These clips from The Simpsons cartoons are intended for use by science teachers. It is recommended that you download and archive each clip that you would like to use. This can be done by PC users by right-clicking the image and selecting “save link as” or clicking on the image, then “save page as” from the File menu. Mac users will know what to do! The posting of theses clips for educational purposes conforms with fair use of the copyright act.

Lisa inadvertently breaks a Simpsons family rule with her perpetual motion machine. (0:39)

Bart experiments with and researches the Coriolis effect after losing to Lisa in a stupid bathroom products race. One of the rare times that Lisa is wrong. Have your students do their own research by filling a sink at home, let it stand, then opening the drain. (3:59)

Homer, playing Krusty the Clown for Milhouse’s birthday party, demonstrates a delayed version of Newton’s First Law. (0:11)

Bart performs a classic physics demonstration in an abandoned warehouse. It never works this well for me.(0:25)

The only science is during the bus braking procedure but any teacher who has taken their students on a field trip will enjoy it. I use it to help remind students to get their permission slips in on time. (2:59)

A nostalgic look at 16 mm science films. A chemistry teacher could almost fool their students with this when teaching metals Vs non-metals. (1:16)

According to Halliday, Resnick, and Walker, yo-yos are a physics lab you can fit in your pocket. I show this clip while doing rotational dynamics problems and labs with yo-yos. (3:02)

Homer saves the Simpson family home from the wrecking ball. Where did all the kinetic energy go? (0:11)

This clip is rich in science and humor. It includes a bicycle light generator hampering Bart’s progress, Principal Skinner explains why “science has it all”, and a brief lesson on constellations. I show it when doing a lesson on constellations and learning the night sky. (3:59)

Professor Fink brings Sir Isaac into the present. Unfortunately the power goes out half way. I like to speculate in class on what Newton would have been like if he were alive today. Professor Fink finds out first hand. (0:15)

Mr. Burns discovers that ignorance of the metric system can have a negative effect on his business. You will find yourself quoting him all year when a student makes a conversion error. “Sounded large when I ordered it” (1:01)

Barney and Homer train to be astronauts in a centrifuge. Are they facing the right way? Which way should they face? (0:44)

Bart demonstrates projectile motion and Newton’s First Law as he shows the Ogdenville newcomers “how the natives ride sky”. This clip is especially good at showing that Bart’s horizontal velocity remains constant during his jump over the cars. (0:41)

Bart and Milhouse demonstrate what a world without friction might be like. (0:36)

Homer launches into space showing the affects of large acceleration on facial features. Once in orbit Homer adapts quickly to apparent weightlessness as he cleans up errant potato chips. I prefer to call apparent weightlessness “normalforcelessness”. Look it up. (2:06)

Homer enters a strange world with an extra, third, dimension. When he throws a cone into the floor, he ruptures space-time and creates a black hole. Look for several mathematical in-jokes. (3:47)

The Simpsons hire a nanny named Mary Bobbins. Her signature song is perfect for playing while your students clean up their lab stations. I recommend just playing the audio or they will end up doing a quarter-assed job while they watch the video. (1:49)

The opening couch scene pays homage to Charles and Ray Eames’ classic film. This clip is not out yet on DVD so please excuse the low resolution of this downloaded clip. I had so many requests for it that I couldn’t wait. (2:06)

Moe has to resort to his lifeline to answer the question “Which of the following is not a subatomic particle?” Unfortunately his lifeline is Homer. (1:49)

Homer sneaks out on a Saturday claiming he needs to go to the nuclear plant to count the atoms. (0:12)

Cheif Wiggums is amazed to learn that a bowling ball and a feather will fall at the same rate in a vacuum. (0:18)

Homer will only promise so much to get out of prison, following the metric system is not one of them. (0:14)

Bart makes Principal Skinner dance with the help of some powerful magnets. It is doubtful that Bart is this powerful. (0:17)

A quick review of the history of evolution delays Homer from his appointment with the family on the couch. (1:10)

Homer discovers the hard way that a minimum speed is needed to complete a vertical circular path on the Ball of Death. (1:32)

Bart discovers how important electricity is on a snow day at home. His ingenuity to create his own is not sufficient to keep him entertained. (0:55)

Homer and Bart rent the entire Zero - g plane. It starts out with a great demonstration of Newton’s Third Law but ends with several flagrant violations by Bart as he outmaneuvers Homer in apparent weightlessness (normalforcelessness). (1:06)