• Thomas Edison - 09/16/2015

    With a lifetime dedicated to invention, Thomas A. Edison (1847 – 1931) earned 1,093 U.S. patents, more than any other single inventor. His impressive achievements include the invention of electric lighting, the phonograph, and motion pictures. Edison was not only […]

  • Honey Bees - 09/09/2015

    Honey bees are hardworking, useful insects that pollinate nearly one-third of all the food we eat and make our life sweeter with the honey they produce. In a single day, a single hive can pollinate four million flowers and make […]

  • Test-Taking Tips - 09/02/2015

    Test taking is a skill that can be learned, and test-taking anxiety can be overcome. Here are some tips from high school and college counselors that can help students of all ages.

  • Study Skills - 08/26/2015

    Achieving success in school isn’t always easy, but it is doable if you put your mind to it. Step one is improving your study skills. Although many of this week’s study-skill sites are written by university counselors, their sound advice […]

  • Scientific Classification - 08/19/2015

    Scientific classification is a system of organizing living things into categories, from most inclusive (the biggest one) to least inclusive (the smallest one.) This kind of hierarchical classification is also known as a taxonomy. There are seven main divisions in […]

  • Crossword Puzzles - 08/12/2015

    Some things are improved with technology, while others are better the old-fashioned way. I think interactive crossword puzzles beat their pen-and-paper counterparts hands down. I like being able to change letters, get hints, and check my work as I go. […]

  • Lions - 08/05/2015

    The lion (Panthera leo), often called the king of the jungle, is one of five big cats (others being tigers, jaguars, leopards, and snow leopards). And big they are; some male lions exceed 550 pounds! Wild lions currently live in […]

  • Warsaw Uprising - 07/29/2015

    The Warsaw Uprising began on August 1,1944 when the Polish Home Army, consisting of about 40,000 resistors, began shooting at German troops in the streets during World War II. The Polish resistance fighters were hoping to be relieved by the […]

  • Photography Tips and Tutorials - 07/22/2015

    Nowadays, digital photography includes both cell phones and standalone cameras, but most of the following tutorials focus on digital single-lens reflex or mirrorless cameras that allow you to control aperture, shutter speed, and ISO sensitivity. But keep in mind, there […]

  • Voting Rights Act of 1965 - 07/15/2015

    On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. Its purpose was to remove legal barriers at the state and municipal levels that prevented Black Americans from voting. Then in 2013, key aspects of the […]

  • Manhattan Project - 07/08/2015

    The Manhattan Project (1939 – 1946) was a secret military research and development project to produce a nuclear weapon during World War II. The project began because it was feared that Nazi Germany was working on a similar plan. Some […]

  • Battle of Waterloo - 07/01/2015

    Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) rose to power during the French Revolution (1789-1799), and declared himself emperor of France in 1804. After a tumultuous decade, during which Napoleon was exiled, he returned to Paris in 1815, and embarked on a military crusade […]

  • Revolutionary War - 06/24/2015

    The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the War of Independence, had its origins in the objections of many American colonists to the taxes imposed by Britain. After the boycotts known as the Boston Tea Party, the colonists formed […]

  • Sally Ride - 06/17/2015

    Dr. Sally Ride (May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012), a 32-year-old physicist and astronaut, became the first American woman in space on June 18, 1983, when she flew a six-day mission aboard the space shuttle Challenger. To this day, […]

  • Anne Frank - 06/10/2015

    Anne Frank was just thirteen-years old when she and her family went into hiding behind the Amsterdam office of her father to avoid persecution by Hitler’s Nazis. One of her dearest possessions was the diary she had just received as […]

  • Helen Keller - 06/03/2015

    Helen Keller was born in 1880 with sight and hearing, but an illness at eighteen months left her deaf, blind, and mute. Keller overcame these disabilities to became an international spokesperson championing the causes of education, research and opportunity for […]

  • Physical Fitness - 05/27/2015

    Attention! Because most kids aren’t getting the recommended daily amount of exercise, I’ve arranged to shut down the Internet in twenty minutes. Now you’ll have no more excuses. Just push yourself away from the computer, and go outside to play. […]

  • Nazi Plunder - 05/20/2015

    During World War II, the Nazi party stole thousands of pieces of European artwork and other items of cultural significance. Some were destroyed, but after the war, many treasures were recovered by the Allies’ Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program […]

  • Safe Search for Kids - 05/13/2015

    This batch of kid-friendly search engines includes both librarian-curated search engines, and those built using a custom version of Google SafeSearch. In addition to these tools, I recommend learning how to turn on safe search filters in each of the […]

  • Mother’s Day Poems - 05/06/2015

    In celebration of mothers, I’ve gathered the following poetry collections. Some include original works, others feature works from famous dead poets. Most allow the use of their poems on handmade Mother’s Day cards, but be sure to check each site’s […]