Grandparenting

Julia Sneden writes: We are not so much proud of our ancestors as we are just grateful to them, for being tough enough and stubborn enough to have picked up and moved when they needed or simply wanted to do so. Crossing the Atlantic (or any other ocean) in a tiny little wooden ship must have taken huge amounts of courage, and once here, huge amounts of energy and brain power to keep from starving to death. more »

Next time a child visits: The Sci Show, an entertaining series of quirky YouTube videos, tackles topics ranging from "How Do Polarized Sunglasses Work" to "Strong Interaction: The Four Fundamental Forces of Physics", "Today’s Mass Extinction," "World's First See-Through Animal," "The Truth About Gingers" and "The Science of Lying." Then, move onto "6 Ways Social Media Will Change in 2014", cyberbullying or "What Digitization Will Do for the Future of Museums?" more »

In the course of greeting thousands of visitors a year, Rangers on National Wildlife Refuges find that natural—world denizens invariably make some people flinch or go EWWW. Whether it's because today’s visitors tend to live more indoor lives than past generations or watch too many TV survival shows, fears of nature are flourishing — in all ages. "The older they are, the harder it is," says one ranger. "I have had the most trouble with adult chaperones." more »

Joan L. Cannon writes: Unless memories and tradition count as “things,” these concrete reminders are not just things. They’re emblems. They’re absolute reminders — souvenirs in a literal sense — of what has happened in many lives, not just our own. As such, they serve as records that are apt to endure longer than any on paper.             more »