Gorillas are one of the largest primate species on Earth, and are extremely intelligent, social creatures that prioritize family relationships over individual pursuits. Unfortunately, however, they are critically endangered. TV and movie portrayals often depict them as aggressive while they are actually quite peaceful creatures. Gorillas feed on an assortment of plants, such as wild…
NASA’s two rovers Spirit and Opportunity discovered abundant evidence that water once flowed on Mars. Both rover ended their missions by falling silent within dunes but the mission continues via orbiter and lander probes. Last February, NASA’s Perseverance rover arrived in Jezero Crater and began caching samples for later retrieval. Meanwhile, other missions, including one…
Astarte was an ancient Phoenician goddess of fertility and sexuality who later joined the Egyptian pantheon as one of its deities. Her symbolism includes personifying each year as an unnotched palm branch. Ra is the sun god who navigates his sun barge across the sky by day and descends into the underworld at night –…
Columbia returned home after 16 days in orbit, its 28th voyage. Her crew included Commander Rick Husband, Pilot William McCool, mission specialists Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Blair Salton Clarke Michael Anderson as well as Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon. Engineers were alarmed to discover that about 82 seconds into the flight a suitcase-sized piece of foam…
Similar to Earth, Mars features an axial tilt that determines its seasons, known as its obliquity and can change over hundreds of millions of years. As Mars’ obliquity shifts, sunlight disappears from certain parts of its surface while remaining bright in others, which causes ice to vanish in polar regions and humidity to increase elsewhere…
Coral reefs are spectacular natural structures that host an astounding variety of marine life. Constructed out of limestone skeletons built by tiny creatures known as polyps, coral reefs form large underwater formations filled with these marine wonders. Polyps are marine organisms that rely on oxygen-producing bacteria known as zooxanthellae to survive and use tentacles with…
Nasa’s spacecraft Orion is currently conducting a test flight around the Moon for NASA and has come closer to touching down on lunar surface than any human-made craft before it. Orion entered a far retrograde orbit this week, taking it 40,000 miles beyond any spacecraft designed specifically for humans before. It’s coming home NASA’s Orion…
Butterflies are one of the most captivating creatures in nature. Their vibrantly-hued wings fascinate children and adults alike. Make the case that butterflies undergo four stages of metamorphosis; use books such as Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar to show kids this process. As students work together on models that depict these steps, help students…
Egypt is one of the oldest nations on Earth and boasts an extensive cultural legacy to discover. From Great Pyramids to local football rivalries, here are some interesting facts about Egypt! Egyptians viewed cats as sacred deities. Many homes kept cats to bring good fortune. Mummies Egypt may conjure images of its desert landscapes when…
