Oxygen

Have you ever taken a really big, deep breath after running across a playground. That’s me, filling you up with energy. I am the reason a birthday candle flickers with a happy little flame and a cozy campfire crackles and glows, sending warmth into the chilly night air. I am everywhere, but you can’t see me. I can be a little mischievous, too. If you leave your shiny bicycle out in the rain, I will work with the water to leave little reddish-brown spots called rust all over it. I help kites soar in the wind and bubbles float toward the sky. I am your invisible helper, always there, making so many things happen in your world. I am in the air you breathe and the water you drink. Hello. I am Oxygen.

For a very, very long time, people knew there was something special in the air. They knew it helped them breathe and made fires burn, but they had no idea it was me and they didn't have a name for me. It was a big mystery. Then, a few very curious scientists started looking for answers. A man named Carl Wilhelm Scheele was actually the very first person to find me. He did his experiments around the year 1772, but he was a bit slow to write down his discovery and tell everyone about it. A little later, on August 1st, 1774, another scientist named Joseph Priestley did a famous experiment. He used a big magnifying glass to shine sunlight onto a pile of red powder. Suddenly, a special kind of air puffed out. When he put a candle flame near this new air, the flame burned bigger and brighter than ever before. He was so surprised. He gave me a very silly name, 'dephlogisticated air.' It wasn't until a few years later, around 1777, that a scientist named Antoine Lavoisier figured out what I really was. He realized I was a unique element, a basic building block of the world, and he gave me my official name: Oxygen.

Now that people knew who I was, they started to see me everywhere. I am a great partner. I team up with my friend, hydrogen, to create the water you drink and swim in. Two parts hydrogen and one part me makes H2O. I am also the breath of life for every living thing. I give energy to the tiny ant crawling on the sidewalk, the tall giraffe munching on leaves, and even the gigantic blue whale swimming deep in the ocean. Every animal and person needs me to live and move. I also have some very exciting jobs in the modern world. I help powerful rockets blast off into space, pushing them up through the sky. I also work in hospitals, where doctors give me to people who are having trouble breathing, helping them feel strong and healthy again. I connect every single living thing on this planet. So the next time you take a big, deep breath, remember me. I am right there with you, giving you the energy to play, learn, and grow.