The baby boom generation may recall the famous “duck-and-cover” videos that taught schoolchildren what to do during the Cold War in the event of a nuclear attack. One is a cartoon of Burt the Turtle hiding in his shell to shield himself from the threat. “We must be ready for a new danger – the atomic bomb,” the voice-over instructs. “… If you are not ready and do not know what to do, it could hurt you in different ways.”
A video released in November by Alabama homeland security officials joins a genre of slickly produced online movies that the next generation of Americans will grow to remember. Now, however, the videos teach citizens how to spot terrorists and respond to active shooters.
Below are some of the best examples of this new generation of duck-and-cover videos, starting with Alabama’s video and its startlingly lifelike shootings.




