"Funky, fascinating...and freaky! These are just some of the words that describe the captivating and sometimes strange world of scientific discovery. Worms with two heads, fruit that conducts electricity, and miniature brains that grow in petri dishes are a few of the totally weird topics in this volume, which demonstrates to readers just how bizarre science can be. While examining scientific peculiarities, readers will come to understand more about...

"How many items can you think of that are made of plastic? Probably quite a few! It might be hard to imagine a world without plastic, but until about 100 years ago, plastic as we know it today didn't exist! The word "plastic" wasn't even used until the 1920s! In this volume, readers learn how many types of plastic were invented accidentally by scientists who were trying to make something else. In accessible, fun content, it describes how these discoveries...

Even in the twenty-first century the popular image of a scientist is a reclusive genius in a lab coat, mixing formulas or working out equations inaccessible to all but the initiated few. The idea that scientists are somehow smarter than the rest of us is a common, yet dangerous, misconception, getting us off the hook for not knowing -- or caring -- how the world works. Chad Orzel argues, in Eureka, that even the people who are most forthright about...

"One of the single greatest leaps forward in human healthcare happened because of an accident in a laboratory. This serendipitous event was the result of a summer vacation in Scotland and an unattended experiment. Dr. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, one of the first antibiotics, in 1928 when he noticed that mold had gotten into a petri dish and it had prevented bacteria from growing. This book explores Fleming's accidental discovery, the...

A nonfiction picture book for ages 5 to 8 that explores the place we all call home-planet Earth! Learn how Earth was made, why there's life here, and how climate change is affecting everything.

"Explore the fascinating history of earth and space science! What are Earth's systems, cycles, and resources? What are the solar system, lunar phases, and gravity? Who first studied these concepts? And who later used those early theories to develop these ideas further?"--

Readers will explore Mars' hold on humankind's imagination, early astronomical observations, and then trace the cultural history of the Red Planet all the way up to today's popular movies and books. Important details will include examinations of literature such as H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds, as well as recent books and movies such as Andy Weir's The Martian. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Abdo & Daughters is...

Text and photographs provide information about Bodie.

"The Gold Rush era was an amazing time in our country's history. California had just been occupied during the Mexican-American War and wasn't officially a U.S. territory yet when gold was discovered in 1848. Suddenly the whole world was electrified by the news and tales of men digging vast amounts of wealth out of the ground, even finding gold nuggets just lying around. Within five years, 250,000 miners dug up more than $200 million in gold--about...

The brilliance of the Renaissance laid the foundation of the modern world. Textbooks tell us that it came about as a result of a rediscovery of the ideas and ideals of classical Greece and Rome. But now bestselling historian Gavin Menzies makes the startling argument that in the year 1434, China--then the world's most technologically advanced civilization--provided the spark that set the European Renaissance ablaze. From that date onward, Europeans...