Read about how six-year-old Ruby Bridges advanced the civil rights cause when she became the first Black student to integrate a southern elementary school.
Author Archives: Jessica Volkening-Hayes
Matthew Henson, the Arctic Explorer Who Stood on Top of the World
Read about the controversy surrounding Matthew Henson’s claim as the first person to reach the North Pole.
Was Paul Bunyan a real person?
Learn about how the legend of Paul Bunyan began and how it continued to grow over the years.
Global Climate Change Interactive Features
Fly along NASA satellites, go backwards and forwards in time, and so much more using these climate change interactive features available from NASA.
Biography: Ibtihaj Muhammad
Muhammad was the first female Muslim-American to win an Olympic medal. Read about her life and career in this article.
How Culture Shapes Emotions
Our emotions, such as shame, are largely determined by the environment and people in which we are surrounded.
How to survive inside one of Earth’s deadliest volcanoes
Learn from a scientist who undertook an expedition inside one of the most active volcanoes in the world.
How Search-and-Rescue Dogs Work
Learn about how a variation on a game of “fetch” can save lives.
Types of Ancient Greek Medicine
Read about how ancient Greek medicine inspired many modern practices.
What Is Multiculturalism? Definition, Theories, and Examples
Read about how society benefits from encountering and experiencing diverse cultures.
Barbara Pope was the Rosa Parks of D.C., but her story was mostly forgotten
Fifty years before the Civil Rights Movement, Barbara Pope boarded a train and challenged Virginia’s Jim Crow Law.
Masks and gloves are saving lives—and causing pollution
Clean-up volunteers and scientists question what can be done to address the increase in disposable masks and gloves littering land and oceans.
Demolition, disease, and death: Building the Panama Canal
Watch this short video about how the Panama Canal was not-so-easily created.
Is Bigfoot real? You likely already know the answer.
For decades, hundreds of people claimed to have seen the creature known as “bigfoot” or “sasquatch”. When examined logically, it the existence of this creature really plausible?
Coming wave of video games could build empathy on racism, environment and aftermath of war
New gaming projects seek to help people build sympathy for others by allowing them to take on the role of someone else.
Who were Las Mariposas, and why were they murdered?
Watch this short TED video about the brave women who lead an underground revolution against one of the worst dictators in the Dominican Republic’s history.
Suez Canal reopens after giant stranded ship is freed
Watch the short video and skim the article and images to find out more about what it took to get a giant container unstuck in Egypt’s Suez Canal.
Mardi Gras
What exactly is Mardis Gras, and where is it celebrated? Its long-standing history embedded in different places throughout the world may surprise you!
Farmers across India have been protesting for months. Here’s why:
The Indian government is proposing reforms to modernize the country’s agricultural industry. Indian farmers continue to protest these changes. Watch the video and skim the article that follows to learn more.
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Sends Sneak Peek of Mars Landing
Read about NASA Perseverance’s mission to Mars. Then, explore the images at the end of the article.