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NOVA: THE DAY THE DINOSAURS DIED

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I always love watching anything from Nova. In this documentary we meet Alice, a paleontologist and Ben, a biologist, who walk us through the day the dinosaurs died. From Ben's point of view, we experience extracting rock samples from the Chicxulub crater in the Gulf of Mexico. Alice takes us with her as she visits a magnificent fossil site in New Jersey. This documentary paints a very real picture of the whole scenario, showing new evidence that supports the theory of the dinosaurs' deaths and what happened to the rest of the world after the impact of the meteor that killed off the dinosaurs. It is breath-taking and intriguing. I recommend it for ages 10 to 18 as well as adults and give it 5 out of 5 stars. By Rachael V., KIDS FIRST! Juror

Reflecting NOVA's unparalleled 44-year-old commitment to long-form science programming, this installment examines the latest evidence surrounding one of the greatest mysteries in Earth's history - the sudden extinction of the dinosaurs. Through interviews, footage of scientists working at sites around the world, and stunning digital recreations of events from 66 million years ago, the program vividly brings to life the compelling scientific inquiry around this epic catastrophe. At the end of the Cretaceous Era, after 170 million years of dominance, over 700 species of dinosaurs disappeared from the fossil record virtually overnight. In the 1980s, the hypothesis emerged that an asteroid impact was the catalyst. But the supporting evidence, including the exact nature of the global chain reaction an asteroid impact may have initiated, has been slowly emerging over decades. This show details the efforts of scientists to flesh out what happened in the days and weeks after the asteroid impact. Will they find the smoking gun that provides definitive proof? The program visits an unprecedented, multidisciplinary scientific expedition to drill into the Chicxulub Crater site off the coast of Mexico, the leading suspect for the impact site. It also travels to South Dakota, Argentina and other sites where paleontologists hunt fossils. Finally, the program visually reconstructs the hell on earth - tidal waves, dust clouds, sudden mountain formation -- that wreaked global havoc and doomed the dinosaurs.