The Joy of Science is one of over 200 courses presented by The Teaching Company. They have products in the areas of literature, philosophy, history, fine arts, the sciences, economics, and religion.

The professor for The Joy of Science, Robert M. Hazen of George Mason University and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, is also a well-renowned author. He truly has an impressive resume of training, discovery, and teaching.

The Joy of Science is presented in five parts. Each part includes two DVDs, with 12 lectures/30 minutes per lecture, and a course guidebook. These guidebooks contain the lecture number and title with a statement of the principle, the scope, an outline, essential readings, supplemental readings, and questions to consider. This helps to break down the lectures into consumable bites. Lecture transcripts are also available. All items are designed to help the learners succeed in the "adventure of learning."

The scope of The Joy of Science is all-encompassing.

The Joy of Science approaches science from an interdisciplinary method. Rather than fragmenting science, it takes a more natural, integrated style. Each scientific area is dependent on other branches of science, making this approach refreshing and real.

These DVDs are of professional grade with regard to sound and visual quality. One slight annoyance comes from the professor's tendency not to look at the camera. He appears to be looking closely at a teleprompter or something else in the room.

Fortunately for copious note takers such as myself, definitions and names appear as captions, thus increasing information intake for visual learners. However, you do not have to write everything down since it closely aligns with the lecture transcripts. The slight differences come from the fact that the lecture notes are based on the audio presentation of this course rather than the video presentation.

Despite the many strengths of this program, one serious weakness is the presentation of evolution theories as scientific fact. The attack on religious faith and the belief in God's creation account according to Genesis is of great concern. While this review is not the place to debate such beliefs, a purchaser needs to be aware of this professor's disregard for scientific creationism and Biblical accounts.

At first, I thought it would be possible to skip the few sections that are devoted to evolution theories. However, one reason this would be difficult is that numerous scientific facts are interpreted through the porthole of evolutionary theory, and these are interlaced throughout the program. If you do choose to use this program, probably the best approach is for you, the learner, to be fully aware of the scientific creationism approach, which manages the scientific facts in light of Scripture.

Product review by Stephanie D. Scarborough, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, September 2006