Today’s Solutions: August 15, 2026

Education

Great minds lead to great solutions. Our education section features solutions and innovations directed at strengthening educational systems around the world.

Bizarre: Whale sculpture saves

Bizarre: Whale sculpture saves Dutch train from falling off the tracks

Here’s another item to add to the list of bizarre things to happen in 2020: A Dutch metro train crashed through the stop blocks at a station just outside Rotterdam and was bound to fall 10 meters (32ft) to the ground. But rather than a tragic free fall, the train landed on top of a giant Read More...

This school district is keepin

This school district is keeping snow days alive so kids can be kids

A heavy weekday snowstorm may be a nightmare for adults who must commute through town, but if you’re a kid, it’s the best thing ever. Heavy snow usually means school is canceled for the day, which means it’s time to play in the white fluff and get cozy with books and movies. Or at least, Read More...

A daycare built a ‘fores

A daycare built a 'forest floor', and it changed kids' immune systems

Time in nature is valuable for children’s physical and mental health, so one daycare in Finland decided to invest in a playground that replicated the forest floor. The results were amazing.  Adding indigenous forest species to the playground The daycare replaced their sandy playground surface Read More...

7 clever ways to give your old

7 clever ways to give your old egg cartons new life

While it’s possible to recycle old egg cartons, there are many ways you can repurpose cartons in order to give them a second life before being recycled. With that in mind, here are 7 simple ways to reuse egg cartons. Starting seeds Cardboard egg cartons have perfectly sized compartments for Read More...

A reader’s dream: Have a loo

A reader’s dream: Have a look at the world’s most stunning libraries

The powerful thing about books is that once you open one up, it can transport you to an entirely different world. Where you read your book doesn’t necessarily matter—the book will bring you to new places and new pools of knowledge. With that said, there’s nothing quite like visiting a Read More...

Empty dance studio with worn wooden floor, pink walls, and parallel ballet barres along the walls; chairs and a piano visible in the back corner.

How a rickshaw driver’s son beat the odds to join a famed UK ballet school

Kamal Singh was 17-years-old when he first became transfixed by ballet dancers in a Bollywood film. At that moment, the son of a rickshaw driver in Delhi knew that he wanted to become a ballet dancer himself. Four years later, Singh has become one of the first Indian students to be admitted into Read More...

Research says arts and STEM de

Research says arts and STEM depend on same type of creative thinking

Are you a math person or a writing person? Right-brained or left? New research indicates that the two might be more interconnected than we might have thought. Although we often think of arts and science as opposites, it turns out the same type of creative thinking is critical for both.  A new Read More...

How a single Japanese tourist

How a single Japanese tourist got to enter Machu Picchu alone

Like many of us have experienced in the past months, Japanese tourist Jesse Katayama had his vacation plans ruined due to the coronavirus pandemic. Back in March, Katayama, a native of Osaka, arrived in Peru with the dream of visiting the ruins of Machu Picchu—the ancient Inca citadel. But when Read More...

Iconic rock band performs live

Iconic rock band performs live concert in socially distant bubbles

Social distancing at a live rock concert may sound like a pipe dream, but the iconic rock band The Flaming Lips recently proved otherwise. On Monday, the band performed its first concert since the coronavirus pandemic started for a live audience in Oklahoma City, where everyone was entirely Read More...

Philippines teachers start cal

Philippines teachers start call center to help struggling remote students

To contain the spread of the coronavirus, schools in the Philippines have remained closed since lockdown ensued in March. This has pushed virtually all of the country’s students to continue their education online. Concerned that virtual learning may become a struggle for students, a local Read More...