Discover Resources
Browse curated homeschool resources from the community
Can You Solve the Savanna Mystery Cella Wright
In the early 2000s, one of the world’s most widespread invasive species landed in Kenya’s Laikipia Plateau: big-headed ants. They expanded rapidly into super-colonies, preying on other insects, spiders, and even small birds. Their presence has wreaked havoc on the ecosystem and significantly changed the landscape. So, how did these tiny creatures have such a huge impact? Cella Wright investigates.
Eli the Eel a Mysterious Migration James Prosek
They're slippery. They're slithery. And while they totally look like underwater snakes, eels are, in fact, unique fish that can breathe through their skin and even survive out of water. James Prosek tracks the life journey of Eli the Anguilla eel as she (yes, she) travels her mysterious "backward" migration from the sea to fresh water and back again.
Vermicomposting How Worms Can Reduce Our Waste Matthew Ross
Nearly one third of our food ends up in the trash can. There is hope, however, in the form of worms, which naturally convert organic waste into fertilizer. Matthew Ross details the steps we can all take to vermicompost at home -- and why it makes good business sense to do so.
You Don T Actually Know What Your Future Self Wants Shankar Vendantam
In a talk full of beautiful storytelling, journalist Shankar Vendantam explains the profound impact of something he calls the "illusion of continuity" — the belief that our future selves will share the same views, perspectives and hopes as our current selves — and shows how we can more proactively craft the people we are to become.
How We Think Complex Cells Evolved Adam Jacobson
Imagine you swallowed a small bird and suddenly gained the ability to fly … or you ate a cobra and were able to spit poisonous venom! Well, throughout the history of life (and specifically during the evolution of complex eukaryotic cells) things like this happened all the time. Adam Jacobson explains endosymbiosis, a type of symbiosis in which one symbiotic organism lives inside another.
How Do Schools of Fish Swim in Harmony Nathan s Jacobs
How do schools of fish swim in harmony? How do the tiny cells in your brain give rise to the complex thoughts, memories, and consciousness that are you? Oddly enough, those questions have the same general answer. Nathan S. Jacobs explains the concept of emergence, the spontaneous creation of sophisticated behaviors and functions from large groups of simple elements.
A Giant Bubble for Debate Liz Diller
How do you make a great public space inside a not-so-great building? Liz Diller shares the story of creating a welcoming, lighthearted (even, dare we say it, sexy) addition to the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC. (From The Design Studio session at TED2012, guest-curated by Chee Pearlman and David Rockwell.)
Evolution s Great Mystery Language Michael Corballis
What we call language is something more specific than communication. Language is about sharing what’s in our minds: stories, opinions, questions, the past or future, imagined times or places, ideas. It is fundamentally open-ended, and can be used to say an unlimited number of things. So what does language mean for humanity, and how did we come to have it? Michael Corballis investigates.
Can You Solve the Time Travel Riddle Dan Finkel
Your professor has accidentally stepped through a time portal in his physics lab. You’ve got just a minute to jump through before it closes and leaves him stranded in history. Your only way back is to grab enough colored nodules to create a new portal to open a doorway through time. Can you take the right amount of nodules to get back to the present before the portal closes? Dan Finkel shows how.
Corruption Wealth and Beauty the History of the Venetian Gondola Laura Morelli
It’s hard to imagine Venice without the curious, banana-shaped gondolas that glide down the canals. How did these boats come to be the trademark transportation of Venice? Laura Morelli details the history of the gondola, explaining why these boats were needed, the painstaking process by which they were made and why they have slowly begun to fade from the once-crowded canals.
Vampires Folklore Fantasy and Fact Michael Molina
The myth of the bloodsucking vampire has stalked humans from ancient Mesopotamia to 18th-century Eastern Europe, but it has differed in the terrifying details. So, how did we arrive at the popular image we know, love and fear today? And what truly makes a vampire...a vampire? Michael Molina digs up the science and the superstition.
How Optical Illusions Trick Your Brain Nathan s Jacobs
Optical illusions are images that seem to trick our minds into seeing something different from what they actually are. But how do they work? Nathan S. Jacobs walks us through a few common optical illusions and explains what these tricks of the eye can tell us about how our brains assemble visual information into the 3D world we see around us.
How to Speed Up Chemical Reactions and Get a Date
The complex systems of high school dating and chemical reactions may have more in common than you think. Explore five rules for speeding up chemical reactions in the lab that might just land you a date to a dance!
Encyclopedic Entry: Global Warming
The causes, effects and complexities of global warming are important to understand so that we can fight for the health of our planet.
The Twisting Tale of Dna Judith Hauck
What do a man, a mushroom, and an elephant have in common? A very long and simple double helix molecule makes us more similar and much more different than any other living thing. But, how does a simple molecule determine the form and function of so many different living things?
How Epic Solar Winds Make Brilliant Polar Lights Michael Molina
Why do we see those stunning lights in the northern- and southernmost portions of the night sky? The Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis occur when high-energy particles are flung from the Sun’s corona toward the Earth and mingle with the neutral atoms in our atmosphere -- ultimately emitting extraordinary light and color. Michael Molina explains every step of this dazzling phenomenon.