A narrated film that shows how running water has changed the surface of the earth more than any other natural element and offers as examples the Grand Canyon (and how it was formed) and Niagara Falls (and why it is moving upstream). The film continues with glaciers as another land-molding force, explaining where they were and how they work to change the landscape. A prime example is the Yosemite Valley formation including its Bridal Veil Falls, Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, and other natural formations. The geysers, steam vents, and hot water basins at Yellowstone National Park are also featured, including a model showing how geysers function. Water also causes erosion resulting in natural bridges such as Natural Bridge in Virginia and the Kachina, Owachoma, and Sipapu Bridges, known collectively by the Paiute Indians as "ma-vah-talk-tump," or "under the horse's belly," in the Four Corners area of the U.S. The program continues with a filmed sequences of caves, explaining how the Mammouth Cave in Kentucky and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico were formed.

Great scientists and their research are discussed including: Elmer V. McCollum and his discovery of vitamins A, D, and B1; John Boswell Whitehead and his work on dielectrics; Alexander Graham Christie's work on power plant design; the philosophy of George Boas applying the world of ancient Greece to modern thought; archaeology in the Near East by William Foxwell Albright; and Robert Williams Wood and his research into diffraction gratings and infrared filters. There is also a discussion of operations research and its applications in the American military effort.

Little known metals with valuable applications are discussed. Titanium being much lighter than steel has important military applications; vitalium, an alloy of cobalt, chromium and molybdenum, is used to join and strengthen bones; tantalum is used in skull plates; mercury has many applications including: lipsticks, television vacuum tubes, antiseptics, insecticides, and photographic developing; selenium is used in light meters and to conduct electricity; cerium emits sparks and is used in cigarette lighters; germanium is used to make transistors, which can replace vacuum tubes in the telephone, radio, and television industries.