Work-life balance is an important aspect of a healthy environment. Maintaining balance helps reduce stress and prevent burnout in your daily routine, which is why its crucial to adjust your activities and make room for relaxation.
There are many ways to stay healthy while managing responsibilities, one of them is making sure you take time for yourself. This means doing something that you really enjoy and look forward to, such as watching an episode of a TV show. Your location
However, whilst it’s hard to admit, engineers can be picky when it comes to what we want to watch. Yes, there are exceptions but generally shows benefit from being unique, logical and informative.
Luckily for us, from airports and superstructures to intelligent designs – many feats of engineering are expertly featured in TV shows within the National Geographic channel – giving engineers great entertainment at their fingertips to muse over as the world spins around its axis.
Here are some great shows featured on National Geographic that shouldn’t be missed.
Mega Cities (2005)
Attention Civil Engineers, this show is all about the great planning and construction of modern cities that will leave your jaw agape. Each episode explores real-world problems for cities, like aging infrastructure that needs new life as urbanization takes hold in certain countries.
The show delves deep into how cities were built, and how technologically advanced some systems were for their day. There also great episodes focused on skyscrapers, improving city delivery systems, or how engineers are responsible for forward-thinking planning when it comes to new laws on carbon emissions.
Most episodes are focused on a particular city around the world, including those in third world countries – and how solutions are found for location-specific problems. This is an unmissable watch.
Our Favourite Episode: London | S01E05
The Link (2012)
Engineers know innovation is a series of trials and errors. While the rest of the world enjoys the products of innovation, this show pulls back the curtain on the wonderful inspiration behind commonly used devices.
The Link examines the history and advances leading up to a given technology in each episode. What is fascinating in this show is how ancient civilizations inspired much of the advancement’s humans enjoy today.
If anyone in your family ever wonders what engineers do, this is an informative and exciting show that introduces simple engineering to a wider audience and shows how various engineers are likely to inspire future advancements.
Our Favourite Episode: From Aqueducts to Oil Rigs | S01E02
Big, Bigger, Biggest (2008-2011)
How did bridges evolve from tiny bamboo walkways? How did buildings surge from huts to skyscrapers? Big, Bigger, Biggest reveals the inventions behind their remarkable evolutions.
This show gives insight into how an idea or brief is turned into a record-breaking reality. From how the International Space Station was built to how ice-breaking ships work, episodes delve into the history of how the world’s biggest structures were built.
Utilizing the power of computer-generated imagery, the show depicts the size of objects, the various designs that were considered, and what might have happened if engineers had made a mistake.
If it is tall, big, or almost otherworldly, expect to find out how it was built on this gem of a show.
Our Favourite Episode: Oil Rig | S02E04
Ultimate Factories (2006-2013)
How are things made? A simple question with a riveting story behind it. Super Factories explores the inner working of factories worldwide. Each episode profiles the machinery and manpower behind each factory’s main product.
From how recreational vehicles are pieced together to the production of cheese puffs, find out what it takes to design, build, assemble, test and test again famous brands that are a part of our everyday lives through this insightful TV show.
Our Favourite Episode: LEGO | S05E05
Made in a Day (2021-)
In the last decade, we have seen a revolution in manufacturing. Now the products we love are being made on a massive scale faster than ever before. This show tells the story of how some of the worlds biggest brands are made.
From Tesla Cars to Tabasco Sauce, Made in a Day allows for a fascinating insight into what it takes to make well-known products and the logistics behind the production in an inter-connected world.
Shot on high-caliber cameras in a cinematic style, this series celebrates where products come from and their journey around the world.
Our Favourite Episode: Made in a Day: Hot Sauce | S01E06
Mega Air (2020-)
Mega Air dives deep behind the scenes of the incredible 6 trillion-dollar air freight industry. Meeting the people, gasping at the extraordinary processes, rejoicing the peculiar, and celebrating some of the more mind-boggling items, transported in aircraft that beggar belief.
You can witness the 36 hour delivery of salmon from the Norwegian arctic circle to Japan's sushi restaurants, one of the biggest commercial satellites flown to its rocket launch site, 60 top class showjumpers destined for a premiere Hong Kong event, the high octane rush to transport Formula 1 components to Australia and the jaw-dropping Valentines flowers daily air shuttle that fuels the world's biggest flora auction in a building the size of Monaco!
Our Favourite Episode: Horses, Irish Air Corp, Air France fresh food | S01E05
Engineering Marvels (2021-)
This brand new series reveals the extraordinary feats of engineering hidden inside the world's most spectacular man-made constructions. From the world's biggest plane and largest free-spanning dome to the tallest building and the largest space ship, each superstructure is taken apart using state-of-the-art CGI and insight from world-class specialists to reveal the startling innovations that turn it from dream to reality.
Our Favourite Episode: Biggest Dome | S01E05
