Lynn Poole introduces the program by pointing an arrow gun, or optical pointer that is used to point to objects on the dome of a planetarium. Man has wondered about the universe around him since prehistoric times, noticing the movement of the stars and planets. Early in the 20th century the Zeiss planetarium was developed and built in six cities in the United States. After World War II, Armand Spitz produced the Spitz planetarium which made it much more economical for smaller sites to have planetariums. There are now over one hundred in the United States. Mr. Spitz discusses how these planetariums work. He has also designed a toy planetarium that can project images of the stars and planets in the home.

Lynn Poole offers a definition of cancer in this third program in the series. Dr. Samuel P. Asper, Jr. describes the thyroid gland and the characteristics of hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. William S. Halsted's operation is still used for surgery on the thyroid to remove a goiter or cancer, and both the incision and the gland are shown in photos. A recovered surgery patient, operated on by H. William Scott of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, is shown on film. Radiation of the thyroid and radioactive iodine taken internally are considered treatments rather than cures. Additional films show Dr. George O. Gey's cancer cell labs at Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Frederik B. Bang using the electron microscope to detect cervical cancer, and the U. S. Public Health Service's National Cancer Institute's use of mice in cancer research and treatment. Dr. Isaac Berenblum's book, "Man Against Cancer," the basis of this series, is promoted. Mr. Poole reminds the audience once again, early detection is the key to a cure.

In this second program of a three-part series on cancer, based on the book by L. Berenblum, Dr. Richard Te Linde, of the Johns Hopkins Medical School and Hospital, discusses cancer of the cervix. Dr. Te Linde notes that although three-quarters of women afflicted with this cancer die from it, it is curable if treated in its early stages. He answers commonly asked questions about the development of cervical cancer and describes typical symptoms. He cites Dr. Norman Miller's study on how the loss of time in treating cervical cancer can make a difference in curability. Dr. Te Linde draws a uterus, cervix, and vagina and shows how a speculum, biopsy forceps, and a spatula are used to detect early cases. Drs. Trout and Papanicolaou's pap smear test can reveal both normal and malignant cells from the cervix. Dr. Telinde shows several slides of cervical cancer cells in various stages of malignancy and says that at the pre-invasive stage, this cancer can be cured with either surgery (hysterectomy) or irradiation.

This is an updated production of a program originally broadcast two years earlier, entitled "Science of toys." Lynn Poole points out that over 1,400 different toys are now manufactured for learning and sportsmanship. He visits a studio toy shop with local child Joey Vitale where "shopkeeper" John Lockwood explains the science of such toys as slinky pull trains, punching bags, gear toys, a helicopter launcher, an electric airplane and steam engine, wind-up toys, and cog-driven toys. The trio also looks at how flexible plastics are now used to make some toys safer and dolls softer. They consider polarization in magnets, static electricity in balloons, ball bearings in bike wheels, and how toys were invented. Kits on the shelf include a chemistry set, a super sleuth science kit, and a weatherman set.

In this program Lynn Poole asks local alumni of national universities to introduce the scientific research occurring in their alma maters. Dr. Brownlee Corrin, a professor at Goucher College and alumnus of Stanford University, describes the campus and its electron linear accelerator. Photos show Director Edward Ginzton and the operation of this new atom smasher. Alumnus of the University of California, Dr. Richard McQuaid, tells about the university, and photos show Dr. George H. Hart and his research on cattle grazing. Carl Foster, alumnus of Indiana University, lists some of that university's famous scientists. A film documents the work being done there by Dr. Joseph C. Muhler, Dr. Harry G. Day, and Dr. William H. Nebergall on the effects of fluorides on children's teeth. Baltimore Judge Joseph Kolodny describes Boston University, and photos from that institution show staff of the Physical Research Lab demonstrating an aerial camera, which uses glass spherical negatives. Assistant dean and alumnus of New York University Dr. F. K. Teichman describes that school's programs. To research air pollution, NYU's engineering research division has constructed a smoke tunnel to observe the behavior of plant emissions based on stack speed and wind velocity and a wind tunnel to determine how building design affects smoke flume behavior. Current scientific activities at The Johns Hopkins University include diffraction gratings used in a spectroscope, research on cancer, and trace element studies, all of which will be featured on forthcoming programs. In closing, Lynn Poole announces that Brookhaven National Labs opened their cosmotron today.

Lynn Poole displays a section of coaxial cable and shows on a map the 67 U.S. cities using this and microwave relays to service 109 television stations. Dr. M.E. Strieby, Director of Demonstrations for AT&T, explains the two ways to carry television programs: by coaxial cable and transcontinental radio relay. He tells how coaxial cable works and shows an amplifier, Bell Labs radio tube, and other electronic devices used in television transmission. Using a phototransistor, electromagnetic wave generator, crystal detector, and a phonograph, Dr. Strieby experiments with various materials to show how microwave signals can be disrupted, reflected, and polarized. Photographs show the lenses of a microwave system and typical metal and concrete relay towers with television transmitters and receivers.

Lynn Poole introduces this program by showing photos of early Wright brothers' planes, a Martin 404, and a rocket. Clyde Holliday, a senior engineer at Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Lab, describes the Aerobee sounding rocket, developed by Aerojet Engineering Corp. in cooperation with the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance. Holliday shows a diagram of the 1,000 lb., 20-foot Aerobee as he explains its specifications and component parts. A film details a typical Aerobee preparation and take-off at White Sands proving ground in New Mexico. Holliday displays a still camera, installed in two rockets, that photographed one picture every two seconds of the upper atmosphere. Several photos from 70 miles up create a 1,400-mile panorama of the U.S. southwest. The camera is justified as a means to determine the rocket's position in space for properly reading data, to obtain meteorological data, and to perform long-range reconnaissance. Holliday also developed a 35 mm. motion picture camera that records views on either side of the rocket. He displays the internal workings of the movie camera in operation, a lens from the camera, and a motion picture taken by the camera. A film captures the preparation and launching of a V-2 rocket, including Holliday inserting the camera into the rocket. Camera views of the earth from 78 miles up reveal the curvature of the earth, the Gulf of California, and other distinctive landmarks.

Photos and sketches show methods and devices for recording the passage of time. The narrator explains Greenwich time, the world's 24 time zones, distortion of time under hypnosis, and chemical reaction time (such as the iodine clock). Demonstrations reveal how photography freezes time, a microscope stops time and magnifies it, and a motion picture speeds or slows time. A film details the process involved in time-lapse photography of both plant movement and crystal growth. Another film shows how atom structures are better represented by soap bubbles, rather than table tennis balls, to show the "slip" within a metal when it's bent. This film segues into another comparing the actions of various detergents and how scientists study fabric fibers under a microscope and within a tiny, transparent washtub. The final film, of a flame, uses the schlieren system to capture a minute segment of the "birth of a flame."

The program opens with the TV Guide citation and medal awarded to The Johns Hopkins Science Review, the first university program on the air, for its outstanding educational programming. Mortimer Loewi, Director of the DuMont Network; Kenneth Carter, general station manager of WAAM; and P. Stewart Macaulay, provost of The Johns Hopkins University, express thanks to TV Guide and pay tribute to the scientists who make the shows possible. Dr. John Spence demonstrates heart percussion, developed in 1761 by L. Auenbrugger, to outline the position and shape of the heart, which can now be done by x-ray. Dr. Francis Schwentker uses a model of the heart and a water pump to demonstrate heart activity and uses diagrams of the heart to explain the route of blood circulation, which is also shown on a human model. With the use of the heart model and diagrams, Dr. Schwentker explains the problems caused by congenital heart malformations (and the blue baby operation by Drs. Taussig and Blalock to correct it), rheumatic fever, high blood pressure, and coronary heart disease. He then demonstrates how the heart functions are studied with percussion and x-ray, stethoscope, blood pressure monitoring, electrocardiogram, heart catheters, and angiograms. Finally Dr. Schwentker notes the different ways heart problems are being prevented. An ad at the end of the show encourages viewers to contribute to their local heart fund during Heart Month.

Dermatologist Maurice Sullivan discusses the benefits of sunlight in treating some diseases; however, he notes that many diseases are caused by or aggravated by the sun. He shows a light spectrum chart and draws a diagram of the layers of the skin as they would appear under a microscope and then explains the effects different wavelengths have on the biologic activity of the skin. Ultraviolet rays, not filtered out by the stratum corneum, create the first stage of sunburn. Dr. Sullivan explains how tanning occurs then compares the stratum corneum depth and pigment of five studio models with different skin types. He shows a graph of major U.S. cities and skin cancer cases, which parallel the hours of sunlight and exposure in different geographic locations. To protect against sun damage, Dr. Sullivan recommends limiting exposure to the sun; using drugs such as quinine, zinc oxide, etc.; reapplying protective creams; and being aware of environmental conditions that filter or reflect the sun's rays.