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Browse curated homeschool resources from the community
Out of Eden Walk: Exploring Food Traditions
Explore diverse stories of food traditions with National Geographic Explorer and journalist Paul Salopek. Analyze stories of food traditions from around the world and challenge students to identify stories from their own communities.
Could Your Brain Repair Itself Ralitsa Petrova
Imagine the brain could reboot, updating its damaged cells with new, improved units. That may sound like science fiction — but it’s a potential reality scientists are investigating right now. Ralitsa Petrova details the science behind neurogenesis and explains how we might harness it to reverse diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Rapid Prototyping Google Glass Tom Chi
Rapid prototyping is a method used to accelerate the innovation process. At TEDYouth 2012, Tom Chi explains how this method was used to create one of Google's newest inventions, Google Glass.
The Emergence of Drama as a Literary Art Mindy Ploeckelmann
When presented with the problem of hoards of illiterate commoners, English clergymen in the 11th century created plays to spread word about the Bible. Eventually, the plays moved out of the church and into the streets. Mindy Ploeckelmann tracks the development of English drama from mystery plays to morality plays and, eventually, to Shakespeare.
The Left Brain vs Right Brain Myth Elizabeth Waters
The human brain is visibly split into a left and right side. This structure has inspired one of the most pervasive ideas about the brain: that the left side controls logic and the right side controls creativity. And yet, this is a myth, unsupported by scientific evidence. So how did this idea come about, and what does it get wrong? Elizabeth Waters looks into this long held misconception.
Out of Eden Walk: Exploring Water
Explore diverse stories of the role of water in human lives with National Geographic Explorer and journalist Paul Salopek. Analyze stories of water from around the world and challenge students to identify stories from their own communities.
How College Loans Exploit Students for Profit Sajay Samuel
Today, higher education has become a consumer product— costs have skyrocketed, saddling students with a combined debt of over $1 trillion, while universities and loan companies make massive profits. Professor Sajay Samuel proposes a radical solution: link tuition costs to a degree's expected earnings, so that students can make informed decisions about their future.
The Complex Geometry of Islamic Design Eric Broug
In Islamic culture, geometric design is everywhere: you can find it in mosques, madrasas, palaces, and private homes. And despite the remarkable complexity of these designs, they can be created with just a compass to draw circles and a ruler to make lines within them. Eric Broug covers the basics of geometric Islamic design.
Why Batteries Die Adam Jacobson
Batteries are a triumph of science—they allow smartphones and other technologies to exist without anchoring us to an infernal tangle of power cables. Yet even the best batteries will diminish daily, slowly losing capacity until they finally die. Why does this happen, and how do our batteries even store so much charge in the first place? Adam Jacobson gives the basics on batteries.
Why Are Manhole Covers Round Marc Chamberland
Why are most manhole covers round? Sure it makes them easy to roll, and slide into place in any alignment. But there’s another, more compelling reason, involving a peculiar geometric property of circles and other shapes. Marc Chamberland explains curves of constant width and Barbier’s theorem.
Will Future Spaceships Fit in Our Pockets Dhonam Pemba
When you picture a rocket, you might imagine a giant ship carrying lots of fuel, people and supplies. But what if the next wave of spacecraft were small enough to fit into our pockets? Dhonam Pemba details the future of microspacecraft, and how scientists at NASA are hoping to use micropropulsion to launch these tiny vessels outside of Earth’s orbit.
Encyclopedic Entry: Geography
Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments.
How the Stethoscope Was Invented Moments of Vision 7 Jessica Oreck
The stethoscope is the single most widely used medical instrument in the world. But where did the idea come from? In the seventh installment of our ‘Moments of Vision’ series, Jessica Oreck shares the modest origins of this incredibly useful item.
How False News Can Spread Noah Tavlin
In previous decades, most news with global reach came from several major newspapers and networks with the resources to gather information directly. The speed with which information spreads now, however, has created the ideal conditions for something called circular reporting. Noah Tavlin sheds light on this phenomenon.
What Are Stem Cells Craig a Kohn
Is personalized medicine for individual bodies in our future? Possibly -- with the use of stem cells, undifferentiated cells with the power to become any tissue in our bodies. Craig A. Kohn describes the role of these incredible, transforming cells and how scientists are harnessing their medical potential.
Encyclopedic Entry: Air Pollution
Air pollution consists of chemicals or particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals and plants. It can even damage buildings.