In Coral Reefs at Night, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how coral emerge at night to eat, grow, and defend their territory, with dramatic consequences. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In Nightfall on the Coral Reef, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how animals survive on the coral reef at night. Watch how manta rays hunt at night. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In Creatures That Live on Kelp, narrator Sir David Attenborough looks at bryozoans that eat kelp, and amphipods that eat algae and kelp. Learn how amphipods protect themselves and their offspring. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
It’s story time... but you decide what happens. Cut out the story cards (Bluey caught in a web, a spider inching its way down, and more) and put them in any order you like. Make up an epic spooky story to go with the pictures. No matter what, it starts out once upon a time and ends with they lived happily ever after!
Bluey LOVES her new bedroom... but she misses Bingo too! So she’s writing a little midnight message to tell Bingo all about her new room. Circle the words to finish her note. For example, "My new bedroom is reeeeeally COOL or HAUNTED" and "I've moved in all my fave things, like TOYS or DUNNY PAPER." You decide!
The article "9 Stargazing Tips to Enjoy the Night Sky From Home" from BBC's Science Focus offers advice for stargazing without a telescope. It includes tips on dressing warmly, preparing your site, adjusting your eyes, spotting stars, planets, and meteors, and using apps to enhance your experience.
In Bats' A Nightly Journey of Survival, narrator Sir David Attenborough explores the nightly journey of three million bats as they leave their cave to hunt for insects. The bats face many challenges, including evading predatory birds such as rufous-bellied eagles, falcons, and black hawks. Despite these dangers, most bats return safely to their cave by morning. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In A Night in the Untamed Congo, host Simon Reeve and his guide, Addams, journey into the Congo Basin, one of the most unexplored places on Earth. After traveling by boat, they trek through the rainforest, facing swampy terrain and the challenges of the wild. As night falls, they set up camp and make a fire for safety, knowing the forest’s predators are afraid of it. Addams shares how the Baka people, who live here year-round, thrive in harmony with the forest, showing how different their survival skills are from outsiders. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Wilderness With Simon Reeve, an epic adventure into the heart of Earth’s last great wild areas, where nature is at its most beautiful and fragile.
In How Bulldog Bats Hunt in the Night, Sir David Attenborough describes how, as night falls in Belize, bulldog bats take to the skies, ready for an evening feast. These incredible flying mammals are expert fishers, spotting tiny ripples on the water's surface to locate their prey. With lightning speed, they skim the water at 40 mph, snatching fish with their feet — but the splashy success attracts other bats to the scene. This video is excerpted from BBC's Life, a show that explores the remarkable strategies animals and plants use to ensure their survival.
How many earthworms could a hungry badger eat in one night? More than 200 — and that’s just one of the surprising things about this underground-dwelling mammal.
Meet the European badger, a powerful digger that spends its days below ground and its nights exploring above it. Take a look inside a badger’s sett, discover how its strong claws and keen sense of smell help it find food, and find out why earthworms are such an important part of its diet. You'll also learn how badger families live together, raise their cubs, and keep their underground homes in order.
Teachers and parents, you can use this fact file to:
- Introduce an animal, wildlife, or life science unit
- Support nonfiction reading and vocabulary practice
- Explore animal adaptations, behaviors, and habitats
- Compare animals and the ecosystems they live in
- Practice finding and organizing information from nonfiction texts
- Prepare students for animal research projects or presentations (use our animal report templates!)
- Connect science learning to conservation and environmental issues
- Pair with videos, articles, or other informational texts (see Related Resources below)
In Throwing Fire for Chinese New Year, iron metal workers in Nanquan, China, create amazing, glowing art with molten metal. Today, they perform nightly, but the tradition goes back hundreds of years. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Chinese New Year: The Biggest Celebration on Earth, a documentary series detailing the world's largest annual human migration (Chunyun), where over 1.5 billion people celebrate the Lunar New Year.
In Inside the Harbin Ice Festival, the Harbin Ice Festival lights up the night sky in Harbin, China for a few weeks each winter. Huge ice buildings are created and lit for tourists to visit before they melt in the spring. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Chinese New Year: The Biggest Celebration on Earth, a documentary series detailing the world's largest annual human migration (Chunyun), where over 1.5 billion people celebrate the Lunar New Year.
In Coral Reefs at Night, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how coral emerge at night to eat, grow, and defend their territory, with dramatic consequences. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In Nightfall on the Coral Reef, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how animals survive on the coral reef at night. Watch how manta rays hunt at night. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In Creatures That Live on Kelp, narrator Sir David Attenborough looks at bryozoans that eat kelp, and amphipods that eat algae and kelp. Learn how amphipods protect themselves and their offspring. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
It’s story time... but you decide what happens. Cut out the story cards (Bluey caught in a web, a spider inching its way down, and more) and put them in any order you like. Make up an epic spooky story to go with the pictures. No matter what, it starts out once upon a time and ends with they lived happily ever after!
Bluey LOVES her new bedroom... but she misses Bingo too! So she’s writing a little midnight message to tell Bingo all about her new room. Circle the words to finish her note. For example, "My new bedroom is reeeeeally COOL or HAUNTED" and "I've moved in all my fave things, like TOYS or DUNNY PAPER." You decide!
The article "9 Stargazing Tips to Enjoy the Night Sky From Home" from BBC's Science Focus offers advice for stargazing without a telescope. It includes tips on dressing warmly, preparing your site, adjusting your eyes, spotting stars, planets, and meteors, and using apps to enhance your experience.
In Bats' A Nightly Journey of Survival, narrator Sir David Attenborough explores the nightly journey of three million bats as they leave their cave to hunt for insects. The bats face many challenges, including evading predatory birds such as rufous-bellied eagles, falcons, and black hawks. Despite these dangers, most bats return safely to their cave by morning. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In A Night in the Untamed Congo, host Simon Reeve and his guide, Addams, journey into the Congo Basin, one of the most unexplored places on Earth. After traveling by boat, they trek through the rainforest, facing swampy terrain and the challenges of the wild. As night falls, they set up camp and make a fire for safety, knowing the forest’s predators are afraid of it. Addams shares how the Baka people, who live here year-round, thrive in harmony with the forest, showing how different their survival skills are from outsiders. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Wilderness With Simon Reeve, an epic adventure into the heart of Earth’s last great wild areas, where nature is at its most beautiful and fragile.
In How Bulldog Bats Hunt in the Night, Sir David Attenborough describes how, as night falls in Belize, bulldog bats take to the skies, ready for an evening feast. These incredible flying mammals are expert fishers, spotting tiny ripples on the water's surface to locate their prey. With lightning speed, they skim the water at 40 mph, snatching fish with their feet — but the splashy success attracts other bats to the scene. This video is excerpted from BBC's Life, a show that explores the remarkable strategies animals and plants use to ensure their survival.
How many earthworms could a hungry badger eat in one night? More than 200 — and that’s just one of the surprising things about this underground-dwelling mammal.
Meet the European badger, a powerful digger that spends its days below ground and its nights exploring above it. Take a look inside a badger’s sett, discover how its strong claws and keen sense of smell help it find food, and find out why earthworms are such an important part of its diet. You'll also learn how badger families live together, raise their cubs, and keep their underground homes in order.
Teachers and parents, you can use this fact file to:
- Introduce an animal, wildlife, or life science unit
- Support nonfiction reading and vocabulary practice
- Explore animal adaptations, behaviors, and habitats
- Compare animals and the ecosystems they live in
- Practice finding and organizing information from nonfiction texts
- Prepare students for animal research projects or presentations (use our animal report templates!)
- Connect science learning to conservation and environmental issues
- Pair with videos, articles, or other informational texts (see Related Resources below)
In Throwing Fire for Chinese New Year, iron metal workers in Nanquan, China, create amazing, glowing art with molten metal. Today, they perform nightly, but the tradition goes back hundreds of years. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Chinese New Year: The Biggest Celebration on Earth, a documentary series detailing the world's largest annual human migration (Chunyun), where over 1.5 billion people celebrate the Lunar New Year.
In Inside the Harbin Ice Festival, the Harbin Ice Festival lights up the night sky in Harbin, China for a few weeks each winter. Huge ice buildings are created and lit for tourists to visit before they melt in the spring. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Chinese New Year: The Biggest Celebration on Earth, a documentary series detailing the world's largest annual human migration (Chunyun), where over 1.5 billion people celebrate the Lunar New Year.