Architecture, democracy, the Olympics--the modern world owes a lot to the ancient Greeks! In Explore Greek Myths! With 25 Great Projects, readers embark on a fascinating journey to explore the myths that infused ancient Greek culture, civilization, and innovation. Readers will learn how these myths, popular more than 3,000 years ago, have provided fundamental support to today's art, architecture, mathematics, science, philosophy, literature, and government. Readers will read about the adventures of many Greek gods, such as Zeus, who could throw lightning bolts and Athena, who personally protected the city of Athens. Readers will also meet great heroes, including the mighty Heracles, Perseus, who freed a princess chained to a rock, and Odysseus, who battled with a one-eyed giant called a Cyclopes. These characters and creatures serve to both entertain and offer lessons in morality, while also explaining the natural phenomenon that the ancient Greeks had no scientific explanation for. The lively text, surprising fun facts, jokes, and colorful illustrations encourage children to explore Greek mythology and make connections to our modern culture and language. Hands-on activities include making a topographical map of ancient Greece and designing Greek columns, while links to online primary sources encourage readers to explore the topic independently.

Catch a glimpse inside a school bus and you'll see lots of kids looking down. What are they doing? They're deciding on strategy, building cities, setting traps for monsters, sharing resources, and nurturing critical relationships. Over 90 percent of kids ages 2-17 play video games. In Video Games: Design and Code Your Own Adventure, young readers learn why games are so compelling and what ancient games such as mancala have in common with modern games like Minecraft. Kids will even create their very own video games using software such as MIT's Scratch! Using a familiar, high-interest subject, Video Games introduces foundation subjects such as geometry, physics, probability, and psychology in a practical framework. Building Tetris pieces out of Rice Crispie Treats and designing board games are some of the hands-on projects that engage readers' building skills, while writing actual game code opens digital doors readers may not have known existed.