CATEGORIES

Which Octopus Arm is Best?

Are you a righty? A lefty? This octopus is a second-arm-from-the-front-y.

STATEHOOD

Independence, statehood, or status quo? Puerto Ricans have tried to address that question and their relationship with the United States-for more than 100 years. The island has held six referendums about the issue in the second half of the 20th century.

The United States Step In

By the early 1800s, the once-vast Spanish Empire was fading. Many of its original colonies in the Americas had fought for and won their independence. But Spain was determined to hold on to its few remaining territories. Puerto Rico was one of them.

Sailing by Stars and Waves

DISCOVERING THE SCIENCE OF POLYNESIAN NAVIGATION

Spanish Conquest

The promise of gold and a sea route to India. Those were the two J main reasons why Spain's King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella backed Christopher Columbus's voyages.

SAN JUAN: Puerto Rico's Caribbean Jewel

When the Spanish settled San Juan in 1521, they quickly recognized the value of Puerto Rico's capital city. It became an important port, outpost, and gateway for exploration of the Americas. Spain's enemies, primarily the British and the Dutch, coveted its strategic military location. Its excellent harbor was one of the largest and best in the Caribbean.

REMEMBERING ROBERTO CLEMENTE

Since baseball was introduced to the people of Puerto Rico in the 1890s, it has become the most popular sport on the island. Puerto Ricans brought the sport home after learning to play while visiting the United States. Baseball's popularity grew after the Spanish-American War in 1898. U.S. soldiers stationed in Puerto Rico played games against local clubs. By the 1930s, the island had its own professional league.

Tiny Critters Massive Migration

The largest migration on Earth happens across all its aquatic habitats, from ponds to the ocean, every single night.

Secrets of Animal Navigators

USING SUPER SENSES OF SIGHT, SOUND, MAGNETISM, AND A WHOLE LOT MORE

EARTH'S MAGNETIC PERSONALITY

Humans can’t sense our planet’s magnetosphere, but many animals can.

FLIGHT OF THE FRUIT BAT

The sky blazed orange as the Sun sank beneath the horizon. Screeching cries echoed across the savannah as shadowy tree silhouettes began to shudder.

Zoo Knew?

Animal news and fun facts!

A Son of the Revolution

Dark clouds of smoke spiraled into the sky over Breed's Hill as cannon roared.

Life of Service

Even for a person of John Quincy Adams's remarkable credentials, the practice of law was challenging.

MR. PRESIDENT

The Democratic-Republican party was the dominant U.S. political party in the first two decades of the 1800s.

Old Man Eloquent and the GAG RULE

The Speaker of the House punctuated his shouts with the banging of his gavel. Across the marble-columned U.S. House of Representatives, enraged southern congressmen howled and shook their fists.

Fight For Freedom

Locked in a crowded Connecticut jail cell in the winter of 1841, 11-year-old Kali was a world away from Mendeland (present-day Sierra Leone).

At Home in Quincy

Today, the National Park Service (NPS) oversees three historic residences connected to the Adams family.

Which of These Low-tech Islands Would You Visit?

It may seem like the internet and cell phone service are everywhere.

PIG PARADISE: WHERE PIGS SWIM

Peering at Earth from space, astronauts often find their eyes drawn to the Bahamas. The Bahamas is located just to the east of Florida and Cuba near the Caribbean. "The stunning Bahamas were a real treat for us," says NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik of his 138-day mission in 2017 aboard the International Space Station. "The vivid turquoise of the water over the reef was absolutely captivating."

SHAPING SOUNDS

A light beam skims the surface of a table strewn with geometrical objects.

The Wild Ponies of Assateague Island

You can watch 'em, but you can't ride 'em

Artificial Islands Afloat

Human-constructed islands are nothing new, but we're building more now than ever before.

The Floating Island Cookbook

CROWD-PLEASING RECIPES FOR BUOYANT LANDMASSES

Cleaning Up From World War II

An environmental mystery on Alaska's Great Sitkin Island

Beth Flint – Wildlife Biologist

In 2019, Flint received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pacific Seabird Group, an organization that studies and protects seabirds and their habitats.

The Island of the Sharks

OCEAN CONSERVATIONIST GEORGIENNE BRADLEY AND THE FIGHT TO PROTECT COCOS ISLAND'S MARINE LIFE

Life Between the Tides

SURVIVING THE INTERTIDAL ZONE ALONG CATALINA ISLAND

Islands in the Sky

THE SKY ISLANDS ARE USUALLY MUCH COOLER AND MORE LUSH THAN THE DESERTS OR GRASSLANDS BELOW, BUT CLIMATE CHANGE IS UPENDING LIFE HERE.

ARTIFICIAL ISLANDS AFLOAT

Human-constructed islands are nothing new, but we're building more now than ever before.