Watch Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT
We live in a world where some things continue to get smaller and others have come to life in mammoth proportion. The new Discovery Channel series, Really Big Things, will profile the inner workings of massive man-made wonders that keep our world moving. Our host Matt Rogers will bring the audience up close with big machines, giant telescopes, massive structures and other really big things that are changing the way we live. Tune in for all new episodes starting on Wednesday, July 18, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Check the schedule and sign up for email reminders.
SEASON 1
Episode 1: PAPER MAKER
* MATT MACHINE
Matt Rogers joins the Army Corps of Engineers aboard the one-of-a-kind Concrete Mat Sinking Unit, which is used to help prevent bank erosion that occurs all along the Mississippi River.
* RAMMER HAMMER
Join Matt as he visits one of the largest copper mines in the world, the Aitik Mine in Gallivare, Sweden. He works with a team of miners in tough terrain just outside of the Arctic Circle. Watch him learn to operate one of two Rammer Hammer pedestal-mounted hydraulic breakers used to crush large chunks of Aitik ore.
* PAPER MAKER
Next up is a visit to Stora Enso's Kvarnsveden Mill in Borlange, Sweden, where Matt helps operate the world's largest paper-making machine that produces 1 million tons of paper a year. Matt will show us how the wood is debarked, turned into pulp, and then processed into paper. Watch and learn how this massive machine produces 900 tons of paper every day, or 420,000 tons annually.
Premiere: Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Episode 2: WINDMILL FACTORY
* RETRACTABLE FOOTBALL FIELD
Matt Rogers catches a pass on the one-of-a-kind retractable football field at the Arizona Cardinals Stadium. When not in operation, the field sits outside the arena in a 12 million-pound tray, and when rolled into the arena, it can be converted into any type of playing surface. Moving an entire football field into the arena is no small feat; Matt shows us how this $455 million project is the first of its kind in North America.
* LARGEST DUMP TRUCK
Matt Rogers travels to the Albian Sands in Alberta, Canada, to ride aboard the largest dump truck in the world: the Caterpillar 797. This 1.375 million-pound monster with a massive 3,400-horsepower diesel engine drives along the sands with wheels that stand 14 feet tall. The world's largest diesel truck is a powerhouse built to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to produce oil.
* WINDMILL FACTORY
Matt Rogers joins the crew at the GE windmill factory in Salzbergen, Germany, to help assemble one of the largest windmill turbines in the world. Weighing in at 85 tons, these turbines are the guts to the windmill and are housed in the mainframe, which sits 328 feet up in the air. These massive machines create power for up to 50,000 households. Matt reveals the mechanics behind the low-cost renewable energy that we call wind.
Premiere: Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Episode 3: LARGEST TELESCOPE
* VERTICAL MOTION SIMULATOR
At the Ames Research Center in San Jose, Calif., NASA has built one of the largest three-dimensional motion simulators in the world. Consisting of a simulated airplane cockpit that sits on top of a platform supported by a number of hydraulic pistons, this machine is housed in a 120-foot-high, 73-foot-wide and 36-foot-deep building. Matt will live his childhood dream by sitting in the astronaut's seat and guided by a pilot, he will experience a real-life simulation of the space shuttle's re-entry.
* BLAST HOLE DRILL
Back at the Aitik Mine in Gallivare, Sweden, Matt gets down and dirty and hops on board the 70-foot-tall, 340,000-pound machine that can bore into the earth to depths of 500 feet and below. Matt supports the crew in mapping out the drill pattern, drilling the hole and filling the blast holes with liquid explosives. Blasts usually consist of 200 to 300 holes, each hole containing one ton of explosives. Matt will have the power to blast up to 300 holes at once.
* LBT TELESCOPE
Matt Rogers accompanies a team of astronomers to visit the world's highest concentration of observatories pointing at the universe in Safford, Ariz. He will introduce viewers to the world's largest binocular telescope. Housed in an 18-story-high building, the telescope has side-by-side twin mirrors, each measuring 28 feet. With the collaboration of the United States and European countries, the construction of this machine was no small feat. The $100 million facility will help astronomers to see objects far deeper into space, surpassing the visuals from the Hubble Space Telescope.
Premiere: Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. ET/PT
