The new companion Web site to the PBS special Fireworks! (which premiered January 29, 2002) contains excellent information for anyone wanting to learn more about the science behind the controlled chaos of pyrotechnics. The interactive site features a section called Name That Shell, where you can view movies of fireworks and compare them to different varieties shown in photographs. Using a Flash presentation, the Anatomy of a Firework explains what happens from ignition to explosion of a firework shell. An interview with Dr. John Conkling, adjunct professor and former executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, is featured in the Pyrotechnically Speaking section, and the On-Fire link gives another interactive activity that describes and shows the science behind combustion. For teachers, the site offers online and printable activities that can be completed with or without watching the program (which, if needed, can be purchased through the site or watched during rebroadcasts).
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