Discover Resources
Browse curated homeschool resources from the community
Why Wildfires Are Necessary Jim Schulz
Our early ancestors relied on lightning to cause forest fires, from which they could collect coals and burning sticks to help them cook food and clear land. Yet, it wasn’t just humans who benefited from these natural phenomena. Even as they destroyed trees, fires also helped the forests themselves. Jim Schulz outlines the benefits of wildfire.
Encyclopedic Entry: Longitude
Longitude is the measurement east or west of the prime meridian.
Encyclopedic Entry: Map
A map is a symbolic representation of selected characteristics of a place, usually drawn on a flat surface.
The First Asteroid Ever Discovered Carrie Nugent
Over the course of history, we’ve discovered hundreds of thousands of asteroids. But how do astronomers discover these bits of rock and metal? How many have they found? And how do they tell asteroids apart? Carrie Nugent shares the story of the very first asteroid ever discovered and explains how asteroid hunters search for these celestial bodies.
The Controversial Origins of the Encyclopedia Addison Anderson
The first encyclopedia contained 70,000 entries and over 20,000,000 words. It was broken into 35 volumes written over the course of 3 decades. It was also banned by Louis XV and Pope Clement XIII. But why was this encyclopedia so controversial, and who wrote it in the first place? Addison Anderson recounts the controversial origins of the first encyclopedia.
Geography-Rich Classroom Ideas
Get ideas for incorporating geography into any classroom or discipline. Immerse your students in these creative projects.
Why You Feel Stuck and How to Get Motivated Shannon Odell
Many of us have experienced feeling stuck. People often report feeling highly motivated at the start and end of a project, but the middle can feel untethered. It can happen when tackling something as simple as a term paper or as monumental as social inequality or the climate crisis. So, are there ways to get unstuck? Shannon Odell digs into the psychology of overcoming your motivational obstacles.
What in the World is Topological Quantum Matter
David Thouless, Duncan Haldane, and Michael Kosterlitz won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2016 for discovering that even microscopic matter at the smallest scale can exhibit macroscopic properties and phases that are topological. But … what does that mean? Fan Zhang helps decode some seriously tricky science.
The Strange Case of the Cyclops Sheep Tien Nguyen
In the 1950s, a group of ranchers in Idaho were baffled when their sheep gave birth to lambs with only one eye. Mystified by these cyclops sheep, they called in scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate. What happened? Tien Nguyen describes how, decades later, one team of biologists stumbled upon the answer.
How Many Ways Are There to Prove the Pythagorean Theorem Betty Fei
What do Euclid, 12-year-old Einstein, and American President James Garfield have in common? They all came up with elegant proofs for the famous Pythagorean theorem, one of the most fundamental rules of geometry and the basis for practical applications like constructing stable buildings and triangulating GPS coordinates. Betty Fei details these three famous proofs.
Why Should You Read Virgil s Aeneid Mark Robinson
In 19 BC, the Roman poet Virgil suffered heatstroke and died on his journey back to Italy. On his deathbed, he thought about the manuscript he had been working on for over ten years, an epic poem called the "Aeneid." Unsatisfied with the final edit, he asked his friends to burn it. But they refused, and soon after Virgil’s death, Augustus ordered it to be published. Why? Mark Robinson explains.
A Universal Translator for Surgeons Steven Schwaitzberg
Laparoscopic surgery uses minimally invasive incisions -- which means less pain and shorter recovery times for patients. But Steven Schwaitzberg has run into two problems teaching these techniques to surgeons around the world -- language and distance. He shares how a new technology, which combines video conferencing and a real-time universal translator, could help.
Why is it so Hard to Cure Cancer Kyuson Yun
We’ve harnessed electricity, sequenced the human genome, and eradicated smallpox. But after billions of dollars in research, we haven’t found a solution for a disease that affects more than 14 million people and their families at any given time. Why is it so difficult to cure cancer? Kyuson Yun explains the challenges.
How Long Will Human Impacts Last David Biello
Imagine aliens land on Earth a million years from now. What will these curious searchers find of us? They will find what geologists, scientists, and other experts are increasingly calling the Anthropocene, or new age of mankind. David Biello explains how the impacts that humans have made have become so pervasive, profound, and permanent that some geologists believe we merit our own epoch.
The Hawaiian Story of the King s Betrayal Sydney Iaukea
Long ago, the Hawaiian wind goddess wielded a gourd that housed the winds of the Islands. It came to hold her bones, along with the life force they carried, and was eventually passed to her grandson, Paka'a. Like his father before him, he became the trusted attendant to the king of Hawaii. But his privileged status also made him a target. Sydney Iaukea shares the tale of the king's betrayal.
Why Do You Need to Get a Flu Shot Every Year Melvin Sanicas
All year long, researchers at hospitals around the world collect samples from flu patients and send them to top virology experts with one goal: to design the vaccine for the next flu season. But why do we need a new one every year? Vaccines for diseases like mumps and rubella offer a lifetime of protection with two shots early in life; what’s so special about the flu? Melvin Sanicas explains.