Life in Colour - Episode 1 (ATOM Study Guide)

The natural world is full of colours that we tend to take for granted. This series explores why animals are so colourful. David Attenborough travels from the rainforests of Costa Rica to the snowclad Scottish Highlands to reveal the extraordinary ways that animals use colour. New camera technologies – some developed specially for this series – allow us, for the first time, to see the world as animals do, revealing colours and patterns usually invisible to our eyes. From the bold and brilliant, to the deceptive and bizarre, David Attenborough's Life in Colour is a visual feast that will surprise, enchant and dazzle the senses.

This episode reveals the many spectacular ways that animals use colour to attract attention, to win a mate and to fight off enemies. From the peacock's magnificent tail to a mandrill baboon's striking facemask, this program is a visual feast for the senses. New camera technologies, some developed specially for this series, reveal a world of colour that only some animals can see. Ultraviolet flashes on a butterfly's wings and facial markings on a damselfish are used as secret communication channels. And a camera able to capture polarised light reveals the strange patterns sported by a mantis shrimp.

Curriculum Links:

Life in Colour is suitable for Year 5–12 students undertaking:

• Science
• Senior Biology
• Senior Physics

with further links to the Cross-curricular priority of Sustainability.