Discover Resources
Browse curated homeschool resources from the community
A Brief History of Alcohol Rod Phillips
Nobody knows exactly when humans began to create fermented beverages. The earliest known evidence comes from 7,000 BCE in China, where residue in clay pots has revealed that people were making an alcoholic beverage from fermented rice, millet, grapes, and honey. So how did alcohol come to fuel global trade and exploration? Rod Phillips explores the evolution of alcohol.
What You Should Know About Vaping and E Cigarettes Suchitra Krishnan Sarin
E-cigarettes and vapes have exploded in popularity in the last decade, especially among youth and young adults— from 2011 to 2015, e-cigarette use among high school students in the US increased by 900%. Biobehavioral scientist Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin explains what you're actually inhaling when you vape (hint: it's definitely not water vapor) and explores the disturbing marketing tactics being used to target kids.
Why You Should Stop Setting Goals Yes Really Emmanuel Acho
In athletics, in business, in life, everyone sets goals. But that's not the way to excel, according to former NFL player Emmanuel Acho, now an author and TV sports analyst. Here's what he says to do instead.
Healthier Men One Moustache at a Time Adam Garone
Adam Garone has an impressive moustache, and it's for a good cause. A co-founder of Movember, Garone's initiative to raise awareness for men's health -- by having men grow out their moustaches every November -- began as a dare in a bar in 2003. Now, it's a worldwide movement that raised $126 million for prostate cancer research last year.
Turbulence One of the Great Unsolved Mysteries of Physics Tomas Chor
You’re on an airplane when you feel a sudden jolt. Outside your window nothing seems to be happening, yet the plane continues to rattle you and your fellow passengers as it passes through turbulent air in the atmosphere. What exactly is turbulence, and why does it happen? Tomás Chor dives into one of the prevailing mysteries of physics: the complex phenomenon of turbulence.
Could a Breathalyzer Detect Cancer Julian Burschka
How is it that a breathalyzer can measure the alcohol content in someone’s blood, hours after they had their last drink, based on their breath alone? And could we use this same technology to detect disease by analyzing a person’s breath, without having to use more invasive diagnostic tools like biopsies, blood draws, and radiation? Julian Burschka details the complicated process.
What s the Difference Between Hibernation and Sleep Sheena Faherty
The Arctic Ground Squirrel hibernates by burrowing under the permafrost and slipping into a state of suspended animation. The female black bear can give birth while she hibernates. The fat-tailed dwarf lemur prepares to hibernate by storing its fat reserves in its tail - doubling its body weight. Why do these animals go to such extremes? Sheena Lee Faherty details why animals hibernate.
How Close Are We to Eradicating Hiv Philip a Chan
The world is getting closer to achieving one of the most important public health goals of our time: eradicating HIV. And to do this, we won’t even have to cure the disease. We simply have to stop HIV from being transmitted until eventually it fizzles out. Philip A. Chan explores the preventive strategies helping us tackle HIV and the possibility of ending the epidemic.
The Bizarre World of Parasitic Wasps Miles Zhang
A cockroach and jewel wasp are locked in battle. The wasp latches onto the cockroach and inserts her stinger into the cockroach's brain, where her venom blocks its fight-or-flight response. Now, the cockroach is essentially a zombie, and its carcass will be used to grow the wasp’s offspring. Miles Zhang explores the gruesome evolutionary strategy known as parasitoidism.
Would You Pass the Wallet Test
Picture this: you’re working a shift in a hotel lobby when someone approaches the front desk. They found a lost wallet around the corner, but they’re in a rush and don’t have time to follow up. Looking at the wallet you see it contains a key, grocery list, about $13, and three business cards you assume belong to the wallet’s owner. So, what do you do? Dig into the infamous lost wallet experiment.
The Murder of Ancient Alexandria s Greatest Scholar Soraya Field Fiorio
In the city of Alexandria in 415 CE, the bishop and the governor were in a fight. It started with a disagreement over the behavior of a militia of monks, and ended with an accusation of witchcraft leveled against one of the most powerful figures in the city: Hypatia, philosopher and advisor to the city’s leaders. Who was Hypatia and why was she deemed a threat? Soraya Field Fiorio investigates.
Why it s so Hard to Make Healthy Decisions David Asch
Why do we make poor decisions that we know are bad for our health? In this frank, funny talk, behavioral economist and health policy expert David Asch explains why our behavior is often irrational— in highly predictable ways— and shows how we can harness this irrationality to make better decisions and improve our healthcare system overall.
When is a Pandemic Over
Consider the following scenario: a highly infectious, sometimes deadly respiratory virus infects humans for the first time. It spreads rapidly worldwide, and the WHO declares a pandemic. The death toll starts to rise and everyone is asking the same question: when will the pandemic end? Alex Rosenthal details the three main strategies governments can use to contain and end a pandemic.
Demolition Disease and Death Building the Panama Canal Alex Gendler
In the 19th century, the California gold rush brought thousands of settlers to America's west coast. But finding gold may have been easier than transporting it back east. The only hope for avoiding a grueling six month wagon journey was to travel the narrowest portion of the continent — the 48-kilometer Isthmus of Panama. Alex Gendler details the creation of the Panama Canal.
Savitri and Satyavan the Legend of the Princess Who Outwitted Death Iseult Gillespie
Princess Savitri was benevolent, brilliant, and bright. Her grace was known throughout the land, and many princes and merchants flocked to her family’s palace to seek her hand in marriage. But upon witnessing her blinding splendor in person, the men lost their nerve. Unimpressed with these suitors, she determined to find a husband herself. Iseult Gillespie tells the tale of Savitri and Satyavan.
Why is Meningitis so Dangerous Melvin Sanicas
In 1987, thousands of people gathered in Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage. But what started out as a celebration led to a worldwide health crisis: more than 2,000 cases of meningitis broke out, spreading across Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world. How did it spread so quickly and what makes meningitis so dangerous? Melvin Sanicas examines how the disease affects our bodies.
How Light Technology is Changing Medicine Sajan Saini
It’s an increasingly common sight in hospitals around the world: a nurse measures our height, weight, blood pressure, and attaches a glowing plastic clip to our finger. Suddenly, a digital screen reads out the oxygen level in our bloodstream. How did that happen? Sajan Saini shows how pairing light with integrated photonics is leading to new medical technologies and less invasive diagnostic tools.
Making a Car for Blind Drivers Dennis Hong
Using robotics, laser rangefinders, GPS and smart feedback tools, Dennis Hong is building a car for drivers who are blind. It's not a "self-driving" car, he's careful to note, but a car in which a non-sighted driver can determine speed, proximity and route -- and drive independently.
Why Haven T We Cured Arthritis Kaitlyn Sadtler and Heather J Faust
The bad backs, elbow pain, and creaky knees so common in older people often aren't just “old age.” In fact, the source of this stiffness plagues many young people as well. The culprit is arthritis: a condition that affects over 90 million people in the U.S. alone. What makes arthritis so pervasive, and why haven’t we found a cure for it? Kaitlyn Sadtler and Heather J. Faust investigate.
Why is This Painting so Shocking Iseult Gillespie
In 1937, in one of the worst civilian casualties of the Spanish Civil War, Fascist forces bombed the village of Guernica in Northern Spain. For Pablo Picasso, the tragedy sparked a frenzied period of work in which he produced a massive anti-war mural, titled “Guernica.” How can we make sense of this overwhelming image, and what makes it a masterpiece of anti-war art? Iseult Gillespie investigates.
6 Myths About the Middle Ages That Everyone Believes Stephanie Honchell Smith
Medieval Europe. Where unbathed, sword-wielding knights ate rotten meat, thought the Earth was flat, defended chastity-belt wearing maidens, and tortured their foes with grisly gadgets. Except… this is more fiction than fact. So, where do all the myths about the Middle Ages come from? And what were they actually like? Stephanie Honchell Smith debunks common misconceptions about the time period.
How Schools Can Nurture Every Student s Genius Trish Millines Dziko
Forget home economics and standardized tests, education visionary Trish Millines Dziko has a much more engaging and fulfilling way for students to develop real-world skills. Get schooled by Dziko as she shares how project-based learning can transform public education and unlock genius for the next generation of critical thinkers, problem solvers, ideators and leaders.
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Red Headed League Alex Rosenthal
One day in the fall, you called upon your friend, Sherlock Holmes, and found him in conversation with Jabez Wilson. Wilson had been working for the mysterious League of Red-Headed Men. Today, he arrived at work to find the group had disappeared, and now turns to Holmes to make sense of the events. Follow the detective and see if you can solve this adaptation of one of Sherlock’s most famous cases.
Which is Better Soap or Hand Sanitizer Alex Rosenthal and Pall Thordarson
Your hands, up close, are anything but smooth. With peaks and valleys, folds and rifts, there are plenty of hiding places for a virus to stick. If you then touch your face, the virus can infect you. But there are two extraordinarily simple ways you can keep that from happening: soap and water, and hand sanitizer. So which is better? Alex Rosenthal and Pall Thordarson investigate.