Theresa Machemer

Theresa Machemer is a freelance writer based in Washington DC. Her work has also appeared in National Geographic and SciShow. Website: tkmach.com

For Earth Day, NASA and Lego challenged families to build models of planets as a way to learn through play.

NASA and Lego Host ‘Build a Planet’ Challenge

The event was part of the company's week of #LetsBuildTogether challenges

The Anne Frank House created the series in hopes of reaching “young people who are less likely to pick up a book [but who] … do watch videos on social media.”

Why the Anne Frank House Is Reimagining the Young Diarist as a Vlogger

The controversial series stems from the museum's desire to reach a younger generation by telling history in new ways

An ongoing study by the Lyon Neuroscience Research Center has found a 35 percent increase in dream recall and a 15 percent increase in negative dreams.

Insomnia and Vivid Dreams on the Rise With COVID-19 Anxiety

Fears around the pandemic are causing sleep patterns to change and strange dreams to linger in people’s memories

Follow the #WrightVirtualVisits hashtag to see tours of historic sites like Fallingwater, a Pennsylvania home originally built as a private weekend residence.

Enjoy Free Video Tours of Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings Across America

The 20th-century architect defined a uniquely American style that used nature-inspired motifs and horizontal lines

Cricosaurus suevicus is an ancient relative of modern crocodiles that spent its life in the ocean.

Like Dolphins and Whales, Ancient Crocodiles Evolved to Spend Their Time at Sea

Researchers tracked changes in the crocodilian creatures’ inner ears to learn how they moved into the sea

Folium was used to illustrate illuminated manuscripts—and color the rind of a popular Dutch cheese.

Researchers Follow a 15th-Century Recipe to Recreate Medieval Blue Ink

The purplish-blue pigment, derived from a Portuguese fruit, fell out of use by the 19th century

"Occupy White Walls" features hundreds of architectural elements. Users are represented by avatars resembling common reference mannequins.

This Free Game Lets Users Build Their Own Virtual Art Museums

"Occupy White Walls" allows players to design their own art galleries—and explore others' out-of-the-box creations

As scientists stay home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, crucial weather and climate data aren't being collected.

How COVID-19 Interferes With Weather Forecasts and Climate Research

'The break in the scientific record is probably unprecedented,' one ecologist says

A virtual view of the Red Monastery, one of five Egyptian heritage sites newly detailed in 3-D

Take a Free Virtual Tour of Five Egyptian Heritage Sites

The sites include the 5,000-year-old tomb of Meresankh III, the Red Monastery and the Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Barquq

Delicate blossoms might get knocked down, but they get up again.

How Flowers Marvelously Evolved Resilience

Blossoms contort and twist back into optimal pollination position after getting bumped and battered

Flamingos mingle in a small group at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge in England.

Flamingos in Captivity Pick Favorite Friends Among the Flock

These cliques wear pink every day of the week

Capitol Hill Books is one of several independent bookstores selling "mystery bags."

Local Bookstores Offer 'Mystery Bags' of Quarantine Reading

Buyers can ask for a mix of their favorite genre or seek booksellers’ recommendations

An art installation by Raul Walch, created for the "Life, art, pandemic and proximity" project, is seen in Berlin on April 12, 2020.

Berlin Artists Turn Their Balconies Into Mini Galleries

Some 50 artists around the Prenzlauer Berg district displayed works of art for passersby to enjoy

Some dolphins are shy, too.

Wild Dolphins Seem to Have a Range of Personalities

From shy to bold with shades in between, dolphin personalities are surprisingly similar to ours

The Puratos Sourdough Library in St. Vith, Belgium, uses refrigerated cabinets to slow the starters' fermentation process in order to preserve their original flavor.

Take a Virtual Tour of This Belgian Sourdough Library

Sourdough librarian Karl De Smedt has traveled the world to gather more than 120 jars of starters

Some eastern monarch butterflies travel about 3,000 miles to reach their overwintering sites in Mexico.

Hand-Reared Monarch Butterflies Are Weaker Than Their Wild Cousins

In the wild, only about one in 20 caterpillars grows up to be a butterfly

This miniature room design by Julie Dumas Rose is a finalist in Eny Lee Parker's Clay Play challenge.

These Artists Used Clay to Build Their Dream Homes in Miniature

Ceramics artist Eny Lee Parker hosted a contest that asked quarantined creators to imagine their ideal rooms

A survey of 1,036 reefs in the Great Barrier Reef over the last two weeks of March revealed the most widespread bleaching event on record.

The Great Barrier Reef Is Now Facing Most Widespread Bleaching Event Yet

The severity of this year's bleaching is second only to 2016, during which a third of the reef’s corals died

A gallery assistant poses with Andy Warhol's Elvis 1 and 2 1963-4 during a press preview for Tate Modern's retrospective on March 10, 2020.

Take a Virtual Tour of Tate Modern's Andy Warhol Exhibition

The show ran for just five days before the London museum closed due to COVID-19

Researcher Mark Meekan swims with a whale shark, which can grow up to 60 feet long, making them the world's largest fish.

Researchers Calculated a Whale Shark’s Age Based on Cold War-Era Bomb Tests

Nuclear bomb tests caused a spike in a radioactive form of carbon that accumulated in living things

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