(energetic music) (air whooshes) - This is "You Oughta Know."

I'm your host, Shirley Min, and here's what's next.

(air whooshes) This immersive experience will take you back to the days of the dinosaurs.

(air whooshes) It looks like fun and games, but these lessons are building the foundation for the future.

- [Denise] That's how you build critical thinking skills.

(air whooshes) - [Shirley] Plus, we take you inside a new South Philly bookstore where the only books they sell are cookbooks.

- [Nancy] I thought, what a great idea.

(energetic music continues) (air whooshes) - Angel Flight East started out as an idea that has since taken off to new heights.

We spoke with a few volunteer pilots who donate their time and talents to fly medically stable passengers to treatments far from home.

(engine roaring) (melodramatic music) - Ever since I was a kid, I really thought a lot about aviation and aircraft and even rocketry.

It's a hobby, I'm not a professional pilot, but I am instrument-rated, which is a higher level of practice and work and study.

So I had been interested in something called Public Benefit Flying.

And Public Benefit Flying is an area of aviation where pilots who are not commercial pilots, but fly for fun as a hobby can really give back to society and this is a way to really do things for other people and also enjoy this passion that I have for aviation.

(melodramatic music continues) - I became a certified pilot in about 2017 when I've learned to fly at this airport, but I've been a regular pilot since 2014 and have earned my instrument rating and my commercial rating, and I'm currently working on my instructor certificate at this point.

I had the opportunity last year to join up with four other pilots to combine our resources and purchase the plane.

(melodramatic music continues) I fly outta this airport and I came across Angel Flight at a Wings N' Wheels event maybe five years ago.

And that was also the time where I was learning my instrument, commercial ratings and realized that I wanted to do more with my flying.

I wanted a mission, I wanted a purpose than just fly around the practice area or go have burgers or breakfast or something and Angel Flight met that need.

And Angel Flight is a public benefit flying organizations, one of several.

But I found that their mission of flying for compassion appealed to me.

It was a charitable kind of thing to have a purpose.

(melodramatic music continues) (engine puttering) - Angel Flight East is based here at Wings Field in Pennsylvania and the cost to the patient is free.

I mean, we're volunteers, so it is our time and it is fuel, it's other aspects of just operating the machine.

So all of the logistics are handled by Angel Flight East.

Many of the cases I worked on are clinical trials where the trial might be happening at a very specific hospital system in a specific state, specific area like the Boston area or New York.

There may be great hospitals around where someone lives, but they may not be doing that particular type of treatment there.

So that's one kind of situation.

The other case is like the example I gave where someone is traveling from someplace that might be far away where they just don't have access to the particular type of treatment they need.

And it is that kind of sort of desert, so to speak.

(light dramatic music) - My first flight was going out to Western Ohio, picking up a passenger and bringing them to Harrisburg.

It was gratifying to do that first one and it kicked off kind of the experience I have with Angel Flights since then.

I think I've done about 24 flights at this point over that time, and I try to do it, three to four a year at least.

(engine puttering) I think of it as a mission because to me, a mission implies you're doing a service, you're delivering value or you're doing something for somebody.

At Angel Flights, I've done a couple of flights where we've carried supplies, we've done some missions for an organization called Ollie's Orchestra who takes backpacks for children to pediatric hospitals.

You're not carrying a passenger there, you're carrying cargo.

And so that's another thing that AFE organizes, cargo type of flying as well, where there's a compassion element to it and they have a lot of opportunities.

There's no shortage of need.

(light dramatic music continues) - Just the ability to help someone get to that location I think is very important and just being helpful in that way is really important to me.

So I feel grateful for being part of that.

(light dramatic music continues) - To learn more about Angel Flight East and see if you qualify for a free flight, visit their website.

(light energetic music) It's hard to believe, but it's been five years since COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill.

We watched intensely as researchers, scientists, healthcare workers, and many more banded together.

"Trusted Messengers, Community Confidence, and COVID-19" is a new exhibit at the Mutter Museum that looks back at those days.

And here to tell us more about it is Kate Quinn, executive director of the Mutter Museum and Historical Medical Library of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

Kate, welcome to the show.

- It's great to be here, Shirley.

Thank you.

- Let's talk about the exhibitions.

Specifically the title here, "Trusted Messengers," that part of it sort of stuck out with me.

- Yes.

- How and why did the museum settle on this title?

- So the exhibition is actually, was founded at the CDC Museum in Atlanta.

I was there about two years ago and saw the exhibition, which was called "Trusted Messengers," and was highlighting the work of local community members in partnership with the healthcare community, Atlanta, and thought this would be a great topic to highlight here in Philadelphia.

So the exhibition moved to our city and highlights work that was happening with community members and different aspects of the medical community during the timeframe that we were struggling through the Covid Pandemic.

- And I think "Trusted Messengers" really stands out because of all of the mistrust that was experienced.

People not really believing in the science of medicine, believing or trusting doctors.

And so I imagine the exhibit touches on that.

- Yeah, that's the focus of the exhibition overall.

Looking back five years ago and thinking about what we were going through, who did you trust then and who do you trust today is certainly a message that comes forward.

When we were going through such times of uncertainty, messages weren't consistently trusted by individuals about the medical community or our government or the media, yet they were getting information that was coming forward, and that was coming from local barbershops where sharing information about vaccinations, and churches were giving out, you know, workshops and things that were sharing more important information.

So how did you get your information at the time?

Messengers aren't always those who are in the public sphere, but sometimes your local community, your next door neighbor, your family, your friends.

- So talk about what someone would see making their way through this exhibition at the Mutter.

- Yeah, the exhibition takes place in the Thompson Gallery.

It's about 2,000 square feet.

When you walk into the exhibition, you're met with some memories about the Covid Pandemic and some of the folks who were considered to be formal messengers at the time.

There is a large photo of Dr. Fauci.

You also see Gritty from the Philadelphia Flyers, and he's wearing a t-shirt (Shirley laughing) that's asking folks to get vaccinated.

And you're seeing local community members, but mostly in the medical community, those who had a presence, a public presence at the time.

That's what you're met with.

And then you walk through the exhibition, the opposite wall focuses on those members of the community who were getting messages out that were in, and isolation from at times, but under the medical community.

So Puentes de Salud and the really, Black Doctors Fighting COVID, local community groups such as those that were highlighting and bringing their work to the forefront for the exhibition.

One of the key areas that I'm personally proud that we have is there's an opportunity for the public to see materials from the Weissman Lab at the University of Pennsylvania where the mRNA vaccination was established and created.

So these once, you know, standard lab materials are now exhibition artifacts, and so that gives a sense of the importance of museums and importance of paying attention to history.

We're living it every day.

It's not just something that happened, you know, decades ago.

So the exhibition certainly goes into detail where you're able to see this living history.

- And I think all of the pieces that make up the exhibition highlight how many different communities, how many different groups had to band together to kind of get us through this pandemic.

Would you agree?

- Absolutely.

There were so many of them.

And that was part of the, I think the exciting part of bringing the exhibition together.

There were so many groups that I didn't know about, and I'm sure most of the public doesn't know about either, that we're highlighting here and celebrating their work.

You know, COVID was a time that as a college of physicians, we wanted to commemorate what happened and how we got through it.

But the most important part we're highlighting and celebrating the resilience of Philadelphians and how we came together to ensure our collective safety.

- Well, what lessons can be learned from this exhibit?

And are there lessons that still need to be learned?

- Yeah, I think one of the main messages that we're asking folks to consider and bring the dialogue from the exhibition out into your local communities, your neighborhood and your homes, is to think about who did you trust then?

Who were the folks that you went to to get access to information that you trusted?

The same is still true today.

Who are you trusting today to get information about vaccinations, about medical science in general?

So question it and to think more about who you trust and the value in local community members getting the word out.

- "Trusted Messengers" recently opened.

- It did.

- So how has the feedback been?

Just the initial feedback?

- Oh, it's been really interesting as folks are coming through, and it's only open just about a week now, folks are coming through and feeling hesitant about remembering that timeframe in which Covid was prevalent in our lives.

But as they're coming through, we're hearing from people that it's comforting to see and be reminded of the community that came together.

So you're met with a lot of the materials that were present everywhere in the city and in the country at that time.

We have a timeline on the floor and there are moments that you're stepping through, but they're six feet apart.

Each of these markers in history.

- Ah, interesting.

- And so folks are really relating to the, oh gosh, remember the six feet apart aspect?

So there's elements there that I think bring you back to the time of living with Covid that was, you know, when we were shut down.

But certainly today you can celebrate the resilience of our local communities.

- Well, how long is "Trusted Messengers" at the Mutter?

- "Trusted Messengers" runs through February of 2026.

- Kate, thank you so much for being here.

- Thank you.

- The exhibition sounds so incredible.

Here is how you can get more information on museum hours and ticket information.

Let's go back in time to the days when the dinosaurs ruled the planet.

No, we're not getting in a time machine.

We are heading to a brand new, one-of-a-kind fossil park and museum opening this weekend in Gloucester County, New Jersey.

(dramatic exciting music) - It's an incredible feeling to be on the precipice of opening a brand-new museum.

- Who would've ever thought that the study of paleontology and the discovery of dinosaurs would have occurred in our own backyard here in South Jersey?

- To see it transform into a working paleontological site and then to open this to the public is an incredibly satisfying and kind of surreal experience.

(inspirational music) - This is an amazing facility for all ages.

It is a wonderful place.

(inspirational music continues) - I am a paleontologist who specializes in dinosaurs.

I've spent my career traveling around the world digging up some very large creatures, such as Dreadnoughtus, which turned out to be the most massive dinosaur for which we can calculate a weight.

But what I'm working on now is this amazing marl pit.

Marl is a mineral that farmers use for fertilizer.

It can be used for water treatment as well.

And this quarry is four acres, deep goes down 45 feet, and at the bottom of it, we have the best window in the world into the last moments of the dinosaurs.

It's really a global treasure.

(mellow music) (creatures calling) Many people don't realize the amazingly rich history that southern New Jersey has in the history of the discipline of paleontology.

The world's first nearly complete dinosaur skeleton was found 11 miles from here in Haddenfield, New Jersey in 1858.

The world's first discovered Tyrannosaur was Dryptosaurus found one mile from here in 1866.

I began excavating fossils here in 2003, but around 2007, the company warned me that they were probably going to go out of business.

I was able to secure a portion of the quarry and then we were able to excavate systematically.

And when we started to do that, I saw that we had that pivotal calamitous day recorded when an asteroid struck 1500 miles from here and resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs.

And this turned out to be the best window that anybody's ever seen into that moment.

So I knew we had to save the quarry.

And that's when I began conversations with the president of Rowan University, Dr. Ali Houshmand, (lively music) and we formed a plan that I would come to Rowan University, I would found the School of Earth and Environment and begin work to create this fossil park museum.

And that's when I met Jean and Ric Edelman.

They understood the vision right away as well.

They stepped up, made an incredible gift, and then we broke ground on this amazing museum three and a half years ago.

And we will open the doors to the public.

(lively music continues) - I am on the board of trustees at Rowan University.

Dr. Ken Lacovara made a presentation.

I got so excited.

At the end of his presentation, I jumped up and told everybody, this is a project that the both of us really wanted to be a part of.

- We immediately recognized, this is a unique site.

There's nothing like this anywhere in the world.

And the creation of this facility provides an economic engine on the global stage with paleontology, but also regionally here for Rowan University, Mantua Township, and Gloucester County.

(lively music continues) - [Ken] We take you through the story of what happened in this area during the Cretaceous period, on land, underwater.

(dramatic music) We take you through the events that unfolded 66 million years ago, and then we fast forward into what's happening today.

We have students working here already.

We'll have other students coming to do research that's also going to put a spotlight on Rowan University and attract students from around the country and around the world.

- It's a wonderful opportunity for us to discover and grow and learn.

We need to stay at the forefront of science, engineering, mathematics, innovation, and invention.

It's a world-class museum that rivals those of anything you'll find anywhere on the globe.

- Our greatest hope is that this place creates beautiful memories for families, generations of smiles and happiness, and people coming together to enjoy this beautiful facility.

(dramatic music continues) (creatures calling) - The Edelman Fossil Park and Museum of Rowan University opens this weekend.

Here's where you can find more information.

(light energetic music) It started in New York, and now, the Brooklyn Robot Foundry is teaching students in our area about science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics through engaging, hands-on, fun activities.

(upbeat music) - [Denise] Brooklyn Robot Foundry is a franchise that teaches STEAM through robotics to kids ages 2 to 12.

- STEAM is Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math.

Comprised of these fundamental curriculums, the kid becomes more holistic and well-rounded in the sciences and be open more to the creativity and the growth and the thinking needed to be better as a human being as you grow up and work in different professions.

The first thing we go through is the rules.

So we talk about kind, safety, responsibility.

These are important foundations as you are working with the equipment, but also as you're working with others.

- One of the exciting things when we get children for the first time, there's tons of apprehension.

What is this?

You know, then there's curiosity.

You get to rip open a robot kit and dump out all the parts and components.

(upbeat music continues) - We go through what a gearbox does or what is a loop of electricity, what is a positive and a negative wire.

(energetic electronic music) You know, if you have nails or glue dots, whatever it may be, they use a screwdriver.

And you may take for granted that a kid knows how to use a screwdriver.

That is not the case.

(tool tapping) So we're talking lefty loosey, righty tighty.

- We also experienced trial and error in real time.

So failing is a part of the experience.

Some kids grasp things right away, some do not.

And we tell them, hey, that experimentation, that tinkering is how you learn.

So that's how you build critical thinking skills.

That's how you develop problem-solving skills.

And all of those skills are critical to academic success, personal success, even career exploration.

By having access and exposure to engineering, engineering fundamentals, that illuminates in them inspiration to want to be an inventor.

- [Richard] Once everything is built and you tested it out and you went through each step, you get to design and create this bot to become exactly what you want it to be.

And I think that's so powerful in ownership 'cause now it becomes theirs.

- Once we go through the trial and error period, one of the big moments at the end, always a big thing is when they got it.

(students clamoring) (energetic music continues) - [Richard] It's great for them to learn.

It's inspiring.

They're building friendships, they're building bots, they're building love for one another.

And they're building their mind.

- In the heart of the culinary epicenter of Philadelphia is a new bookstore that sells cookbooks.

Come with me to Binding Agents.

(light inquisitive music) Binding Agents is a culinary bookshop located in the Italian Market in Philadelphia.

- We carry a very wide range of books, all new books and primarily books published in the last few years because I really believe that cookbooks have changed and evolved for the better.

They're more diverse, they're more cookable.

The indexes are better, the instructions are better, the photos are better.

They're really designed for people to use and enjoy in a way that I think that they didn't always used to be.

(light upbeat music) - [Shirley] The idea to sell cookbooks came to owner Catie Gainor at a time when she was feeling pretty low.

- I was sick in bed.

This was the spring of 2022.

My mom had died in 2021, late 2021.

And I was violently ill and very sad.

And we had done a lot of cooking.

She taught me how to cook.

She was my favorite person to cook with and cook for.

And that day, I had known for a while that something about my life wasn't quite right.

I wasn't where I was supposed to be, doing what I was supposed to be doing, but I wasn't really sure what that was.

And that day I was mindlessly scrolling Instagram feverishly.

(laughing) And I happened to cross a post by a shop in Seattle, a culinary bookshop in Seattle called Book Larder that I had been a fan of for a long time.

And I thought to myself, wow, I wish we had that in Philly.

I think it would be great if we had, if we had a cookbook store.

Oh.

(laughing) I guess I have to make one.

So I made the thing that I wish existed and that I think my mom would've liked to see.

It was something that I needed to do and that I felt like Philly needed to have.

- [Shirley] And so far, Katie says, binding agents is being well-received.

Since she opened in October, 2024, she's heard a lot of, "Oh my gosh, I'm so glad you're here," and, "Philly needs this."

- I came in because I had seen a little bit on social media and read a few things about the store and I thought, what a great idea.

- There's really nothing like holding a physical book in your hand, flipping through, marking the page and like smelling it and splattering it.

And people like to have the memento and the memory of the things that they made in the meals they shared with people.

My shop's the size of a postage stamp and I've had people spend 45 minutes browsing the shelves because there's so much to see and learn.

There's a whole world on this wall.

(light uplifting music) - Binding Agents is a fun place to check out.

And Katie also hosts lots of events in-store.

Well, speaking of fun, you don't wanna miss the new season of "Check Please!

Philly."

(upbeat music) - Hi, I'm Kae Lani Palmisano, host of "Check Please!"

This season we check out a pasta spot (air whooshes) with seasonal offerings.

- My son devoured the pasta.

- [Kae] An authentic Korean joint where the soju is flowing.

- It takes what I experienced in Korea and kind of brings it here to Philadelphia.

- [Kae] And a French restaurant with gilded age charm.

- A fine experience in an unbelievable room that's 120 years old.

- Can't wait to dish with you.

(upbeat music continues) - In tonight's Flicks, Patrick Stoner talks to the stars of the deep-sea thriller, "Last Breath."

- The ship's not drifting.

- Chris is becoming an anchor.

(creature roaring) That's never gonna hold.

- Chris, on me.

- What happens now?

- Your umbilical, it's gonna snap.

(cord snaps) (dramatic music) I will come back for you, but you have to get yourself back to the top.

I can't rescue you if I can't find you.

Understand?

(dramatic music continues) - Just make sure I'm all right- - [Patrick] This true story, there's even a documentary on it, is about dangerous work at the bottom of the ocean.

Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, and Finn Cole star as the real life people who did this.

And you would think they had paid like movie stars to do it.

I asked Woody though, if he could identify with that 'cause they aren't.

- When I do indies.

(actors laughing) I'm sorry, is that?

That's almost funny.

Almost funny.

Okay.

No, but no.

But it was a, you know, it was a very exciting experience and getting to meet these guys who actually do it, who are, you know, rather extraordinary.

You don't get to meet these guys every day.

And especially that were involved in this rather miraculous happenstance, I think was, it was an incredible experience.

- Can you really picture what it would be like in reality?

Where do you go inside of yourself to feel it?

- Thanks to our amazing departments and our dive supervisors and you know, everybody who kind of played a part in designing the apparatus through which we were able to be underwater and get those scenes, I think we got as close as we possibly could have.

The only difference is that we weren't, you know, we were 30 feet below the surface rather than three or 400, you know, we put the helmets on, we learned to dive without them and then we learned to dive with them.

That was the luxury of, you know, first of all, of having the real life characters that we portray being so available to us, thankfully.

And giving us, you know, everything that we needed in terms of, you know, what their experience was.

And then also, you know, working with Alex who is incredible and you know, did the documentary five years prior and so, came to- - Not exactly a green-screen experience then.

- No, no, no.

- Do you agree with this?

- [Simu] No, not a green, very little green screen involved.

And it makes, it makes the job of an actor much more immersive and ultimately a much more fulfilling experience to actually- - Immersive.

- Immersive, good.

- See the way he threaded that in?

(actors clamoring) - If you could work in penultimate before we leave, then this would really make us really look good.

Enjoy the experience?

- Absolutely wicked experience and got to learn from the best and do it with the best.

So that helps with all of the steps towards making it as real as possible and doing justice to these guys' story.

- Gentlemen, it was nice to see you.

- Thanks very much.

- Thank you so much.

- [Patrick] Thank you.

Take care.

(energetic music) - Alright, that is our show.

We will see you next week.

Have a good night, everyone.

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