Showing results by author "Amy Tao" in All Categories

No one knows for sure just how the ancient Egyptians built the Great Pyramid of Giza, which is taller than the Statue of Liberty. How could an ancient civilization have achieved this engineering feat? Perhaps the solution to this mystery can be answered with simple machines!

Do your shoes fasten with Velcro straps? Have you ever wondered where this strange invention comes from? Sometimes nature provides excellent inspiration for new solutions! Plant burs stuck in his dog's fur gave Swiss engineer George de Mestral a good idea.

Diggory Dog has an important job: to watch over all the sheep. But why? One day, he learns what purpose sheep serve—they produce the wool that can be used for knitting.

Addie and Bea use the perfect material to build a house in the desert—adobe!

Germs are everywhere and make your body sick. Never fear–the body is a germ-fighting machine designed to fight these intruders and keep you healthy. If you get a cut, blood clumps together to stop bleeding. Mucus, the sticky goo in your nose, catches germs to help you sneeze them out. Eyelashes and eyelids form tears that block some germs! Discover ways the body fights to keep germs out.

Tiny creatures called microbes live in, and on your body that can be helpful. But some are bad like bacteria and viruses–in fact, they can make you sick! Your body needs medicine called antibiotics to fight and kill these germs so you can feel better. You must get a different medicine called a vaccine to keep from catching a virus.

Imagine if the sunlight could not reach where you lived–the weather would be cold and slippery! The sun does not shine directly on the Arctic and Antarctica, causing the surrounding waters to freeze solid. The earth is tilted as it rotates around the sun, preventing the polar regions from getting enough sunlight. Can you guess how long it takes the earth to orbit the sun?

Have you ever wondered what lifts a big, heavy airplane up in the sky without falling down? This article explains how their wings and air keeps planes—and birds, too—flying high! Learn how wings work just by blowing on a piece of paper in a fun experiment.

Do you know how many animals live in the Amazonian rainforest? Learn about the different predators and prey that coexist and depend on one another to survive. See how all life within a rainforest serves different roles and leads to a successful ecosystem.

Slither into the scaly world of the mighty python! Learn about all the parts that make the python such a strange and misunderstood creature. See how its anatomy allows it to be more than just a limbless tube-like animal! Gain knowledge about this reptile’s habits and senses.

Go on an adventure with Polly as she learns how to use special names to categorize shapes! Any closed, flat shape with at least three straight sides is called a polygon. Did you know a quadrilateral—or a shape with four straight sides—can have several names? You can call one a parallelogram, a rhombus, a trapezoid, or even a square! What shapes can you recognize?

Have you ever heard of a bug hotel? There are some insects that help plants by spreading pollen and improving the soil, but they don’t always show up in every garden. To help encourage them to move in, some gardeners build little houses for them!

When a young boy happens across a tarantula, it scares him at first! But then he and the tarantula have a conversation, and he learns about the differences between insects and spiders—like the spider’s unique body, which is comprised of a combined head/thorax, abdomen, and palps—as well as some interesting facts about other arachnids!

Thing aren't always what they seem! Did you know different things such as milk, oranges, and butterflies can look different as they get older? With this book, children will learn how life cycles affect the colors of different things. What else can change how it looks as it gets older?

Have you ever wondered how tall and long bridges are built? Learn about three different bridges and try the activities to learn about how strong bridges, like the Golden Gate Bridge, are made.

Have you ever been to a big city before? Learn about the different elements that you can find in a large city by using your senses! What can you see, smell, taste, hear, and touch in a city?

Have you ever wished you could speak to your dog? If you pay attention, you'll realize they actually speak to us all the time! Learn about the different noises and behaviors dogs use to communicate. The next time your dog "talks" to you, will you be able to understand him?

Did you know that dogs have been helping humans for thousands of years? They have done a lot of different jobs to help us, even today! Dogs are more than just pets. They help police officers, people with disabilities, farmers, and even sick people. Have you ever met a dog that does one of these jobs?

Have you ever wondered why birds have beaks? They don't have hands like we do, so they need another way to help themselves. Learn all the ways birds use their beaks, and see how different birds have different types of beaks that allow them to catch their meals.

A little boy is out for a walk meets a new friend, the Sun! The sun tells the little boy about himself and all of the important things he does for Earth. Did you know that the sun is a star? Explore space with the sun as he tells you about why we have night and day!