Nonfiction Science

Scientists are not quite sure what colors the dinosaurs were. They can only guess that the dinosaurs may have been colored to match their surroundings, just as most animals are today.

Did you know that Pteranodon was not a dinosaur? Pteranodon belongs to a special group of flying reptiles called pterosaurs.

Wouldn’t it be fun to go on a dinosaur dig and find fossil remains of the famous Tyrannosaurus rex?

Did the Earth become too cold for the dinosaurs? Maybe prehistoric mammals took the dinosaur eggs from the nests.

Turtles are amazing cold-blooded reptiles. In fact, they belong to one of the oldest reptile groups in the world. Some turtles are meat-eaters and some are plant eaters. Turtles are known for their shells, which are actually a part of their skeletons. A turtle’s shell helps protect it from predators. Did you know that a turtle cannot come out of its shell? Listen to this fun audiobook about turtles.

Have you ever seen a cuddly looking koala? Most people call them koala bears. But koalas aren't bears! In fact, koalas aren't even related to bears. Koalas are mammals called marsupials. Marsupial means “pouched animal.” Koalas carry their babies in pouches just like kangaroos. Koalas are picky eaters. The only food that a koala will eat is eucalyptus leaves. Eucalyptus leaves are found in Australia, so koalas live in Australia. Koalas are “nocturnal” animals, which means that they sleep during the day and are awake at night.

Karl is an Abyssinian ground hornbill with a special challenge. His lower bill had broken off and made eating difficult. Karl did a great job of adapting and finding new ways to eat, but he wasn't getting all the food he needed. His zookeepers at the National Zoo and friends at the Smithsonian Institute wanted to help. Could an old bird skeleton and a 3D printer give Karl a new beak? Karl's new adventure was about to begin!

What do you know about jellyfish? Beginning listeners will get their feet wet with these literacy-building introductions to ocean animals.

What do you know about starfish? Beginning listeners will get their feet wet with these literacy-building introductions to ocean animals.

What do you know about dolphins? Beginning listeners will get their feet wet with these literacy-building introductions to ocean animals. In addition to curricular information, social-emotional questions encourage reflection and family/educator engagement tips help connect the topic to the listener's life.

From laboratory robots to robotic prosthetics, this exploration of scientific inquiry celebrates the greatest developments to date in medical robotics. Get to know the physicians, scientists, and other researchers responsible for these breakthroughs in medicine, and explore the ups, the downs, and the eureka moments that are science in action.

From the discovery of the Polio vaccine to the breakthrough in mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, this exploration of scientific inquiry celebrates the greatest developments to date in vaccine science. Get to know the physicians, scientists, and other researchers responsible for these breakthroughs in medicine, and explore the ups, the downs, and the eureka moments that are science in action.

If you have a curious mind and like to make new discoveries, then I’m sure you like to conduct experiments. Experiments help scientists gather new information and learn interesting facts about what they are studying. Kids will love this fun audiobook about conducting experiments—of course, with adult supervision.

Years ago, when astronauts needed to leave the spacecraft, they used the manned maneuvering unit (MMU). Even though this piece of equipment is no longer used, it is still very interesting.

Lions are meat-eating mammals that like to live in groups or families. A lion's family is called a “pride.” Usually there will be many females that live together along with their cubs, but only one male. Lions like to play and hunt together. Because they have a keen sense of hearing and sight, they often will hunt at night. Usually the females do the hunting. They work in groups to catch their prey. The male lion takes his share of the catch before the females and cubs get any food. Lions are known for their loud, ferocious roar.

Amphibians are cold-blooded like reptiles, have backbones like reptiles and mammals, but are very different. Amphibians do not have any hair or skin scales on their bodies. They can breathe through their skin as well as through their lungs. Most amphibians spend part of their lives in water. Frogs, toads, and salamanders are examples of amphibians.

Sloths spend most of their lives in trees, and until recently, scientists didn’t know very much about them. But Dr. Rebecca Cliffe was determined to discover their secrets. To find out more, she fitted sloths with special backpacks containing a device to track their activity. She learned how to climb trees in the Costa Rican jungle so she could take sloth hair samples and test their DNA. And she’s helped create sloth crossings and plant trees to ensure the sloths aren’t trapped in shrinking territories. Along the way, she earned the nickname Dr. Sloth.

Honey bees are among the world’s most important insects. They help pollinate many of the crops we depend on for food. Without them, the global food supply would be in great danger. In 1998, beekeepers in Europe made a shocking discovery—almost all of the honey bees had disappeared from their hives. Several years later, beekeepers in the United States found that many of their honey bees had vanished too. Scientists called this disappearance colony collapse disorder (CCD), and at first, no one knew why it was happening.

The eerie silence was broken only by the sound of scuffling feet as marchers approached the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. The mood was sober. Hundreds of men, women, and children had been protesting in Selma for weeks to win black Americans the right to vote. They’d been threatened. Been arrested. Jailed. This march was likely to end in violence, yet they went anyway. But when state troopers attacked with billy clubs and tear gas, the brute force was a shock.

Eddie Rickenbacker was a World War I Flying Ace, a Medal of Honor winner, and even a racecar driver. But did you know that his first attempt at flying was to ride his bicycle off the roof of his house while holding an umbrella?