This program opens with a visual of the sound waves of Lynn Poole's voice as they appear on an oscilloscope. A brief film shows some of the glass tools that are basic to scientific research. Frank Witt, a Johns Hopkins University graduate student in electrical engineering, then explains the design and function of a cathode ray oscilloscope. He shows how to solve a simple electrical problem using this oscilloscope and comments that its applications make it one of science's most versatile tools. Chemistry graduate student Bernard Blaustein discusses the process, history, applications, and importance of distillation. He also explains equipment used to separate liquid from a dye using distillation. After a brief film on the history of microscopes, Dr. Dethier explains the parts of a microscope and their functions. He then offers a microscopic view of both a butterfly's wing and a snow flea. At the conclusion of the show, Lynn Poole asks viewers to send him what they consider to be the greatest achievement in science in 1953.

Dr. Dethier explains his research for the perfect insect repellent. He discusses and gives examples of the five qualities of a perfect repellent: odorless, inexpensive, non-toxic, cosmetically acceptable, and effective for extended periods of time. Using a diagram of a blowfly's anatomy, Dr. Dethier explains how the flies are used in repellent research. Then using a series of actual flies, their wings waxed to sticks, Dr. Dethier puts the feet of the fly successively into sugar water, .01% glycol and sugar, and .1% glycol and sugar to observe the fly's reaction. The result is generally the average of a 100-fly test. Dr. Dethier then shows how one can predict the feasibility of some chemical compounds as repellents by their composition. He constructs a graph and using aldehydes, plots the repellent effect in relation to the size of the compound's molecules.