Science of Awe
Awesome Nature
Collective Effervescence
Awe in Religious Art
Awe in Indigenous Cultures
100
This is a common physiological response of the eyes when we experience moments of beauty and grace, or witness communal sharing such as a stranger's generosity or two athletic adversaries embracing.
What are tears, getting choked up, or tearing up?
100
This awesome creature is the largest mammal on the planet (two words).
What is the blue whale?
100
This power of this civil rights speech still brings a sense of awe and power even 60 years later.
What is MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech?
100
According to the Guiness Book of World Records, this Vedic temple complex in Cambodia is the largest religious structure in the world.
What is Angor Wat?
100
This awe-inspiring war dance is chanted by New Zealand sports teams.
What is the haka? 
200
In the positive form of awe, such as incredible beauty, this part of the brain (which causes the "fight or flight response") is turned off.
What is the amygdala? 
200
The power of awe comes from a combination of a sense of "perceived vastness" with what's called the "small self" effect. This can easily be experienced by walking through this world-famous geological formation in Arizona, USA.
What is the Grand Canyon?
200
This communal practice in Chinese culture helps them experience the energy that animates the universe in their own body. Done collectively, it also gives people a sense of joining with something larger than themselves.
What is tai chi? 
200
This famous mausoleum in Agra, India is known for sparking awe for first-time visitors.
What is the Taj Mahal?
200
Tibetan cultures take months to create this intricate and fantastically colorful and innate design before destroying it in an instant
What is a sand mandala?
300
This space telescope continues to send back pictures of the jaw-dropping beauty of the cosmos creating awe and wonder at our place in the universe.
What is James Webb?
300
You can experience the awe of the natural world "as you've never seen it before" by streaming this BBC show and mini-series narratived by world-famous naturalist David Attenborough.
What is Planet Earth?
300
Fans experience "collective effervescence" in sports stadiums when they all join in this patterned movement.
What is "the Wave"?
300
At the end of the Muslim hajj, pilgrims walk around this site in one of the awesome human movements in the world in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
What is the Black Box or Kaaba?
300
This Mexican holiday celebrated on November 1, takes the fear out of dying by having an awesome, colorful party with deceased ancestors.
What is Day of the Dead? 
400
This is a physiological response of the skin to hearing a story or news of some awesome "random coincidence" that feels so perfect, it's as if was "destiny", "God's plan", or "meant to be".
What are chills or goosebumps?
goosebumps?
400
This type of tree in California is the tallest in the world - the tallest single tree is 379 feet tall - overwhelming visitors with its size and majesty.
What is a redwood or sequoia?
400
Religious followers experience "collective effervescence "when they walk around a holy shrine with others of the same faith. Name two (2) religions that practice what is called "circumambulation," or walking around a religious shrine for a purpose.
What are Islam, Hinduism, and/or Buddhism?
400
Once a year the Chinese emperor would offer a sacrifice here in Beijing to bring about cosmic harmony for another year.
What is the Temple of Heaven or 天坛?
400
This South American plant is offered in ceremonies in the jungle and gives many people spiritual insights with its psychedelic properties.
What is ayahuasca?
500
Studies show that regular experiences of awe can slightly lower this overreactive defensive response, which (when chronic) can result in redness, swelling, and cause many other health conditions.
What is inflammation?
500
These beautiful dancing waves of color are an atmospheric phenomenon that is regarded as the Holy Grail of skywatching. Awesome!
What are the Northern Lights? (or Aurora Borealis)
500
This mystical Muslim group experiences collective effervescence when they dance in circles for long periods of time.
Who are the Sufis or whirling dervishes?
500
Located in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, this famous Michelangelo sculpture is known for its sublime beauty (you may name sculpture or who it depicts).
What is the Pietà? (Mary and Jesus) 
500
The ruins of this ancient civilization in the highlands of Peru is today considered one of the most awesome tourist sites in the world.
What is Machu Picchu?