Do parents care about their children’s happiness? I think it’s an easy answer to say overwhelming they do, very much so. And yet, they don’t necessarily prioritize it in the daily lives of their children. I feel like a lot of parents erroneously believe that academic success will lead to […]

By Peter Gray Ph.D. Freedom to Learn This is Part I of a series on the functions and malfunctions of shame. This seems like a ripe time in history to think about the emotion of shame. We are living in a period of renewed reckoning with the shame of the racist […]

Shutterstock Is time travel possible for humans? Jasmine, age 8, Canberra, ACT. Hi Jasmine. I wish! In books and movies, our favourite characters can use “time-turners” and treehouses to travel through time. Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy for people in real life. Let’s look at why. First, there are two types of […]

Shutterstock How would they bring the International Space Station back down to earth? Grace, age 7, Watson, ACT. Hi Grace! The good news is we can bring the International Space Station back to Earth. The bad news is it will be a broken mess of melted metal. To understand why, […]

Is this the real life? Or is this just fantasy? Nan Palmero/Flickr, CC BY-SA This is an article from Curious Kids, a series for children. The Conversation is asking kids to send in questions they’d like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome – serious, weird or wacky! You might also […]

TIM SMITS FOR SPECTRUM Originally published on Spectrum The Research on Autism and Development (RAD) Laboratory is located in a Tetris-like maze of brown wooden buildings, not far from the main campus of the University of California, San Diego. The lab itself is a nondescript warren of small beige rooms. But everything […]

Grown-ups like them, too. Some kids love science, some love reading. This list is for both! Deposit Photos Sure, the kids in your life are going to get toys, but you’d like them to learn something over the holiday break, too. Here are some great books for kids of all […]

Why not ask a parent to play a problem-solving video game with you? Shutterstock/Alan Ingram This is an article from Curious Kids, a new series for children. The Conversation is asking kids to send in questions they’d like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome – serious, weird or […]

Almost every star has planets – so there are more planets in our galaxy than there are stars. NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle, CC BY-SA From Curious Kids, a new series for children. The Conversation is asking kids to send in questions they’d like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome […]

This is an article from Curious Kids, a new series aimed at children. The Conversation is asking kids to send in questions they’d like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome – serious, weird or wacky! The truth is we don’t really know if space goes on forever – […]