One of the greatest artists of all time, the legacy of Leonardo daVinci (1452-1519) includes some of the most well-known paintings ever made. But daVinci’s talent exceeded far beyond painting – he was also a successful architect and engineer, and his drawings of military weapons have been highly regarded and studied for nearly 500 years.
These drawings capture exceptionally engineered weapons unlike anything that had been developed at the time they were created, yet there is no record that these designs were ever constructed… until now.
Discovery Channel’s six-part world premiere original series, DOING DAVINCI, puts a team of 21st century builders, …read more

ALASKA WEEK, premiering Sunday, April 12 at 9PM ET/PT, features eight all-new programs that will transport viewers to one of the most unforgiving environments on the planet.
See perilous encounters with wildlife caught on tape, watch roughnecks working Alaska’s notorious North Slope drilling and transporting oil, join nine strangers as they hike the frozen interior in search of civilization and return to the Bering Sea with the infamous crab fishermen who earn a living cheating death.
ALASKA WEEK premiere programs include (all times ET/PT):
DIRTY JOBS
Sunday, April 12 at 9 PM
Host Mike Rowe travels to Big Lake, Alaska and pays a visit to …read more

Series Premieres Wednesday, April 8, at 10 PM (ET/PT)
Since the dawn of time, man has feared what happens when the lights go out. Tapping into our most primal fears, NIGHT takes viewers into the darkness to experience the wonder and terror of nocturnal nature and all its animal activities.
From the shivers down our spines when coyotes howl to the involuntary jumps when snakes hiss, to the uncontrollable urge to run when confronted with bright yellow beady eyes, host and animal expert Brandon McMillan faces this and more as he embarks upon the shocking and sometimes terrifying journey into the …read more

Just when you thought summer was here and it was safe to get back into the water, Animal Planet launches its new 7 part series called River Monsters. River Monsters is a new show on Animal Planet airing on Sunday, April 5th at 5PM EST. Its going to be hosted by Jeremy Wade who is an extreme angler as well as a Biologist.

The host travels worldwide to investigate harrowing tales of flesh-eating freshwater fish. Each week he’ll get face-to-face with predators, such as piranha, alligators, bullshark and arapaima, to determine the truth about their feeding habits
Watch below as host Jeremy …read more

Over 640,000 years ago, the area that we know as Yellowstone National Park was the epicenter of a cataclysmic volcanic eruption—an eruption one thousand times larger than Mt. St. Helens. The eruption blasted away mountains, unearthed a vast ocean of lava and spewed hundreds of miles of debris into the atmosphere, burying half of the United States with deadly ash.
Largely unknown today, this destructive super volcano is still active, turning the picturesque landscape of Yellowstone into one of the harshest environments on the planet. Brutally cold winters fade into majestic summers, but for the animals that call the park …read more

From the forests of Puerto Rico to the jungles of Central America to the high Sierras of the American West, the world’s frogs are mysteriously vanishing. Experts believe that as many as one-third to one-half of the planet’s 5,743 known amphibian species are in danger of disappearing — victims of the most significant mass extinction since the dinosaurs.
THE VANISHING FROG, a new documentary from Animal Planet in partnership with The Clorox Company, sends Jeff Corwin on an international mission to uncover clues about the frogs’ deadly plight.

The National Geographic Channel is celebrating Charles Darwin, marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of the man who popularized the theory of evolution.
Starting Sunday, NatGeo is running a three-part series called “Morphed,” which uses 3-D animation to bring ancient creatures to life and show how they evolved into today’s species. The program demonstrates the evidence that modern whales evolved from land-dwelling animals since the end of the Cretaceous.
One episode, “Morphed: From Dinosaur to Turkey,” traces the discovery of a fossil of an animal that appears to be both bird and dinosaur. Another addresses the mystery of 400 giant …read more

Have you ever needed to win so badly that you would be willing to break 50 bones just to do it? What about winning but never really getting any recognition? Well that’s what Jockey’s usually face when they compete and Animal Planet is now taking a look at this profession.

Jockeys are normally self employed, nominated by horse trainers to ride their horses in races, for a fee (which is paid regardless of the prize money the horse earns for a race) and a cut of the purse winnings.
I had not really gotten into the sport until the Kentucky Derby event …read more

The science of escape and the art of ingenuity gets put to the test as escapologist Jonathan Goodwin attempts to break out of bizarre and dangerous homemade contraptions in the series One Way Out, premiering Monday, January 26th @ 9pm E/P – only on Discovery.
“Jonathan is captivating to watch. ONE WAY OUT mixes science, fun and risk and will keep viewers riveted to the television as Jonathan puts his body to the test and uses his smarts and physics to find a way out,” said John Ford, president and general manager, Discovery Channel.
Watch his interview on Jimmy Kimmel …read more

Cape Cod, Mass. is a high-profile vacation spot but a controversial energy proposal may be approved. As Priya David reports, the construction of high-standing windmills has many up in arms.