Education
Great minds lead to great solutions. Our education section features solutions and innovations directed at strengthening educational systems around the world.
This 3,700-year-old tablet is world’s oldest example of applied geometry
An Australian mathematician has recently discovered that the markings on an ancient fragment of clay tablet dating back to 3,700 years ago — during the Old Babylonian period — are the oldest known example of applied geometry. The tablet, known as Si.427, dates back to more than 1,000 years Read More...
Priyanka Baira leads the movement to end child marriage in India
The Covid-19 crisis put many people at risk. Whether that risk is related to mental or physical health, financial stability, or, for young girls in India, the risk of being forced into marriage and never obtaining a proper education. According to Childline India, there was a 17 percent increase Read More...
This radio station plays ethereal ambient music made by trees
Silent tree activity, like photosynthesis and the absorption and evaporation of water, produces a small voltage in the leaves. In a bid to encourage people to think more carefully about their local tree canopy, sound designer and musician Skooby Laposky has found a way to convert that tree activity Read More...
US to return Gilgamesh tablet and 17,000 other looted artifacts to Iraq
During a period of unrest in Iraq in 2003, looters stole tens of thousands of ancient artifacts that were later smuggled out of the country, including the 3,500-year-old Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, a rare portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient Mesopotamian epic poem, known as the earliest Read More...
Raise your kids to be spatially aware by letting them roam far and free
Children have a lot less freedom to roam and play unsupervised than they did 50 years ago. A lot of this has to do with parents’ concern over safety, especially in urban areas. Now, the Covid-19 pandemic has further restricted children’s freedoms, which may have a detrimental impact on their Read More...
Taking longer breaks while learning may help boost your memory
As many of us probably know, cramming a huge amount of information the day before an exam can be a fruitless undertaking, with most of the knowledge we have painstakingly gained disappearing from our heads soon after. That’s why studying with longer intervals can be very helpful in retaining Read More...
Largest private US employer commits to covering employees' tuition fees
There’s never been a better time to be a student with a part-time job at Walmart. Walmart, the largest private employer in the US, has pledged to help its associates obtain post-secondary education without the stress of student loan debt through its Live Better U education program. If you are Read More...
This book made of recycled plastic features letters to future generations
At this point, we can all agree that our take-make-use-dispose model of consumption has been nothing but harmful for the planet and that it’s about time we part ways with one of the biggest contributors to this problem — single-use plastics. A creative agency in Vietnam, called Ki Saigon, Read More...
This playwright rewrites Black voices and perspectives into popular culture
Marcia Johnson, a Jamaica-born actor, and playwright, was disappointed when she watched an episode of The Crown where not even one line of dialogue was given to a Black character—even though it was set in Kenya. As an outlet for her frustration about the erasure of African voices and Read More...
"Catch-up" centers overcome cultural barriers to educate women
Janet Ekura is an education facilitator at a “catch-up” center in the village of Atan in Isiolo County, Kenya. The catch-up centers are part of an Education for Life initiative designed to empower underprivileged children, and especially girls, in the region. Underaged girls are often Read More...