Photos

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Arts, Geography, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

The World's Fair Unisphere, located in Queens, New York, towers 13 stories above fountains. The Earth's axial tilt, about 23.5 degrees, is accurately represented. Encircling the stainless steel globe are the paths of Telstar, the first communications satellite; Vostok-1, the first spacecraft carrying a person (Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin); and Friendship-7, the spacecraft that carried the first American to orbit the Earth, John Glenn.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Zebras are black animals with white stripes. This striking coloration is probably a form of camouflage. It helps zebras blend into the shadows of tall grasses. It also helps them blend in when they are in a herd. When clustered together, it is nearly impossible to tell one zebra from another, making it difficult for predators such as lions to stalk an individual animal.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Science, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Meerkats live in burrows, which protect them from the Kalahari's extreme climates—hot during the day, and sometimes freezing at night. Meerkats sometimes dig their own burrows, but often use those made by animals such as mongooses.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Physical Education, Science, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Oceanographer and U.S. Navy Lt. Don Walsh, Swiss oceanographer Auguste Piccard, and a U.S. Navy team used a Zodiac inflatable boat to reach the Trieste. The bathyscaphe had to be towed to the Mariana Trench by a much larger and powerful ship as did its successor in deep-sea exploration, the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Social Studies, Geography, Health, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

The volcano "Tungurahua" or throat of fire, is an active volano in Ecuador.

Best For
Grades 6-12+ (Ages 11+)

Subjects
Science

Appropriate For
T I S 

  Moore's Law is the observation that silicon transistors shrink to half their size every two years. Silicon transistors are semiconductor devices used to amplify and switch electronic signals and electrical power—the very foundation of modern electronic devices. Moore's Law accounts for the rapid improvement of such functions as screen resolution, processing speed, and memory capacity. So, how small can you get? IBM researchers, working at the forefront of nanotechnology, say "Moore's Law ends at the individual atom. Physically speaking, we can't get smaller than that."

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

The "Whales of the World" poster was printed in December 1976. The poster features an overview article about whales, information about each species, and beautiful paintings by Larry Foster.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Arts, Geography, Social Studies, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

The acqua alta, or high tide, floods the Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy. The aqua alta is usually most pronounced between autumn and spring. Like all tides, the aqua alta is governed by the gravitational pull of the moon. In addition, local wind patterns (called the sirocco and the bora) augment the tide.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

The American Alligator can grow to be 4.6 meters (15 feet) long.

Best For
Grades 6-11 (Ages 11-17)

Subjects
Science

Appropriate For
T I S 

Single-celled forams outlasted the dinosaurs, built the Pyramids, and constantly adapt to climate change. What have you done lately?

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Scott's team was dedicated to collecting samples and recording data on their trek to the pole. Here, members of the expedition release a weather balloon.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Bees are pollen gatherers and pollinators. There are more than 20,000 species. Most are solitary, meaning they live in small groups with a single breeding female and her offspring. Pollen is gathered to feed the young; sometimes it is mixed with nectar to make a paste.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Social Studies, Vocational Education, Geography, Health, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

In addition to pastoralists and farmers, Martins works to educate students and guides on the importance of Africa's insect pollinators. In 2011, Martins spent time training guides at the exclusive Grumeti reserve in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Here, a guide named Mishi meets a blister beetle. The orange coloring alerts predators to the beetle's stinging, toxic secretion. The secretion is valuable, however—a variation is used to treat warts.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Much of the locavore movement is centered around farmers' markets, like this one in Hudson, Ohio. At farmers' markets, farmers and local food retailers can sell their fresh produce directly to buyers. The goods at farmers markets and community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs are largely determined by the season and weather of the region.

Best For
Grades 6-10 (Ages 11-16)

Subjects
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S 

Photo. Hitting an agricultural sweet spot.

Best For
Grades K-12+ (Ages 5+)

Subjects
Arts, Geography, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Sphagnum moss is the most common bog plant. This tiny plant stretches across poorly drained ponds, eventually choking them and forming a thick mat across the surface. Other low-lying bog plants include heather, reeds, and sedges.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Flames from a bonfire indicate the direction of the wind.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Lagoons are shallow bodies of water separated from the ocean by sandbars, barrier islands, or coral reefs. The island of Bora Bora, part of French Polynesia in the South Pacific, is surrounded by a lagoon and a thick coral reef.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Arts, Science, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

The Koobi Fora Research Project (KFRP) is a cornerstone program of the Turkana Basin Institute in Turkana, Kenya. The paleontology project includes both field work and scientific research to better understand how the Koobi Fora area around Lake Turkana holds clues to the evolution of human beings. The KFRP has unearthed more than 10,000 hominid fossils. "Turkana Boy," above, is the most complete early human skeleton ever found. It was discovered on the western shore of the lake, while the Koobi Fora rock formation is on the east.

Best For
Grades K-12 (Ages 5-18)

Subjects
Geography, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Mountains near the South Pole show that many Antarctic summits remain unconquered by the world's largest ice sheet. Antarctica's ice sheet is between 1.6 and 6.4 kilometers (1-4 miles) thick.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography, Health, Science

Appropriate For
T F S K

Bumblebees have flown up to 5,500 meters (18,000 feet) in the air. A flight this high would almost place a bee at the top of Mount Kilamanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Cape vultures, like this one flying over its native grounds in Gauteng, South Africa, are listed as a vulnerable species. This means they are not quite endangered, but still face threats such as habitat loss, poisoning, and electrocution.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

The monkeys-eye view isn't bad, either, and doesn't require the equipment or effort. (These white-throated capuchin monkeys spend most of their lives in trees.)

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

A herd of barren-ground caribou runs past a snow-covered forest in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Many kinds of animals have adapted to live in the cold, subarctic climate of the taiga.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography, Health, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Caterpillars are the larval stage of moths and butterflies. They are mostly herbivores, and eat so much, so quickly, that they are often considered agricultural pests.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Walking catfish, like this one near Boca Raton, Florida, can travel across roads to other waterways. Animals like the catfish can adapt to major changes in their ecological area—although the catfish can only stay out of water for as long as it stays moist.

Best For
Grades 1-12+ (Ages 6+)

Subjects
Science

Appropriate For
T I F S 

A beautiful companion to the Solar System map that appeared in the same issue, this compelling work illustrates the varied faces of the planets in our solar system. Published in August 1990 with two articles, "Neptune: Voyager's Last Picture Show" and "Voyage of the Century," this work shows planets scaled to relative size, their portraits made from actual images taken from various spacecraft.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography, Health, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

A Geiger counter measures radiation outside the Chernobyl (Ukraine) Nuclear Power Plant, which exploded in 1986. The explosion created a cloud of radioactive particles that fell to the ground, called fallout. The fallout drifted with the wind and entered the water cycle as rain. Radioactivity traced to Chernobyl fell as far away as Scotland and Ireland, although most fallout was detected in Belarus.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Science, Health

Appropriate For
T I F S K

This chimpanzee, at a theme park in the Ozark Mountains, has been trained to interact safely with people, but is still kept on a leash for safety reasons. Chimpanzees are wild animals, and much stronger than people. Pet chimpanzees have attacked their owners, causing serious injury and sometimes death.

Best For
Grades 3-10 (Ages 8-16)

Subjects
Science, Health

Appropriate For
I F S K

Photo. Wild chimps have a wildly varied diet.