Which innovative ideas and inventions began in the Benin Kingdom in Africa? Find out how a collection of separate villages and communities grew into a strong, united kingdom and developed a network of successful trading relationships. Discover how their brilliant developments in town planning, language, art, and medicine still influence the way we live today.
Which innovative ideas and inventions began with the Anglo-Saxons? Find out how the Anglo-Saxons farmed their land, built their houses, and organized their society. Discover how their brilliant developments in defense, law, language, and storytelling still influence the way we live today.
Which innovative ideas and inventions began with the ancient Greeks? Find out how the ancient Greeks organized their society, trained their soldiers, used their ships for trade and transportation, and built their temples. Discover how their brilliant developments in architecture, politics, art, medicine, theater, and sports still influence the way we live today.
Which innovative ideas and inventions began with the ancient Egyptians? Find out how the ancient Egyptians built their temples and pyramids, irrigated and farmed their land, and took care of their people during life and after death. Discover how their brilliant developments in farming, papermaking, timekeeping, and medicine still influence the way we live today.
Learn all about the computer technology used in modern transportation. Use the algorithms and ideas that control real forms of transportation technology to create your own on-screen vehicles. Six step-by-step projects use the latest version of Scratch, the free online coding program, to help you learn how sensors work, create a hoverboard game, program a drone, and much more!
Pollution is seriously damaging our planet. Human activity and waste are harming the environment by polluting the air, water, and land. Discover the facts about where pollution comes from, where garbage really goes after we throw it away, and how we can reduce waste.
Human overpopulation is putting pressure on our planet and its natural resources.The more people there are, the more resources are consumed, harming the environment and depleting the world's supplies. Discover the facts about the world's growing population, which countries have the highest and lowest birth rates, and how overpopulation affects climate change.
Natural resources on Earth are at risk of running out. Using too many natural resources, such as water, trees, and fossil fuels, is putting pressure on our supplies and damaging the environment. Discover the facts about how resources are used around the world, which resources are renewable and non-renewable, and what the future of natural resource management looks like.
Our modern world runs on energy to power our homes and industries. We all know the problems with burning fossil fuels to create energy— it pollutes the planet and we are running out of these resources. Discover the facts about renewable and non-renewable energy resources, how our energy use contributes to global warming, and what the future of energy looks like.
Climate change is reshaping the planet before our eyes. From melting ice caps and rising sea levels to drought and destructive hurricanes, no corner of Earth is protected from the effects of global warming. Discover the facts about what climate change is doing—and will continue to do—to our planet, and how we might reduce its impact.
The huge variety of plants and animals that live on Earth is called biodiversity. As ecosystems are destroyed by climate change and human activity, plants and animals are becoming endangered and even extinct. Find out how the loss of biodiversity affects food chains and natural habitats, why it is important to humans, and how its loss threatens the health of all living things on the planet.
Native to several mountain ranges and plateaus in south Asia and eastern Europe, the snow leopard has been threatened by habitat loss, poaching, and a reduced food source. Learn how collaborative programs across borders and with local people have helped the species populations in some areas remain steady, and also benefit the big cat's main food source, wild sheep and goats, whose numbers are reduced by hunters and competition for grazing from livestock.
The lesser long-nosed bat became the first bat species to be removed from the US endangered species list due to population recovery. This mammal plays a vital role as a pollinator in desert ecosystems in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Readers will learn about the collaborative efforts between the two countries, conservationists, tequila producers, and citizen scientists that are bringing back not only the lesser long-nosed bat, but the plants they rely on for food.
Is constant access to technology safe for children? Should driverless vehicles replace human-controlled cars? Every day, we hear arguments about technology issues in the media. This book gives readers the tools to make sense of and evaluate some of these arguments. Using three relatable and accessible technology-related examples, this book introduces readers to the parts of an effective argument and prompts them to use the knowledge they have gained to evaluate the effectiveness of arguments on opposing sides of the issues.
Scale models are usually built as accurate miniatures of real objects such as vehicles, buildings, and even people. This awesome introduction to model making explains the mathematics of scale, and the difference between building from a kit and building from scratch. Tips on painting, scoring, cementing, and weathering help build fine-motor skills. Young readers are encouraged to build patience, concentration, perseverance, and problem-solving.
Draw a realistic-looking fossil like paleontologist Mary Anning did and make a plaster cast of it; or make your own terrarium like Doctor Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward to study plants and insects. This title gives readers both an understanding of the properties of living things and the skills to investigate great discoveries and works. Exciting and easy-to-understand experiments encourage budding scientists, inventors, engineers, and artists to stand on the shoulders of the curious and creative people who came before them.
Build a model hovercraft like engineer Christopher Cockerell did, or a sculpture that moves in the breeze like artist Lin Emery. This title gives readers both an understanding of the properties of forces and the skills to investigate great discoveries and works. Exciting and easy-to-understand experiments encourage budding scientists, inventors, engineers, and artists to stand on the shoulders of the curious and creative people who came before them.
Readers bored with seeing the same information on renewable energy will love the focus on relevant contemporary examples in this book. How does solar power give energy to medical clinics in Ghana or cut fossil fuel use in Australia? Infographics make finding detailed information easy and interesting.
How can eating better ourselves improve life for everyone on the planet? This intriguing title combines images and infographics to help explain how choosing foods that don't have to be shipped long distances, don't add to world pollution, and are not in danger of running out helps to ensure the world's food supply. Close-up boxes and case studies illustrate relevant examples of topics such as soil protection, organic vs industrial farming, and overfishing.
Make a simple refrigerator like pottery-maker Mohammed Bah Abba did that does not use electricity, or create little models of people out of ice like sculptor Néle Azevedo. This title gives readers both an understanding of the different states of matter and the skills to investigate great discoveries and works. Exciting and easy-to-understand experiments encourage budding scientists, inventors, engineers, and artists to stand on the shoulders of the curious and creative people who came before them.
From urban design that suits the local landscape to zero-carbon living, this fascinating book looks at how cities around the world are adapting to environmental change. Readers are presented with real-life, eco-city solutions to issues such as water use in times of drought, and why green spaces matter.
Build your own amplifier like experimenter Athanasius Kircher did, or turn the sound of your voice into unusual patterns of art like singer/composer Megan Watts Hughes. This title gives readers both an understanding of the properties of sound and the skills to investigate great discoveries and works. Exciting and easy-to-understand experiments encourage budding scientists, inventors, engineers, and artists to stand on the shoulders of the curious and creative people who came before them.
Should the Internet be a place for free thought and free sharing? Or should the government and Internet service companies be able to censor and block content? This up-to-date book will help equip readers with tangible tools to help understand the issues involved in net neutrality and encourage them to stay informed of further developments.
Want to know if the Canada lynx lives in any other countries, or where not to go if you don't want to run into a venomous cottonmouth snake? This vibrant atlas is packed with eye-catching images of animals and their ecosystems and territories. Useful maps and text provide readers with easy-to-access geographic and biological information on animals that live throughout the world.
Build a vending machine like ancient Greek engineer Hero of Alexandria did, or a tentacle prosthetic arm like industrial design student Kaylene Kau. This title gives readers both an understanding of mechanics and the skills to investigate great discoveries and works. Exciting and easy-to-understand experiments encourage budding scientists, inventors, engineers, and artists to stand on the shoulders of the curious and creative people who came before them.
