Latest Posts
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Air-OO-Planes Away: The Quest for the Ultimate Flight Design
By the Fifth-Grade Students of Ms. Ursula Sexton and Mr. John Lukas, Green Valley Elementary School, Danville, California Editor’s Note: Originally published in the September/October 1996 issue of Dragonfly Magazine, this story follows a class that combined science fiction with serious scientific testing to solve the problems of future space travel. The Spark Our investigation…
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Keeping the Five Alive: “Pragmatic Hope” for Rhinos
When you think of a rhino, do you see a prehistoric tank or a secretive, singing forest dweller? According to Martha Parker, Director of Grants & Partnership Development with the International Rhino Foundation (IRF), the answer is both—and they need our help now more than ever. In this episode, host Kevin Matteson catches up with…
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One if by Air: Mapping the Wonders of the Sky
By the Fourth-Grade Students of Mrs. Claudia A. Katz and Ms. Tamara Somers, Henry Ford Elementary, Hazel Park, Michigan Editor’s Note: This post is a vintage treasure from our archives, originally published in the September/October 1996 issue of Dragonfly Magazine. It highlights a classic inquiry method—KWPDLS—that helps young scientists organize their curiosity about the world…
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Empathy Beneath the Surface
Reflections from Earth Expeditions Galápagos Photo by Cosette De Ferrari Las Tintoreras remains one of the most profound memories from my time in the Galapagos. The small islet, named for the White Tip Reef Shark, Tintorera, is carved with narrow lava channels where these sharks rest. As we moved across the jagged volcanic terrain, the…
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Dreaming of Flight: If We Could Touch the Sky
By the Fifth-Grade Students of Adams Elementary School, San Diego, California Editor’s Note: Originally published in Dragonfly Magazine in the late 1990s, this collection of student reflections and poems captures the timeless “sense of wonder” children feel when looking at the clouds and imagining the impossible. The Spark In our class, we started talking about…
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Beyond “Doom and Gloom”: Why Hope is the New Conservation Currency
Conservation Psychology, Earth Expeditions, Global Field Program (GFP), Zoo & Aquarium ProfessionalsWe’ve all been there: reading a statistic so bleak—like the fact that fewer than 100 Sumatran rhinos remain on Earth—that our first instinct is to look away. For decades, the “knowledge deficit” model assumed that if we just gave people enough cold, hard facts, they would be shocked into action. But as Dr. Kathayoon Khalil,…
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MA vs. MS: Does “Science” Actually Beat “Arts”?
By Dr. Kevin Matteson, Associate Director “They were taught to be technicians, not thinkers, in a culture that is long on know-how and short on know-why.” – David Orr I often get asked if a Master of Science (MS) is more valuable than a Master of Arts (MA). Sometimes, it feels like there is a…
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Can Pyramids Fly? Our Investigation into Tetrahedron Kites
By the Fifth-Grade Class of John Cowens, Fort Vannoy Elementary, Grants Pass, Oregon Editor’s Note: This article is a “vintage” treasure from our archives, originally published in the September/October 1996 issue of Dragonfly Magazine. It captures the spirit of curiosity and hands-on discovery that has always been at the heart of Project Dragonfly. The Spark…
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Rooted in the Past: How Students Uncover the Secret History of America’s Witness Trees
By Maria J. Savaiano’s Fifth- and Sixth-Grade Students, Clara Barton Open School, Minneapolis, MN. Editor’s Note: This post is a “vintage” treasure from our archives, originally published in Dragonfly Magazine in April 1996. It captures a moment when a class in Minnesota decided to bridge the gap between local history and the natural world. The…