Meekins: 209 books

McMurdo Dry Valleys, in Antarctica, is one of the world’s cruelest deserts. You may think that a desert is a hot, dry place, full of sand. Science defines a desert as a place that has less than 10 inches (254 millimetres) of rainfall per year. Antarctica has none. Even if the snow that falls on...

Our sun is an average star in our galaxy. It is a sphere of burning gas that provides light and heat. It makes our plants grow and allows them to turn carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen. If our sun were to shine a little less or a little more brightly, life as we knew it would not exist. A drop...

Ears sit on opposite sides of our head. They are flappy bits of skin that stick out. Sometimes we decorate them with piercings. Ears are our own little satellite dishes. They pick up sound waves and send them through the ear canal, where the tiniest bones and muscles in our body pick up the vibrations...

You’ve probably heard of Saint Valentine’s Day. You may have given someone a card or a present. You may even have done it in secret, and watched the look of happiness on their face. You probably tried not to blush as that person tried to figure out who their secret Valentine was. But what do you...

What did scientists first think Uranus was? What are the names of Uranus’ moons named after? Is Uranus bigger or smaller than Earth? What is strange about the way Uranus spins? Learn the answer to these questions and many more fun facts in this 15-Minute Book. In the middle of the galaxy...

For millions of years, volcanic activity beneath the Earth’s crust has been turning rocks into granite. The rocks were uplifted, forming a small mountain range with small streams and creeks weaving their way through the valleys. Surface volcanoes erupted, covering the area in lava. The streams cut...

Joan of Arc was a young farm girl who claimed to have heard the voices of saints. She led an army in many battles to drive the English out of France and put the rightful King on the throne. After she was captured, the King and the armies did nothing to help her. She was sold to the English and put...

Machu Picchu is one of the few surviving ruins of the Inca Empire. It is situated in tropical forests on the eastern side of the Andes Mountains. It stretches five miles across a ridge and sits on top of two earthquake fault lines.The Spanish invaded South America looking for gold. They killed the...

Noses are wonderful things. They help us breathe. They are lined with mucous and hairs called cilia, which trap germs and tiny particles that can make us sick. They generate quarts (litres) of snot. They let us smell flowers and freshly baked foods. They also warn us of dangers from fires, rotten...

Titan was the first moon of Saturn to be discovered. It took another six years to find the next moon. Since then, 53 definite moons have been found around Saturn. Another nine moons are considered provisional. More study is needed to confirm that they are proper orbiting moons.Titan is covered in...

Was Mercury bigger in the past?How did Venus change the way people saw the world?What is happening to Mount Everest, the highest place on Earth?Does Mars have seasons?Is there a surface to the planet Jupiter?Who discovered Saturn’s rings?What is strange about the way Uranus spins?What is the coldest...

There are eight regular satellites in orbit around Jupiter. These are moons that formed within the gravity field of Jupiter. They were formed at the same time and out of the same material as the planet itself. They have circular orbits and orbit in the same direction as the planet.The four largest...

Our eyes are round objects that sit at the halfway point of our head. They are about one inch (25 mm) in diameter and come in a variety of colors. They allow us to see all the wonders of the world and beyond. We still don’t understand exactly how they work in transforming light into color and objects,...

In our galaxy, there are stars and solar systems. There are comets, asteroids and a whole lot of solid material. There is also a lot of space between star systems. We call this space between star systems the Interstellar Medium. In this area, there are great clouds of gas and dust. They can range...