Photos

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
Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

The state of New York will open more than 21,000 additional acres of Adirondack parkland in October 2013. There is a vigorous local debate as to whether the land should be open to motorized vehicles, such as cars, boats, and personal watercraft.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Science, Arts

Appropriate For
T I F S K

A rare albino alligator photographed from underwater creates a mirror-like reflection on the surface. It was photographed in captivity—white alligators are usually too conspicuous to survive in the wild.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Arts, Language Arts

Appropriate For
T I F S K

This unusual photo was taken at a Butterfly Farm in Costa Rica of a collage of different butterfly wings, each with a naturally occurring letter of the english alphabet, or a number between one and nine.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Social Studies, Science, Arts, Geography

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
Science, Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

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

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
Grades 3-12+ (Ages 8+)

Subjects
Informal Education, Social Studies, Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S 

Photo. From scriblita to the Big Easy.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Seas have an enormous impact on the people who live near them. The Bay of Bengal, the largest bay in the world, is a sea that is part of the northeastern Indian Ocean. This sea has played a pivotal role in the histories of the nations that surround it, including India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Here, Hindu pilgrims bathe where the sacred Ganges River empties into the Bay of Bengal.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

The Bay of Bengal, part of the Indian Ocean, is the largest bay in the world. The tropical bay is home to dozens of popular tourist beaches—as well as tsunamis. As the Indian subcontinent continues to crash into Asia, the bay continues to be a site of tectonic activity.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Vehicles speed past Big Ben in London.

Best For
All Grades

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

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
Social Studies, Mathematics, Science

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 K-12+ (Ages 5+)

Subjects
Science, Arts, Geography

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

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Sea level is the base level for measuring elevation and depth on Earth. These hotel bungalows in Bora Bora, French Polynesia, have stilts to take them inches above sea level. Because the ocean is one continuous body of water, its surface tends to seek the same level throughout the world. However, winds, ocean currents, river discharges, and variations in gravity and temperature prevent "sea level" from being truly level.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Science, Geography

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
Science, Health, Geography

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, Geography

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
Science, Health, Geography

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
Arts, Vocational Education, Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

One of Shigeru Ban's most well-known works is the "Cardboard Cathedral" in Christchurch, New Zealand. The city's 100-year old Anglican cathedral was severely damaged by an earthquake in 2011, and Ban's gorgeous temporary structure is a community and spiritual center serving the area while the permanent church is being completed. The Cardboard Cathedral is made mostly of waterproof and flame-retardant cardboard tubing, timber, and steel. The A-frame structure also has triangles of decorated stained glass.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Catrinas are a specific type of calavera: well-dressed, wealthy women of the early 20th century. Here, a group of catrinas pose on Dia de los Muertos in Merida, Mexico.

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
Mathematics, Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

The first U.S. Census was conducted in 1790. The census categorized the population of the new nation according to liberty, sex, and age: free white males age 16 and older, free white males under age 16, free white females, all other free people, and slaves.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Science, Health, Geography

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
All Grades

Subjects
Science, Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Cicadas are big, red-eyed, harmless insects that burrow underground and stay put for 17 years. (Yes, 17 years.) When millions emerge from their underground burrow, the buzzing "cicada-pocalypse" signals springtime on the East Coast. 

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Bright orange with three distinctive white bars, clown anemonefish are among the most recognizable of all reef-dwellers. They reach about 11 centimeters (4.3 inches) in length, and are named for the multicolored sea anemone in which they make their homes. Clownfish perform an elaborate dance with an anemone before taking up residence, gently touching its tentacles with different parts of their bodies until they are acclimated with the host.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Social Studies, Science, Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Waterways are highways in the depths of the Congo rain forest.