Franklyn M. Branley
Personal Information
Description
Franklyn Mansfield Branley was born in New Rochelle, New York, the child of an insurance salesman and his wife. While he was still a toddler, Branley's mother died of influenza, and he and his two brothers went to live with a farm family near Newburgh, New York. His father visited them on the weekends. Branley contracted polio at a young age. After graduating from the New Paltz Normal School (now SUNY), he married Margaret Lemon, who became a grade school teacher. He became a science teacher educator at the New Jersey State Teachers College. In 1956, he joined the American Museum-Hayden Planetarium to run the Planetariums education program. While working there, he also earned a Masters degree from New York University, followed by an Ed.D. from Columbia Teachers College. In 1968, he became the chairman of the Hayden Planetarium, where he served until his retirement in 1972. Over the course of his career, Branley was a prolific writer, specializing in books that make science accessible to grade-school children. He wrote over 200 books.
Books
The International Space Station
Explains the construction and purpose of the International Space Station and the life of the astronauts on board.
Tornado Alert
Describes the origin and nature of tornadoes and how to stay safe when threatened by one of these dangerous storms.
It's Raining Cats and Dogs
Discusses various weather phenomena, including rain, hail, smog, snow, lightning, hurricanes, and tornadoes.
Mysteries of Outer Space
Discusses kinds of space, the sky in outer space, time in outer space, weightlessness, survival in space, uses of space, mining the asteroids, and the end of space.
Is there life in outer space?
Discusses some of the ideas and misconceptions about life in outer space and speculates on the existence of such life in light of recent space explorations.
Comets
Explains the characteristics of comets.
Halley, comet 1986
Describes the sightings of Halley's comet throughout history and how its movements were definitively charted by the astronomer whose name it bears. Also discusses the composition of comets and their relationship to the earth, other famous comets, and the return of Halley's comet in 1986.
The Planets in Our Solar System
Describes the nine planets and other bodies of the solar system; includes directions for making models showing the size of the planets and their distance from the sun.
The sky is full of stars
Explains how to view stars and ways to locate star pictures, known as constellations, throughout the year.
Sun dogs and shooting stars
A guide to astronomical and meteorological events typical of each month, from the beginning of winter through summer's meteor showers and hail to the harvest moon of autumn.
Columbia and beyond
Discusses the space vehicle, "Columbia," the space laboratory, "Spacelab," and other proposed space projects.
Measure with metric
Introduces the principles of the metric system through simple experiments.
Sunshine makes the seasons
Describes how sunshine and the tilt of the earth's axis are responsible for the changing seasons.
The beginning of the earth
Describes what may have happened when the earth began billions of years ago.
Gravity is a Mystery
Explains in simple text and illustrations what is known about the force of gravity.
A book of Mars for you
Presents the progression in man's knowledge of the planet Mars--from the telescope of Galileo to the photographic lens of Mariner IV whose incredible journey close to the Red Planet furnished scientists with more data than ever previously collected.
Floating and sinking
An introduction to buoyancy. Includes key vocabulary, a story, and notes for parents and teachers.