For Educators

I’m Alan Lightman, the host of a public television series called SEARCHING: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science.

Each of the high school-level lesson plans explores the connections between science and the humanities, and each begins with a related video from the SEARCHING television series. About half of the lesson plans focus on hands-on science activities. The other half draw out students’ critical thinking skills through reflection, discussion and writing. In the lessons, we will travel from the origin of the universe to the origin of life, from our relationship to other animals to the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence, and finally to our place in the universe.

Thank you for considering these lessons for your classroom.

For Educators

For COLLEGE EDUCATORS. We have edited a 98-minute feature documentary from the television series to support discussion on the humanistic implications of cutting-edge science. Please contact Team@SearchingForMeaning.org for access and background support materials.

MOSTLY SCIENCE LESSONS

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Pendulums and Laws of Nature

Students will watch a video clip of young Alan testing the relationship between a pendulum’s length and period of oscillation—an example of a precise law of nature. Students will then collect and analyze data to determine this relationship themselves. Discussion will explore the extent to which nature is always subject to such laws, discoverable by human beings.

Fundamental Forces of Nature (CERN)

Students will watch a video clip of CERN, the largest particle accelerator in the world, designed to discover the fundamental forces and particles of nature. Hands-on activities will explore some of those forces: magnetism, electricity, and how one can generate the other. Discussion will explore the value of science with no practical applications.

Waves (LIGO)

Students will watch a video clip of LIGO, the instrument designed to detect gravitational waves from violent cosmic events. LIGO works by measuring the interference of two laser beams as a gravitational wave passes by. After reviewing wave properties in a lecture-style format, students will generate interference patterns in water and experiment with interfering sound waves from two speakers.

Creating Life in the Lab

After viewing the Creating Life in the Lab Video of Nobel-prize winning biologist Jack Szostak’s attempt to create a living organism from scratch, students will prepare a slide and observe living paramecia under the microscope, identifying the various parts of a paramecium and their functions. Discussion will explore the definition, origin, and nature of life.

Observing the Heavens (Telescopes)

Students will watch a video clip of Italian physicist Galileo Galilei’s use of the newly invented telescope to view astronomical objects. A telescope improves the naked eye in two ways: since its lens is larger than the eye, it collects more light and can help us see dimmer objects. It also magnifies viewed objects, so we can see finer details. After building their own telescope, students will use it to make observations of familiar objects, including the moon. They will also learn about the physics of lenses and telescopes and reflect on the significance of Galileo’s findings.

MOSTLY HUMANITIES LESSONS

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Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Students will watch a video clip of Alan having a conversation with BINA48, an advanced android. Discussion will explore whether AI can ever be like a human being, whether we should try to create such a being, and what moral obligations we might have to it.

Our Relationship To Nature (Osprey)

Students will watch a video clip of Alan having an extraordinary eye-to-eye encounter with a wild osprey. Discussion will explore the connections and communications between humans and non-human animals, whether non-human animals have feelings and emotions, and a comparison between verbal and non-verbal communication.

Would You Push the Button?

Students will watch a video clip of leading scientists discussing whether they would push a button to learn the answers to the most important questions in their field. Some say they would and some say they wouldn’t. Discussion will explore the motivations of scientists and the role of mystery in the creative process.

Are We Only Material?

Students will watch a video clip questioning whether the universe is totally mechanical, like a giant clock. The next scene shows Alan shopping for the atoms that make up his body. Discussion will explore the question of our materiality. If we are completely material atoms and nothing more, what does that mean about our lives, our connections to other things, living and nonliving? What does it mean about our mortality? If we are not completely material, what is that nonmaterial thing inside of us?

The Big Bang to Us

Students will watch a video clip of an animation showing the Big Bang origin of the universe, the creation of stars and chemical elements, and finally the formation of the solar systems, planets, and life. The video will also give a sense of the vast size of the universe, both in space and time. Discussion will explore the possibility of life elsewhere in such a vast universe and the meaning of such extraterrestrial life. What would we say to other intelligent beings from other worlds? And is Earth the only planet in the cosmos with life?

FIND MORE VIDEO CONTENT: Program Episodes • Trailers & Promos • Lesson Plan Videos • Video Shorts

Lessons developed by:
MIT Scheller Teacher Education Program, Ilana Schoenfeld, Andrea Vancil, Alan Lightman
Special thanks to the educators that contributed to the development of the Lessons by reviewing them and trying them out in their classrooms.

© 2025. This work is openly licensed via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0). Educators may use the material as suits their purposes, subject to the following conditions: (1) The content cannot be used for any commercial purpose. (2) Credit must be given according to the following words: "These lessons were funded by the John Templeton Foundation and developed by the MIT Scheller Teacher Education Program. The lessons are based in part on the public television series SEARCHING: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science, funded by the John Templeton Foundation and produced by Passport to Knowledge."

For Educators

MOSTLY SCIENCE LESSONS

MOSTLY HUMANITIES LESSONS

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