The program opens with a brief history of the evolution of metal and its uses in early tools, utensils, weapons, and ornaments. In 1900 only sixteen kinds of metal were used by American industry, but at the time of this program, there are 321 known metals and alloys. Lynn Poole shows a piece of a new metal, Fiberfrax, that doesn't get hot when heated. Dr. Maddin, associate professor of metallurgy at Johns Hopkins University, discusses the inside of metal and shows a model of atoms in a perfect metal and one with deviations or imperfections. Mr. Poole notes that only 460 metallurgists are being trained in 45 colleges each year but at least three times that number are needed each year for the next ten years. Dr. Hollomon, head of the metallurgy and ceramic research division of General Electric (GE), lists common metal products and discusses how metals, such as titanium alloys, must be made stronger to withstand the higher temperatures occurring at faster jet speeds and to solve the problem of fractured pipelines and ships. There are career opportunities for chemist metallurgists, involving ingots and arch melting; process metallurgists, researching the forces in metals; development metallurgists, testing stresses and corrosion of metals; and research metallurgists, looking inside metals. Dr. Hollomon recommends studying math, physics, and chemistry in high school to begin the path to becoming a metallurgist. Dr. Vannevar Bush, president of the Carnegie Institution, promotes the benefits of this forthcoming Johns Hopkins career series and comments on the applications of modern science to the improvement of life. The pamphlet, "A Career in Metallurgy," is offered to viewers for a postcard.

As an introduction to this program's career, Lynn Poole notes that it was announced this week that the Salk vaccine is effective in preventing polio. He also points out that in 1890 Dr. M. Cary Thomas was only allowed to attend classes at Johns Hopkins University if she sat behind a screen because she was a woman in a men's institution. But this program features Isabelle Schaub, assistant professor of microbiology at that university and author of the Diagnostic bacteriology textbook. She introduces a number of young women and describes their laboratory job functions in the fields of bacteriology, biochemistry, hematology, serology, and histology. Brief film clips, from the National Committee for Careers in Medical Technology, show the processes of preparing slides of body tissues and studying blood cells under a microscope. Ms. Schaub lists three ways to enter the field: as an entry level lab aid, as a recipient of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists certificate, or as a college graduate.

Raymond Loewy, the Father of Industrial Design, defines his profession as one that designs products for mass production. Simplicity and functionality are key in his designs of packaging, service centers, uniforms, household goods, modes of transportation, and other functions. Mr. Loewy, who came to the United States in 1919, displays some of his product designs such as the Lucky Strike cigarette package, an electric heater with better stability, a bathroom scale with improved legibility, a silent eggbeater, a safe pressure cooker, a bottle with anti-slip grip, inexpensive but tasteful flatware, and other items. He comments on designs typically found in rooms in 1900 and 1926 and shows how they've been improved. His 1951 book, Never leave well enough alone, recommends simplifying goods and improving them to lower their manufacturing costs. Designer of the Studebaker car, Loewy shows cartoons of overdone cars with "dagmars" and others influenced by airplane designs.

Rising sophomore Larry C. Marxer details his first year experience at The Johns Hopkins University, from the September 10 arrival of new students to the June 12 commencement on the quad. Key people introduced include Dr. Wendell R. Garner, head of the Psychology Dept.; Dr. G. Wilson Shaffer, dean of the Homewood schools; Dr. Robert H. Roy, dean of the engineering school; Irene M. Davis, registrar; William F. Logan, director of administration; P. Stewart Macaulay, provost; Dr. Carl B. Swisher, international law and political science scholar; and three religious advisors. Mergenthaler, Remsen, Gilman, and Shriver Halls and Homewood House are pictured on the 120-acre campus. The freshman orientation week includes an "eye to toe" physical exam and a weekend of recreation at the Baltimore YMCA Camp where alumni relations director Osmar P. Steinwald leads the students in a songfest. Of the 400+ Hopkins professors, the following are identified by name: Thomas F. Hubbard, Alsoph H. Corwin, Walter S. Koski, Kemp Malone, Abel Wolman, Alphonse Chapanis, James C. McLaren, and William L. Straus, Jr.

A silent film showing various events during homecoming weekend at Johns Hopkins University in 1954, features the graduating class of 1929. The festivities begin with the registration of the graduates and their spouses, followed by a banquet highlighted by a speech by Theodore R. McKeldin, Governor of Maryland. The next day the former classmates and their guests attend the JHU lacrosse game against the University of Maryland. That evening there is a formal dinner and dance. The weekend wraps up the next day with an outdoor luncheon. Title from cassette label.

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.

The program opens with the announcement that last week in New York City The Johns Hopkins Science Review was awarded its second George Foster Peabody Award for outstanding educational and informational programming. Lynn Poole honors the scientists currently attending the 90th annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), presided over by Johns Hopkins University's president, Detlev Bronk. Poole describes highlights in the history of the organization, such as Congress' legalization of use of the metric system in 1866 and creation of the U.S. Forest Service in 1896, both based on recommendations of NAS. In 1916 NAS established the National Research Council, and through the efforts of its first chairman, George Ellery Hale, and Dr. Robert A. Millikan, President Woodrow Wilson requested NAS to perpetuate the Council. The remainder of the program explains and demonstrates misconceptions about scientific facts: a copper penny can not substitute for a burned out fuse; small flies are not offspring of large flies (houseflies, blow flies, and stable flies are all in their adult stages); spontaneous generation of rags into mice or horse hair into worms does not occur; people can not be hypnotized against their will; frozen body parts should not be rubbed with snow; ice does not make anything near it very cold (as an experiment with liquid nitrogen shows); water will not put out any fire (water on potassium will start a fire); oysters are also edible in months not containing "r"; mentally ill people can be cured; and mothers do not "mark" their babies before birth. Lynn Poole concludes the program by asking viewers to send him their requests for previous programs they would like repeated in June.

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.