meet the team from middlebury college in vermont. they've been submitting videos to planet forward in the run-up to the solar decathlon this september. the u.s. department of energy sponsors the contest. 20 college teams have to design, build and operate solar-powered houses. >> we just raised the last section of the south wall. >> reporter: the house-- a super-efficient 1,000 square feet, reminiscent of a new england farmhouse, insulated with spray-blown cellulose composed of 80% recycled materials. >> it's actually an architect's and engineer's dream to start with a clean sheet of paper, and use that creativity and ingenuity to come up with a house of the future, an energy efficient house that is powered entirely by the sun. >> reporter: richard king is the creator and director of the solar decathlon. >> it's not just a paper design competition, if you know what i mean. they actually have to build it, bring it to the national mall in washington, and demonstrate that it works. you not only need the engineers and architects to design

. $51,300, followed by connecticut college, middlebury and colby. the top 25 also includes g.w., colgate, penn state. the most expensive state school by the way, penn state at just over $14,000 a year. >>> you've heard of snakes on a plane? how about a nice scorpion, a poisonous one, believed to have boarded an alaska airlines flight when passengers did in texas. it stung jeff ellis on the elbow. two doctors on board-checked him out, said he was probably fine. luckily he was, but the kids on board were reportedly and understandably terrified when word started to spread through the cabin. the airline offered ellis 4,000 frequent flyer miles on spider-free flights and two roundtrip tickets, he says he is pleased with that settlement. >>> and please allow us a brief note tonight about two of our own. in both cases, these are guys who have helped us tell you the story of american men and women in the fight overseas. first, richard engel, our chief foreign correspondent was here with us last night, he's on a plane back to the region. last weekend he rece

a student at another school, middlebury college in vermont, adapted it to real life. since then, its popularity has grown by leaps and bounds. now, there are nearly 200 teams across the country and abroad. here at vassar, students have been suiting up, or brooming up, since 2007. recently, i was invited to a practice. before i could start, i needed to know the basics. although they haven't harnessed the power to fly, brooms are still a necessity. is that a nimbus 2000? >> oh, we wish. no, we're going to be placing an order for new brooms soon. these are our clean sweeps. >> reporter: what are the rules of earthbound quidditch? >> well, we take a lot from the movies and from the books. we have three chasers, two beaters, a keeper and a seeker, >> reporter: the object of quidditch is to get as many points as you can before the snitch is caught, but more on that later. first, let's understand the other players. the chaser is the main offensive position within quidditch. they are the ones scoring the goals. like in soccer, the keeper is the goalie and tries to protect the