Library Technology

What Do We Know About Crop Circles? lets curious young listeners learn about the phenomenon of crop circles and how they came to be one of the most studied mysteries of the natural world. Learn about all of the rational and fanciful explanations for these flattened patterns in crops all over the world, from the United Kingdom to Australia. Artists and hoaxers alike have claimed credit for these massive projects, but some people think that the source could be paranormal. Are these circles an elaborate prank, or could they be something more?

Amelia Earhart was a woman of many "firsts." In 1932, she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1935, she also became the first woman to fly across the Pacific. From her early years to her mysterious 1937 disappearance while attempting a flight around the world, listeners will find Amelia Earhart's life a fascinating story.

Born and raised in India, Kalpana Chawla was told that she shouldn’t try to become an aeronautical engineer because it was hard for women everywhere to succeed in that field. But she persisted, getting her university degree and then immigrating to the US to keep studying. She then joined NASA and became the first Indian-born American woman to go to space. Though she was tragically killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, she continues to inspire people in India, the United States, and around the world to pursue their dreams of reaching for the stars.

Leonardo da Vinci was a gifted painter, talented musician, and dedicated scientist and inventor, designing flying machines, submarines, and even helicopters. Yet he had a hard time finishing things, a problem anyone can relate to. Only 13 paintings are known to be his; as for the illustrated encyclopedia he intended to create, all that he left were thousands of disorganized notebook pages. Here is an accessible portrait of a fascinating man who lived at a fascinating time - Italy during the Renaissance.

This book spotlights female scientist Temple Grandin, whose experience being on the autism spectrum has informed her advocacy and her work as an animal behaviorist. Temple Grandin's pride in being different and how it shaped her world is celebrated in this biography.

Since 2012 the organization Girls Who Code has taught computing skills to and inspired over 10,000 girls across America. Now its founder, Reshma Saujani, wants to inspire you to be a girl who codes! Bursting with down-to-earth explanations of coding principles and real-life stories of girls and women working at places like Pixar and NASA, this audiobook shows what a huge role computer science plays in our lives and how much fun it can be.

Can species change? Or go extinct? In the eighteenth century, most people answer no to both questions. But in the century that follows, that certainty gets challenged as some people in Europe question the common belief that all creatures are the same as they’ve been since life’s creation. The Evolution of an Idea, the second volume of Discovering Life’s Story, opens with the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus, who attempts to create an organizing system for the myriad forms of life on earth.

First human to cross the Atlantic via airplane; one of the first American media sensations; Nazi sympathizer and anti-Semite; loner whose baby was kidnapped and murdered; champion of Eugenics, the science of improving a human population by controlled breeding; tireless environmentalist. Charles Lindbergh was all of the above and more. Here is a rich, multi-faceted, utterly spellbinding biography about an American hero who was also a deeply flawed man. The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh is essential listening for teens and history fanatics alike.

In spring of 1918, World War I was underway, and troops at Fort Riley, Kansas, found themselves felled by influenza. By the summer of 1918, the second wave struck as a highly contagious and lethal epidemic and within weeks exploded into a pandemic, an illness that travels rapidly from one continent to another. It would impact the course of the war, and kill many millions more soldiers than warfare itself.

This friendly, fun biography series focuses on the traits that made our heroes great - the traits that kids can aspire to in order to live heroically themselves. Each book tells the story of an icon in a lively, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction listeners and that always includes the hero's childhood influences. This volume features Founding Father and scientist Benjamin Franklin.

What Do We Know About Bigfoot? lets curious young listeners explore what we actually know about the creature's mysterious history. Dive into the facts behind the most well-known footage of the cryptid, the Patterson-Gimlin film, and learn about actual scientific studies conducted to learn whether or not Bigfoot actually exists. Filled with accounts of over a century of potential sightings, this book will have every reader looking for footprints on their next hike. Bigfoot has been the star subject of movies, TV shows, books, and more... but is he really out there?

Ben Franklin was the scientist who, with the help of a kite, discovered that lightning is electricity. He was also a statesman, an inventor, a printer, and an author-a man of such amazingly varied talents that some people claimed he had magical powers! Full of all the details kids will want to know, the true story of Benjamin Franklin is by turns sad and funny, but always honest and awe-inspiring.

As a boy, David loved exploring the wild places near his home in England, collecting fossils, rocks, and newts. When he grew older, he got a job in television, where he had an idea for a new kind of show: He would travel to wild places all over the world to film animals in their natural habitats. Over the span of seven decades, David's innovative documentaries have been treasured by millions of people. But as time went on, he noticed the wild places he loved were shrinking. What could David do to help? What could we all do? This is the story of David Attenborough.

Can a person catch on fire without any reasonable explanation? Find out all we know about spontaneous human combustion in this exciting new book!

Kids who enjoy looking up at space and dreaming of exploring the solar system will love this lively, fact-filled tour of our galaxy, with engaging information.

The climate crisis that our nation currently faces, from rising temperatures, unfathomable drought, devastating floods, unprecedented fires, just to name a few, are alarming precursors to what awaits us if we continue on our current path. In this adaptation for young adults from the #1 New York Times bestseller, journalist David Wallace-Wells tells it like it is, and it is much worse than anyone might think. Global warming is effecting the world, if left unchecked, it promises to transform global politics, the meaning of technology and the trajectory of human progress.

Renowned American astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi (born James Plummer) pens a gripping, gritty coming-of-age memoir, from young boy to graduate-school student, that will resonate with teenagers, especially those of color, who are facing many choices and obstacles as they navigate their young adult lives.

Even when he was a kid, Albert Einstein did things his own way. He thought in pictures instead of words, and his special way of thinking helped him understand big ideas like the structure of music and why a compass always points north. Those ideas made him want to keep figuring out the secrets of the universe. Other people thought he was just a dreamer, but because of his curiosity, Einstein grew up to be one of the greatest scientists the world has ever known.

Established in 1857 as the first national park in the United States, Yellowstone has been drawing visitors to its beautiful landscape for over 150 years. Before it became a national park, the region was home to Native Americans for over 11,000 years, including the Shoshone, Lakota, Crow, Blackfoot, Flathead, Bannok, and Nez Perce tribes. Today, tourists come to the park from all over the world to camp and to visit the famous Old Faithful geyser and the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest super volcano in North America.

In medical school, Paul Farmer found his life’s calling: To cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. Tracy Kidder’s magnificent account shows how one person can make a difference in solving global health problems through a clear-eyed understanding of the interaction of politics, wealth, social systems, and disease.