The Lewis and Clark expedition into the Louisiana Purchase and beyond changed America. The team of explorers identified new plant and animal species, opened trade routes, and brought back stories of the West that fired the country’s imagination. They also made contact with Native American tribes, eventually leading to devastating outbreaks of disease and loss of native land. This audio story follows the team of adventurers as they discovered the West and pursued their plan to bring back an unusual pet for the president – a prairie dog.
Story Length: 4:42
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From 1804 to 1806, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led an expedition to explore North America beyond the Mississippi River. Their expedition, pushed by Thomas Jefferson and approved by Congress, was motivated by a combination of geopolitics and scientific curiosity. Their journey west and return to St. Louis is a remarkable and profound American story of sacrifice, discovery, conquest, and adventure. This audio story centers around the 200 year anniversary of their expedition. In the story, the details of the journey, its participants, and its historical legacy, both good and bad, are addressed.
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In 1991, hikers discovered a corpse frozen in the Alps. Investigators discovered that the body was 5,300 years old and had been so well-preserved in the ice that it served as a time capsule from the early Copper Age. They named the natural mummy Otzi after the region where he was found. Scientists have examined Otzi’s body and his belongings, which were surprisingly intact, and learned a great deal about his origins, diet, health, and lifestyle. Listen to learn what scientists have discovered about Otzi and his life in the mountains thousands of years ago.
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