Discovery Education: Discoveries and Inventions

Leonardo da Vinci is remembered as a painter, an inventor, a scientist, an engineer, and an architect. This book examines his many contributions to the intellectual climate of the Renaissance in Italy while also tracing his legacy in inventions of the modern era, including the helicopter and military tank. Beautiful reproductions of his drawings and paintings accompany clear, engaging text, while sidebars offer additional context for curious readers.

Records show that human beings have been using codes to conceal messages for over 2,000 years! This revealing book traces codes throughout history, from an encryption device used by the Spartans in 400 B.C. to the Enigma Code of the 1940s, pausing to consider coded military secrets and newspaper scoops alike. Students will be delighted by code-cracking diagrams. Illuminating sidebars, primary source documents, and vivid illustrations all add to this attractive volume's appeal.

It has been nearly 200 years since the first dinosaur remains were found in southern England, and in that time these fascinating creatures from long ago have lost none of their hold on our imagination. This book explores the history of dinosaurs and their time on earth. A detailed timeline traces the archaeological discoveries that inform today's study of prehistoric life, and clear, informative illustrations and diagrams explore different kinds of dinosaurs, their appearance and scale, habitats and intellect, and the fossils they left behind.

In 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright completed the first successful flight of a heavier-than-air craft, at once realizing the centuries-old dream of human flight and paving the way for generations of explorers to come. With clear text and illustrated timelines, this book takes students through the events leading up to that historical moment and the milestones that have since followed, while informative sidebars and clear diagrams explore developments in flight in more detail. A Mix and Match activity encourages students to engage with the text, and a curated list of websites offer suggestions for further investigation.

People in Asia Minor developed the first coin-based currency, but long before that humans would exchange precious objects for the things necessary for their daily life. Currency is a fact of human life, and this book explores its genesis, beginning with those early coins and precious objects and tracing their legacy to the banknotes and fraud-detecting devices of the twenty-first century. Photographs and illustrations explore the remarkable diversity and detail of contemporary currency, while engaging text explores money's utility and places it within a social context.

During the 1800's, electrical lights, inter-continental transportation, medical advancements, and distribution of labor dramatically altered the ways that people could work, travel, eat, and communicate. This book captures the spirit of discovery that characterized the tumultuous century, while exploring the lasting legacy of these discoveries, and their impact on human life. Illustrated timelines, primary source photographs, and clear diagrams explain the inventions of the era, while informative sidebars add depth. An informative and engaging book about a complicated era of history.