How do domestic animals differ from their wild cousins? How were wild animals domesticated in the first place? Visit the American Museum of Natural History’s exhibit on horses to find out. Click on each of the site’s many links to discover where today’s wild horses came from and much more. You may be surprised by what you find!
Why would anyone fly a plane into one of the world’s most powerful storms? Visit this site to learn about “hurricane hunting” with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron. Learn about its mission, its history, its people, its planes, and its role in saving lives. While you’re there, be sure to click on the “Cyberflight” link to experience a flight into Hurricane Dennis!
The city of Jerusalem has long been a sticking point in Middle East peace negotiations. Read this article to find out how architects Yehuda Greenfield-Gilat and Karen Lee Bar-Sinai are working to find a creative way to divide Jerusalem between Israel and Palestine.
Archaeologists in Denmark have excavated the sixth-century great dining hall at the center of the epic poem.
Some students in South Carolina trained to be tour guides for a traveling exhibit put together by the Anne Frank House Museum. This article and short video show how the experience inspired them.
In 1938, just before the start of World War II, nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children were sent, without their parents, from Nazi Germany and Europe to safety in Great Britain. The rescue mission was known as Kindertransport. Read this article to find out about one family’s heartbreaking story.
Almost everyone knows that the United States is a democracy. So what? Why does that matter? Read this article to learn one teen’s answer. Discover how our system of government helps make it possible for our many, many voices to be heard.
In 1957, nine students in Arkansas decided that they would attend Little Rock Central High School. Their decision led to big changes all over the United States. Visit this National Park Service site to find out how and why.
The March on Washington was a pivotal moment in the American Civil Rights movement. Read and listen to these first-hand accounts of people who were in the Mall on that monumental day.
When Abraham Lincoln became president, he appointed three political rivals to his cabinet. Read this interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Doris Kearns Goodwin to discover how Lincoln found common ground with his political rivals. Then, click on the link to read an excerpt from her book.
Read this article to find out more about ex-slave Jordan Anderson and his famous letter to his former master.
Soon after the Civil War, Confederate Colonel Patrick Henry Anderson asked one of his ex-slaves, Jordan Anderson, to return to his Tennessee plantation to work. Read Jordan Anderson’s satirical response.
Although their own “midnight” rides were as important as that of Paul Revere, the efforts of William Dawes, Samuel Prescott, and others have sometimes been forgotten. Read this exciting history of what happened that famous April night in 1775. You may not realize just how many people it took to spread the news that the British were coming.
With each new gadget, tech companies declare that everything has changed. Whether that’s true will remain to be seen, of course. Looking back, though, it’s far easier to see clearly what discoveries and inventions really did change everything. In this fascinating 10-part series, James Burke examines the advances that altered our world.
In 1910, two separate expeditions set out to be the first to reach the South Pole. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen’s expedition was successful, and Robert Scott’s expedition from England tragically fell short of its goal. Read about the great risk these men undertook and the price they had to pay for taking such risks.
In 1989, the Chinese government silenced a pro-democracy protest in Tiananmen Square. An unknown number of protesters, mostly college students, were killed by their government. To this day, the Chinese government censors the media to prevent its people from learning about this event. Explore this photo essay to learn more.
Embark on a virtual visit of Walden Pond, the famous site that inspired Henry David Thoreau’s Walden.
Many consider the label “African-American” to describe people who are descended from slaves that were brought to the United States against their will, forced into slavery, and eventually emancipated. Countless African immigrants do not identify with this narrative, though they find themselves associated with it. What does it mean to be African-American and for whom is it an accurate label?
Learn about Hernando de Soto, a Spanish explorer credited with discovering the Mississippi River and a subject in Joy Harjo’s poem titled “New Orleans.”
Odysseus longed to return home to Ithaca, but where exactly was ancient Ithaca? Some researchers think they have found the answer. Watch a video to learn about a place that just might be Odysseus’s home—modern-day Cephalonia Island in Greece.
