Image: Drummer Jason Barnes with his robotic drumming hand

Technology

8 minute lesson

When Robotics and Music Collide!

Can robots really make music? The musician Jason Barnes would probably say yes, and then blow you away with his cyborg drumming hand. Here’s his story and how music and robots are colliding!

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Image: Boat cleaning up oil with a boom on the ocean

Engineering

4 minute lesson

Your Spare Hair Could Clean the Ocean!

A solution for helping clean our environment could be growing out of your head right now! This idea takes something we have a lot of, hair, and turns it into an environment saving innovation.

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Image: Hubble deep field image of deep space

Culture

6 minute lesson

Peering into Space: The Image that Changed Everything

Can an image change the way we think about ourselves? In 1996 an image that looked deep into space did! This is the story of the Hubble Deep Field image and how it changed the way we think about our place in the universe.

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Image: Person holding a video game controller

Technology

9 minute lesson

Can Video Games Be Good For You?

Did you know video games could potentially be used as medicine? Researchers are finding ways to use gaming to help treat things like ADHD, autism, and depression!

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Image: The first user of this device, Ian, hitched up to the sensors and using the computer

Health

7 minute lesson

NeuroLife Is Rebuilding Brains!

Ian Burkhart and the folks at NeuroLife are reconnecting brain to body even after the debilitating effects of a spinal injury.

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Image: person playing the guitar between two tesla coils

Arts

7 minute lesson

Tesla Coils Make Music With Lightning

ArcAttack is using bolts of purple lightning to produce electrifying music! Tesla coils become musical instruments in an amazing scientific demonstration

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Image: Astronaut waving at camera above earth

Engineering

5 minute lesson

Astronaut Chic: Space Suits!

When astronauts leave Earth’s protective atmosphere, they need a little help from a space suit to keep them safe from the dangers of space

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Image: A horse from the wilds of Iceland

Places

5 minute lesson

Bringing the Trees Back to Iceland

Iceland has suffered the effects of widespread deforestation. Now, the country is looking for innovative ways to get the trees back!

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Image: Tilly Lockey at the SingularityU The Netherlands Summit in 2016 with her bionic arm

Technology

5 minute lesson

Making People Into Superheroes with an Amazing Arm!

Open Bionics is creating open source bionic arm technology! The Hero Arm changes lives, looks cool, and is available to anyone with a 3D printer!

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Dragonfly wing closeup

Engineering

7 minute lesson

Biomimicry: Letting Nature Be the Teacher!

Biomimicry is taking inspiration from the elegant simplicity of nature’s design. Human technology that imitates the natural world works better!

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a child wearing virtual reality glasses

Technology

11 minute lesson

Bring Your Friends into Virtual Reality!

At the University of Illinois-Chicago, engineers are changing the way we experience virtual reality by making it a group experience!

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Image: Plant floating in the International Space Station Above Earth

Engineering

7 minute lesson

Did You Know We Can Garden in Space?

Gardening in space could be the key to living on other planets! Here’s how astronauts on the International Space Station are growing some of the first plants in space.

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Image: farmer working with sisal plant

Heroes

3 minute lesson

Sisal! The Plant that Points to Possibilities

You may not have heard of sisal, but this plant has the power to change lives! Meet the man who has figured out how.

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Image: Foldscope in Masai

Health

4 minute lesson

How Paper Microscopes Can Change the World

Foldscope, a paper microscope, takes about one dollar to create, but it’s changing education and medicine around the world.

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Image: Womans face painted in colors. Eyes peeking through fingers.

Technology

8 minute lesson

Helping the Blind See With Their Tongues

The BrainPort V100 is making it possible for people without sight to navigate the world better…by using their tongues.

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Image: Drones lighting up the sky with blue streaks

Arts

3 minute lesson

Drones Ignite a Creative Spark

Can you make art with drones? The performance of Drone 100 tells us yes. Take a look at this remarkable combination of technology and art.

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