seems "crazy" at first. They loved designing a solution to the landslide problem and sharing their idea with the class!”

“It was AWESOME! Great way to see erosion!”

“The video was so impressive. We watched it 3 times!!!”

“After the students completed the Slide City Home activity they evaluated each others' work and posed questions about it. They were very engaged and used higher level thinking!”

“Feedback from my students: "We liked this mystery because we were able to see the ways scientists are trying to prevent damage from landslides. We enjoyed that there were videos to see what landslides are. Coming up with a plan for how to protect our made-up house from a landslide was fun! Our class LOVED learning about landslides and how to protect our houses from them. When taking the quiz, we felt prepared. We thought all of the questions were from the video, therefore it was easy." ”

“My students and I loved this lesson! They loved thinking like engineers and working together to come up with solutions. It was great to see such higher order thinking happening!”

“The class had a blast brainstorming and trying to save their new home.”

“It was really motivating to the students when I let them know they would be acting as engineers in this lesson! They really enjoyed the brainstorming activities and learned from each other's ideas! The videos captivated their imaginations and left them in awe of the power of landslides.”

“The kids had such smiles on their faces as they shook the sugar cubes! They told me what they learned from the video without any prompting--they were that excited about what they saw and learned.”

“Great lesson that really got some creative student responses. Doug, the narrator, does such a fantastic job explaining the details of the slides and activities. Thanks once again Mystery Science for a great science lesson! ”

“We watched the landslide video clips two days in a row--each time the kids ooed and awed! My students say science is their favorite subject! And let me be honest--up until this year, it was one of my least favorite subjects to teach. But Mystery Science makes it easy and fun!!! Can I say "easy and fun" enough??!! I look forward to science class each week, too! THANKS, Doug!”

“For 5th graders, the videos of real life events were fabulous. The students were completely engaged. The brainstorming is a big hit as well. Students are continually visiting the posters boards where their ideas are posted. There are some pretty neat conversations going on around them....(kind of like grown up around the water cooler covnersations)...lol. Thank you for a wonderful lesson. I will use Mystery Science again.”

“We use the engineering design process and this activity fit right in with that!”

“This is a great lesson for creativity and critical thinking. My students loved the videos and the opportunity to be creative and think critically to design a solution to the landslide problem. I will definitely teach this science unit again.”

“This was a great lesson. My students were engaged throughout the lesson and went home and told their parents about it. I really appreciated the timed sessions, mixture of movement, videos, and brainstorming. ”

“The students really did a fantastic job with the brainstorming. I love how the lesson was set up and that it allowed for student collaboration and discussion. ”

“I loved the collaboration aspect and how students built upon each other's ideas in order to find success in the project. ”

“The videos of the landslides and the extra materials at the end of the lesson were GREAT! Students were really engaged and loved learning about landslides! Hands on activity was awesome because as a teacher you didn't need to have so many materials ready to go!”

“The videos of the landslides were definitely the best part. My daughter was so enthralled that we had to spend the next 30 minutes looking up other landslides on youtube. ”

“After the lesson, my son enjoyed making his own landslide and building a retaining wall to protect a lego house.”

“the activity was amazing. My almost 6 year old proved to be a real engineer. she drew an amazing picture and thought up brilliant ideas. I am absolutely gobsmacked She designed dams, and channels ontop of the mountain to catch water so that too much wouldn't flow down the mountainside. We have water restrictions, so she emphasized that we mustn't waste the water but must pipe it to the houses at the bottom for drinking. She designed alternating walls and dams down the mountainside to catch falling rocks; 2 wide walls at the bottom of the mountain (to be built by her clever big 23year old brother). She even designed a bridge over some of the houses to catch large rocks - the bridge of course had to have gaps for light and water drainage!!! Not even my 15 year old or 18 year old could think of such creative ideas. One thing that she noticed was the that more water would fall on the top than on the side of the mountain, because of the steep angle of the slope - and that is why she designed the dams on top.”

“Fantastic engagement, loved the brainstorming and the extension at the end that showed that some of the ideas my kids came up with were actually used by engineers in real life.”