Oh, I see! moments
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Connect Kids and Nature, And What Do You Get?

by Janine Boylan on September 30, 2013

children at play sign, illustrating a better life

© Thinkstock

A Better Life

Test yourself—

  • What percentage of preschoolers go outside daily with a parent?
  • About how many hours do children spend outside on a weekday?
  • Do children spend more or less time outdoors today than children did twenty years ago?

See answers below.*

Yes, the “Caution: Children at Play” signs are still on the streets, but the real caution today is that children are not playing outside. In fact, they are losing touch with nature and are losing out on better lives.

Culture Smart: Worry Less With Guatemalan Dolls?

by Sheron Long on September 29, 2013

Guatemalan weaver continues the culrural traditions of her village

A weaver in Guatemala creates textiles in patterns unique to her village
and reuses scraps to make worry dolls.

A Cultural Tradition With Promise

Descendants of the Maya living today in Guatemala bring beauty to the world with their handcrafted weavings, often using unique patterns indicative of their villages.

Guatemalan worry doll, used in a centuries-old cultural tradition as a folk remedy for worrying

This worry doll is ready to hear your troubles!

The fabric scraps the weavers have left don’t go to waste—they use them to make sets of colorful worry dolls.

Aha Moment Maker: You Look Mauve-lous!

by Your friends at OIC on September 28, 2013

Chemist illustrating the accidental discovery of synthetic dye, an opportunity for readers to have their own aha moment

LONDON, 1856—Eighteen-year-old chemist William Henry Perkin was working on creating an artificial version of the malaria drug quinine, which was very much in demand for the expanding British colonies.

Instead, he managed to produce only a dark oily sludge that left indelible stains. As he examined the outcome of his failed experiment more closely, he noticed that the sludge turned fabrics a striking light purple color.

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