Heroes of Every Age
Polaris says: "In every age there were troubles, and in every age someone stood up to them." Here are little stories about some of them.
A map showing where each hero came from, coming soon
Wilbur and Orville Wright
When Wilbur and Orville were boys, their father brought home a little toy helicopter made of paper, bamboo and cork, powered by a rubber band. They played with it until it broke, then built their own. Years later, the two brothers built the first airplane that flew with an engine.
Symbol: a toy helicopter · in Orbit's stories
Galileo Galilei
Galileo heard about a new tube with glass lenses that made faraway things look close. He built his own, better one, and pointed it at the night sky. Next to the planet Jupiter he spotted tiny points of light that moved night after night: Jupiter had moons of its own!
Symbol: a small telescope · in Orbit's stories
Mae Jemison
As a girl in Chicago, Mae loved science and dancing, and she was sure she would go to space one day. She studied hard, became a doctor and an engineer, and in 1992 she flew on the space shuttle Endeavour — the first African American woman in space.
Symbol: a space shuttle · in Orbit's stories
Ada Lovelace
When Ada was about twelve, she decided she wanted to fly. She studied birds, measured wings and filled a notebook with plans for a flying machine. That same curious mind later helped her write what many people call the first computer program.
Symbol: a sketch of wings · in Quill's stories
Louis Braille
Louis lost his sight when he was a small boy, but he loved books. At school there were very few books he could read with his fingers. So, as a teenager, he invented a way to read and write with little raised dots. Today people all over the world read with braille.
Symbol: six raised dots · in Quill's stories
Wilma Rudolph
When Wilma was little, she was often ill and had to wear a brace on her leg. With exercise, care from her big family and lots of practice, she got stronger and stronger — until she became the fastest woman in the world and won three gold medals at the Olympics.
Symbol: running shoes · in Zest's stories
Florence Nightingale
Florence was a nurse who walked through the hospital at night with a lamp to check on every patient, so people called her "the Lady with the Lamp." She made washing hands and keeping wards clean a habit for everyone — and that simple habit helped many people get better.
Symbol: a little lamp · in Wren's stories
Jane Goodall
When Jane was a very small girl, she wanted to know how a hen lays an egg. She crept into the henhouse and waited quietly for hours until she saw it happen. Her family had been looking everywhere for her! That patient, curious girl grew up to study chimpanzees in the wild.
Symbol: a hen and a notebook · in Fern's stories
Hans Christian Andersen
As a boy, Hans had a little toy theatre. He sewed tiny costumes for his puppets and made up plays for them. He never stopped imagining, and grew up to write fairy tales that children around the world still love.
Symbol: a toy theatre · in Pip's stories
Everyday heroes
The farmers who grow our food, the nurses who care for people all night, the mail carriers who bring our letters and the cleaners who keep our streets tidy are heroes too. Today, say "thank you" to one of them.
Symbol: a thank-you card · in Maple's stories