Upcoming science, nature and technology programs on KNME public television

Tree Safari: The Koa Connection
8:30 p.m. Saturday
In this program, acclaimed sculptor Brad Sells teases fine art from rough timber. A melange of art and eco-travel, the program traces the arc of Sells' artistic process while exploring the history, science and traditional culture of the places he visits. Emmy-winning filmmaker Todd Jarrell follows Sells from his studio in Cookville, Tenn., to the forested volcanic slopes of Hawaii in a quest for the exotic koa wood, revered for its density, luster, tone and color.

Nature 'Kangaroo Mob'
9 a.m. Sunday
Meet the mob of street-smart kangaroos moving into Australia's capital city and the ecologists following their every move. Over the course of one drought-stricken year, we follow mob leader Black Spot and kangaroo mother Madge with her two young joeys — mischievous Sonny and tiny pouch-bound Alice. Here is a look at what happens when human development encroaches on wildlife habitat and two very different species are forced to co-exist.

NOVA 'Bombing Hitler's Dams'
10 a.m. Sunday
In 1943, a squadron of Lancaster bombers used a revolutionary bouncing bomb invented by British engineer Barnes Wallis to destroy two gigantic dams in Germany's industrial heartland and cut the water supply to arms factories. Wallis and the pilots of the 617 Squadron — a lively mix of Britons, Australians, Americans and Canadians — were hailed as heroes and dealt a mighty blow to the German war machine. In this program, NOVA recreates the extreme engineering challenges faced by Wallis and the pilots with the aid of six experiments. A team of experts including dam engineers, explosives specialists, mechanics and aircrew step into the shoes of the dam-busters and attempt to overcome each obstacle in turn.

Aviators
6 p.m. Sunday
#203 — Can a kid land an airliner?: A follow-up to some of season one's sim segments, but this time with a 12-year-old at the controls! Flight services: Kurtis shows us the many important functions of this often overlooked aspect of air traffic control services. $100 hamburger: A pilot expression for an aviation food-run. Anthony and Raeleen dig in at Greenville, S.C.

Aviators
6:30 p.m. Sunday
#204 — Private pilot emergency: Anthony closes the season 2 sim segments by having everything but the kitchen sink thrown at him. Can he do it? MCAS Miramar (formerly Top Gun): Spending the day with U.S. Marine fighter pilots at their legendary base.

Frontline 'Nuclear Aftershocks'
9 p.m. Tuesday
It's been almost a year since an earthquake and tsunami crippled Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, leaving the country's once energy program in shambles. In response, Germany decided to abandon nuclear energy entirely. Should the U.S. follow suit? Frontline correspondent Miles O'Brien examines the implications of the Fukushima accident for U.S. nuclear safety, and asks how this disaster will affect the future of nuclear energy around the world. In particular, he visits one emerging battleground: the controversial relicensing of New York's Indian Point nuclear plant, located 38 miles from Manhattan. What lessons can be learned from the disaster in Japan?

Nature 'Broken Tail: A Tiger's Last Journey'
7 p.m. Wednesday and 10 a.m. Jan. 22
Irish cameraman Colin Stafford-Johnson spent almost 600 days filming Broken Tail and his family. Broken Tail was a charismatic tiger cub in Ranthambore, one of India's best protected tiger reserves, until one day he abandoned his sanctuary and went on the run, moving through farmland and scrub until he was killed by a train nearly
200 miles from his home. To track Broken Tail's journey, Colin and his soundman, Salim, retrace the tiger's path and
piece together the cub's last days — and through his story reveal the fate of the few surviving tigers in India.

NOVA '3D Spies of WWII'
8 p.m. Wednesday and 11 a.m. Jan. 22
During World War II, Hitler's scientists developed dangerous new weapons of mass destruction. Alarmed by rumors about advanced rockets and missiles, Allied intelligence recruited a team of brilliant minds from British universities and Hollywood studios who secretly pored over millions of air photos shot at great risk over German territory by specially converted, high-flying Spitfires. Peering at the photos through 3-D stereoscopes, the team spotted telltale clues that revealed hidden Nazi rocket bases. The photos led to Allied bombing raids that were crucial setbacks to the German rocket program and helped ensure the success of the D-Day landings. With 3-D graphics that recreate exactly what the photo spies saw, NOVA tells the previously untold story of air photo intelligence that played a vital role in defeating Hitler.

Inside Nature's Giants 'Sperm Whale'
9 p.m. Wednesday
Veterinary scientist Mark Evans and comparative anatomist Joy Reidenberg dissect a sperm whale's enormous organs to reveal the secrets of this 45-foot deep-sea giant, which became stranded and died in Pegwell Bay, Kent, England. As the team ventures inside the whale, biologist Simon Watt tracks whales in the Azores with a modern-day Jonah, Malcolm Clarke, who shows him the huge number of squid beaks in a whale's stomach. Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, marveling at the gigantic teeth that have evolved in the lower jaw of a sperm whale, digs out his copy of the King James Bible for a reading about Leviathan from the Book of Job.

Field Trip! 'Cheese'
7:30 p.m. Thursday
Did you know that, on average, Americans eat more than half a pound of cheese per person each week? It's no secret cheese is one of America's favorite foods. But how it's made may be a mystery to most people. Making cheese involves farming for feed, animal care, milking, cheese production, packaging, retail and ultimately you, the consumer.

Wild! 'Animal Inventors: Animal Magicians'
8 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. Jan. 22
Episode 2 reveals some of nature's most powerful secrets, from medical solutions for cancer and diabetes to finding the answers to the most vexing of questions about how humans can live longer, love longer and live in outer space.

Attenborough Collection 'Eagle: Master of the Skies'
9 p.m. Thursday
An in-depth look at eagles, from aerial battles for territory to tender moments spent rearing their young. Features golden eagles in Greece and crowned eagles in Africa and 13 other species in 10 other countries.

Before There Were Parks: Yellowstone and Glacier Through Native Eyes
10:30 p.m. Friday
Native Americans have long regarded the lands now called Yellowstone and Glacier as significant and sacred. Today, nearly 30 tribal nations maintain official ties to these national parks, and many tribal leaders consider ongoing involvement in these areas necessary to the long-term health of America's endangered indigenous cultures. In this program, narrated by N. Scott Momaday, more than a dozen of these leaders and experts from across the region offer an introduction to the knowledge that tribal people have passed down
for at least the past 12,000 years. Viewers discover why Glacier and Yellowstone are so important to American Indians — for reasons far beyond their recent status as National Parks.