Showing titles in Exploration & Discovery

The amount of available oxygen at the highest place on Earth is just under 7%. Explorers risk their lives and test their lungs traveling to these great heights atop mountains. Who are these adventurers and why do they do it? Listen to find out!

Based on the true story of 19th-century naturalist Philip Henry Gosse's study of Jamaican wildlife, this picture book illustrated by a Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award-winning artist, inspires empathy for the natural world and all its inhabitants. The Bird Thief is perfect for fans of Jason...

Ben Ripley—the middle school superspy in Stuart Gibbs’s New York Times bestselling Spy School series—shares true stories of World War II operations, some never before disclosed, in this engaging nonfiction middle grade book packed with maps, diagrams, and mission briefings! Benjamin Ripley...

Are you curious about rocks and gems? What are the differences between rocks, minerals, and gems? Are there rocks in outer space? How many kinds of gems exist? Learn more with Smithsonian: Rocks & Gems.

The award-winning creator of popular survival stories turns his attention to his own real life adventures in Minnesota and Alaska as he prepares for the grueling Iditarod sled dog race. "The lure of the wilderness is always a potent draw, and Paulsen evokes its mysteries as well as anyone has...

A quarterback dodges three defenders to throw to his wide receiver, who makes a miraculous catch, pinning the ball against his helmet as he falls to the turf. Four plays later, that same QB makes a game-winning throw to the end zone to win the Super Bowl. This is the NFL's ultimate prize. Young fans will savor the surprising facts, amazing stories, and legendary players found in this book.

Ride a wave and check out the wild world of surfing! Learn about surfing, how it started, equipment needed, and safety measures taken for this extreme sport. Discover other water sports, and how learn how athletes practice their skills and experience thrills in nature.

Bundle up and follow the frosty world of freeskiing. Learn about freeskiing, equipment needed, and safety measures taken for this extreme sport. Discover other snow sports, and see how athletes practice their skills and experience thrills in nature.

Check out the fast sport of freeriding! Learn about freeriding, how it started, equipment needed, and safety measures taken for this extreme sport. Discover other motocross sports, and find out how athletes practice their skills and experience thrills in nature.

Explore the breathtaking sport of downhill skateboarding! Learn about skateboarding, how it started, equipment needed, and safety measures taken for this extreme sport. Discover other styles of skateboarding, and find out how athletes practice their skills and experience thrills in nature.

Describes the adventures and experiences of Daniel Boone, a talented hunter and woodsman who helped explore the American West.

Going to the doctor today looks a lot different than it did in the past. In fact, the entire history of medicine is riddled with unusual, amazing, and sometimes strange facts. Learn about how people used inventions, treatments, and more to survive and thrive in everyday life.

In 1803, the United States made a deal to purchase a big area of land called the Louisiana Territory. Soon after, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were asked to lead an expedition into the American Northwest to explore the new land. After the journey, many stories were told about it—but not all of them are true.

In 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California. Word quickly spread, and the California Gold Rush was on! Thousands of people went to California in hopes of finding gold and striking it rich. But did that really happen? What was the real impact of so many miners rushing to the state? Discover what’s real and what’s fiction about the California Gold Rush through primary sources and expertly leveled text.

When a pilots sends a "mayday" message, it means there is serious trouble. Discover the fascinating true tales of people who lived to tell about their own terrifying airplane disasters, and what they did to survive.

Nikola Tesla was a scientist and inventor in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Among his many inventions and experiments, he helped create the modern electricity system. Learn more about Tesla's life as a famous inventor!

On June 1, 1937, famous pilot Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, took off in their small plane. Earhart’s goal was to make a record-breaking flight around the world. On the last part of the flight, they approached Howland Island to refuel. Before they could land, radio communication from Earhart stopped, and the plane disappeared. Search efforts turned up few clues. What happened to Earhart and Noonan? Explore the theories and learn why their disappearance has become one of history’s greatest mysteries.

Vikings were fierce warriors who sailed the seas looking for new lands. They were expert sailors and shipbuilders. Find out the science behind their explorations, shipbuilding, and daily life. Discover how modern technology is being used to discover more about the lives of Vikings and their expeditions.

Saesha is being raised as a Hindu girl in a patriarchal society during apartheid in the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa. She has no idea that apartheid even exists. Where do black South Africans live at night? Why does her dad take them through a separate entrance when they enter theme parks and picnic spots? These are just split second wonders that enter her mind when faced with it in the present.

On Christmas Eve 1971, seventeen-year-old Juliane Koepcke and her mother boarded a plane in Lima, Peru, bound for their home at the Panguana Research station deep in the Amazon. Twenty minutes from landing, the plane was struck by lightning, and Juliane hurtled two miles down through the rainforest canopy, crashing on the jungle floor. She woke up the next day with a broken collarbone, missing her glasses and one shoe, but incredibly, miraculously, alive.