1 . Whether you feel like taking a road trip, or you just need some fun, you’ll enjoy this list of popular tourist attractions.

Alabama: Gulf Coast Beaches

If Alabama wasn’t the location for your next summer beach vacation, you may want to reconsider. There are 32 miles of white sands that have washed down from the Appalachian Mountains for thousands of years. That’s probably why over six million people visit Alabama’s Gulf Coast beaches every year. Ten dollars per person.

Alaska: Kenai Fjords Wildlife Cruise

Alaska is the place to go for spotting breathtaking (令人惊叹的) wildlife. In fact, the number of visitors who travel to Alaska to see wildlife has increased 45 percent. The Kenai Fjords Wildlife Cruise will bring you up close to whales, sea lions, and sea birds. A five-hour trip that starts at noon and covers 55 miles of sea will be the best $98 you’ve ever spent.

Arkansas: Hot Springs National Park

Skip the beach and choose a new type of relaxation at Hot Springs National Park. It’s America’s oldest national and the smallest national park. There’s a no-booking policy, perfect for travelers rolling through. Doors open at 8 a.m., so get there early!

Connecticut: Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History

Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History is a must stop if you’re traveling nearby Yale University. It attracts plenty of people and has many collections including New England birds, dinosaurs, Greek and Roman antiquities, and even an Egyptian mummy. Adults pay $13 for entry, but if you want to visit for free, go on a Thursday.

2 . Many disaster-relief programs transport tons of supplies, such as food, water and heavy equipment, by road using large trucks. But some supplies may weigh just a few kilograms or less. For example, a package might contain a few doses of life-saving medicine.

The parachutes (降落伞) that carry these packages from planes are often made of nylon (尼龙). After one use, these parachutes are usually discarded. Because nylon is a polymer (聚合物), it does not decompose quickly. Therefore, Natalie looked for a greener alternative.

Nylon is strong, but a parachute used only once for light packages does not need to be that strong. Paper might be good enough, thought the teen. Plus, a paper parachute can be folded into a tiny package, just like a fabric parachute. Moreover, she notes there are many different ways to fold the unopened paper parachute.

Natalie came up with several folded designs and tested them. Her first models were small, so she could test them indoors. Two were triangular (三角形的). Two more were rectangular (长方形的). One of the rectangular ones opened most smoothly, she found. It also fell and landed most steadily as it dropped through the air. “Such features can be important when the goal is to deliver a package to the ground softly and accurately,” she says.

Natalie showcased her designs at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Natalie’s single-use paper parachutes are not harmful to the environment. They are also less expensive than parachutes made from more traditional materials. A nylon parachute of the same size as her design would cost about $31, she says. One made from silk, another common parachute fabric, would cost almost $16. But a parachute made from paper would likely cost less than $1, Natalie estimates.

3 . To get kids into science for the long term, new findings suggest it’s best to engage them alongside their families. The finding runs counter (背道而驰) to the current framework, in which children attend science-related summer camps and after-school programs apart from their families. That approach may reduce the long-term potential of what they learn.

“Most kids have interest in science,” says lead author Megan Ennes. “For them, it’s about curiosity and wonder, but research shows that as they make their way through middle school, there’s a significant decline. So we want to focus on the finding so that we can build a support system around it.”

In partnership with North Carolina State University, the researchers based their study on a family science program hosted at three museums. Over the course of ten months, families met on weekends for science themed events. Afterward, the participants attended an activity led by professionals in science, technology, engineering or math, allowing families to experience what it’s like to work in those fields.

During an event with a focus on local wildlife, a bird expert helped families capture birds with nets and unite the ones that hadn’t been caught before to monitor their populations. “After the bird banding, one of the parents took it home so they could continue talking about birds at home,” Ennes says. “Our goal isn’t to persuade students to become scientists. But if we can help families see science as something they do for fun together, then we can help ensure they have a lifelong engagement with it.”

“Some of the greatest challenges and opportunities our society is faced with will be solved by teams rather than by individuals,” Ennes says. “Helping families see science as something they do together with a community can help build 21st-century skills needed to be successful in science and society. It also builds a supportive network to allow youth and families to explore new careers and lifelong hobbies related to science.”

4 . As a kid, Pamela Akuku spent her weekends exploring the National Museums of Kenya, following along with her mom who worked there. Akuku became fascinated with the researchers. She saw them using various equipment and researching the fossils carefully. “But I didn’t know what they were doing at the time,” she says. “I kept asking my mom about it.”

Akuku’s mom saw her daughter’s curiosity and signed her up for the museum’s Young Researchers Club. Akuku soon took part in mock excavations (模拟挖掘) and reconstructed bones. “I enjoyed reading and puzzles,” says Akuku. “And this was a mixture of the two.”

The museum experiences helped inspire her career as an archeologist. After her four years in university, she was sure that she wanted to study archaeology. She did her master’s in South Africa and majored in zooarchaeology (动物考古学). She is now at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution in Tarragona, Spain. There, she studies how ancient humans modified (改良) animal bones. Her research is helping to reveal more about where early humans lived. She’s currently studying the remains from Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge, where researchers previously discovered stone tools and evidence of early human ancestors going back as far as 2 million years.

Akuku gives some advice to people who want to do her job. “Be prepared to come across hard conditions. Working in this field is challenging. You have to work twice as hard just to be recognized,” Akuku said. But she has learned to deal with it. Now she always tells everyone the efforts are worthy.

5 . There are hundreds of great national nature reserves in China. Now feast your eyes on the following amazing ones.

Qinghai Lake, China’s largest saltwater lake in Qinghai Province, is a key body of water for lots of animals and birds. As an important stopover, migratory birds (候鸟) would rest in this area during their movement trip every year. The reserve became a national nature reserve in the year of 1997.

The only Bayanbulak Wetland, in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is at the foot of Tianshan Mountains, which makes itself suitable for migratory birds. Bayanbulak means “rich spring water” in Mongolian, meaning that the area is rich in water. Every year, swans (天鹅) from different places fly here for nesting, which became a national swan reserve in 1986.

As one of the largest wintering places for swans in China, this reserve in Shandong Province mainly protects whooper swans (大天鹅), which make it different from other nature reserves. In 2007, it was changed into a national nature reserve. Now every year, thousands of whooper swans arrive here to spend the winter, making it an important resting and wintering place for themselves.

This reserve focuses on protecting coral reefs and their living environment in Sanya City, Hainan Province. In 1990, it became a national nature reserve. This reserve is on the coast, so the area of the reserve has good water quality and many kinds of creatures,

6 . Most of us have heard of the 3Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle. It is the core principle of a sustainable (可持续的) life, but few of us can apply it in our own lives. Now, there’s a “lab” you can explore and discover a way toward living sustainably.

3R Lab is located in Xuhui district, Shanghai. It offers exhibitions, activities and goods that showcase the 3R principle. The key to a sustainable life, according to Vincent T. M. Fong, the 32-year-old from Hong Kong who created the lab, is to make it a long-term promise. “A sustainable life should be sustainable itself in the first place. You can’t lead a sustainable life on a whim. Small and comfortable changes are exactly what you need,” Fong said.

The lab regularly hosts ugly fruit markets, offering these strange fruits which are often thrown away by traditional markets and consumers at a quite attractive price. “They’re thrown away simply because of their appearance. Buying fruit regardless of how they look reduces food waste significantly in our daily life,” Fong commented.

A water tank with two types of straws is another equipment in the lab. “One type is made from normal plastics widely used in our daily life while the other is from PHA, a new replacement for plastics, and the water is sourced from the Suzhou River,” explained Ni Li, an employee of the lab. Visitors can see how the PHA straws degrade (降解) into a thin layer in just one month, while the others remain unchanged.

“Leading a sustainable life does not necessarily mean sacrifice,” said Fong. Consuming ugly fruit and using degradable plastics are small changes that are good for the environment and easy to stick to. Only in this way can the 3R principle become part of our lives, he added.

After working there for six months, Ni, who wasn’t mindful of the 3R principle before arriving at the lab, now uses her cup every time she buys a coffee. “The job has reshaped my life,” Ni said.

10 . Every experience makes us grow — nowhere is this more true than at North Country School (NCS). The NCS experience includes both classroom and experiential learning. Their courses help every child unlock their hidden potential and passions.

NCS was eye-opening for Sam Shi. He discovered his passion for biology as he learned about the wildlife and ecosystems (生态系统) within the Adirondacks. “The hands-on, placed-based teaching styles were extremely interesting,” he says. “A whole new type of appreciation occurs when you learn about living things while actually being surrounded by it.”

NCS students grow and learn effectively thanks to the direct experience they get. Led by talented teachers, they aren’t just learning by doing — they’re knowing by doing.

Shi got a taste of this as early as his first day in the Design and Build class with Larry Robjent. “No NCS class works like your standard, textbook classes,” he says. “Larry laid out our year-long project of deconstructing an on-campus bridge and plans to build a new one. A year-long project, where we actually got to work outside, with our hands, and build something practical. No chance you’d find that anywhere else.”

Shi described everything about that class as “special”. He got to be creative. Most importantly, he studied physics and engineering in practical ways. “At the end I got to stand alongside my classmates and admire the product of our efforts, something that would remain a piece of NCS for many years to come,” he shares.

Such breakthroughs happen daily at NCS. “The journey of discovering how to trust my abilities is a life lesson that has remained with me and likely always will,” says Shi. “The teachers always encouraged me to try new things and to trust myself.”

With such courses, it is no wonder NCS students gain confidence, creativity and knowledge. As Shi says, “I had no idea how cool this place would be, and certainly didn’t expect my study there to impact my life as obviously as it did and continues to do.”