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Welcome to News Bites’s new look! If you already have a NG Kids blog account, click “Login” to the right, and then “Lost Password” to get your new account password.
Welcome to Green Scene’s new look! If you already have a NG Kids blog account, click “Login” to the right, and then “Lost Password” to get your new account password.
Welcome to the Hands-On Explorer Challenge Blog’s new look! If you already have a NG Kids blog account, click “Login” to the right, and then “Lost Password” to get your new account password.
Welcome to DogEared’s new look! If you already have a NG Kids blog account, click “Login” to the right, and then “Lost Password” to get your new account password.
Passport to Roam is Getting a New Look!
In a few days, Passport to Roam will be getting a whole new look! The commenting will be turned off for a few days while we move into the new design. Thanks for reading Passport to Roam!
In a few days, DogEared will be getting a whole new look! The commenting will be turned off for several days while we move into the new design, but you can still read all the great posts about books. Thanks for reading DogEared!
In a few days, News Bites will be getting a whole new look! The commenting will be turned off for a few days while we move into the new design. Thanks for reading News Bites!
In a few days, Green Scene will be getting a whole new look! The commenting will be turned off for several days while we move into the new design. Thanks for reading Green Scene!
In a few days, The Hands-On Explorer Trip Blog will be getting a whole new look! The commenting will be turned off for a few days while we move into the new design. Thanks for reading the Hands-On Explorer Trip Blog!
You’ll get an extra hour of sleep this weekend! Daylight saving time ends for most of the U.S. on November 4.
Daylight saving time isn’t observed everywhere in the United States. Some places, like American Samoa, Hawaii and most of Arizona, don’t change their clocks. For those places that do observe it, though, the law says that people must set their clocks back one hour to standard time at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday in November. This Sunday, the sun will set an hour earlier. During daylight saving time, there’s less light in the morning and more light in the evening.
What is daylight saving time? Get the scoop in this News Bite.
Spend your extra hour this weekend reading a good book! Get recommendations from other kids on the DogEared Books Blog.
Read about an invention that wakes you up with bacon on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Jellybean12, NG Kids My Shot
Did you know that male mice sing? According to scientists, male mice sing for many reasons, including for courtship and to show aggression. A new study reports that males change the notes in their songs to more closely match the songs of other males. Scientists record the songs and slow down the recordings to listen to them, because they are too high-pitched for humans to hear.
Read more about the study on National Geographic News.
Read about how scientists gave mice tans on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph from Juniors Bildarchiv GmbH/Alamy
You probably know that the election for the President of the United States is coming up on November 6. But who can run for President, and how does the president get elected? Kids.gov had a contest in 2010 where people had the chance to design a poster that explains the whole process–from how old you have to be to get in the running, to how the election’s final decisions are made. The winning poster is now available on the Kids.gov website.
Download your “How to Become President of the U.S.” poster from Kids.gov.
Illustration courtesy of Kids.gov
A planet that is about twice the size of Earth has been found orbiting a nearby star in the constellation Cancer. This planet is much too hot for humans to ever live on. But the heat is very good for something else–creating diamonds! The planet is very rich in carbon, which is what diamonds are made of. The illustration above shows the planet with a layer of diamonds under its graphite surface.
Read more about the diamond planet on National Geographic News.
Do you have the facts on geology? Quiz Your Noodle and find out!
Illustration courtesy Haven Giguere, Yale
The panda cub that was born in September at the National Zoo lived for just six days before mysteriously dying. Today, the National Zoo released a statement saying that the female cub died of liver and lung damage. The cub’s lungs were not fully developed, so the cub was not getting enough oxygen. The cub’s mother, Mei Xiang, has returned to most of her ordinary behaviors.
National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Paul Sereno and his team have discovered a new dinosaur species! Pegomastax africanus was only about 2 feet long, and had fangs and was covered with quills like a porcupine’s. Even though it had fangs, this tiny dino ate plants. Because of its small size, Sereno says that “it would be a nice pet–if you could train it not to nip you.”
Would you like to have a dinosaur as a pet?
Read more about Pegomastax africanus on National Geographic News.
Read about more tiny dinos on National Geographic Kids.
Learn more about Paul Sereno and the rest of the National Geographic explorers.
What makes NG Kids so special? In one word, how would you describe National Geographic Kids? What comes to mind when you think of NG Kids games, the magazine, website, books like That’s Gross, Weird But True, NG Kids My Shot, and our animal videos?
Please add your word in the comments!
The NG Kids Dare to Explore O’ahu contest challenged kids to tell us why they would like to explore Oahu. Four kids ages 9 to 14 were selected as winners to join the Oahu expedition from August 23-29, 2012. The four winners were Ella Beezely, age 10 from Indiana; Liam Kivirist, age 10, from Wisconsin; Anya Hardin, age 12, from Ohio; and Sarah Tharpe, age 14, from Florida. The kids were joined by NG expert and Digital Nomad, Andrew Evans.
The kids visited Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial, explored the nooks and crannies of the Battleship USS Missouri, met a real WW2 hero at the Pacific Aviation Museum, learned to plant taro (and eat poi!), made music at Na Mea KuPono, contributed to restoring the fish ponds with coral with Paepae o He`eia/Friends of He`eia, appeared on a movie set at Kualoa Ranch, explored all of the Polynesia Islands in one day plus were dazzled by “Ha!” at the Polynesian Cultural Center, all in just one week while staying at The Aston Hotel and Resort Waikiki Sunset!!
Group photograph by Dana Deighton. From left: Anya Hardin, Liam Kivirist, Ella Beezley, Sarah Tharpe with Andrew Evans, NG Digital Nomad in back
Fish photograph by Anya Hardin
Last month kids were invited to enter their pictures in the Children’s Eyes on Earth photo contest to help raise awareness of environmental issues. This contest was created by IDEA (International Dialogue for Environmental Action) along with the photographer and National Geographic photographer and humanitarian Reza. Now, you can help choose the winner by rating the photos entered in the contest! Visit the Children’s Eyes on Earth website until September 25 to vote.
Baby Panda Born at the National Zoo
A baby panda was born on September 16 at Washington, D.C.’s National Zoo. The new baby is about as long as an adult’s hand, and only weighs about a quarter of a pound. Panda babies are pink when they are born–they don’t look like adult pandas at all! No one knows if the baby is a male or female yet, but the zoo will be able to tell in about a month. The new cub will receive a name when it is 100 days old, following the Chinese custom.
The last panda baby born at the zoo was named Tai Shan, seen in the picture above.
Read more about the baby panda at the National Zoo website.
Get the facts on giant pandas in the Creature Feature.
Photograph by Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP
Here’s your chance to be part of a new National Geographic Kids book! Visit the Are You “Normal”? page on National Geographic Kids
to answer polls about your family, friends, likes, dislikes, and more!
Your answers will appear in the next Are You “Normal”? book, which will
be published in 2013.
Children’s Eyes on Earth Photo Contest
Budding photographers can enter pictures in a contest to raise awareness of environmental issues. Kids ages 17 and under can enter the Children’s Eyes On Earth International Youth Photography Contest 2012! This contest was created by IDEA (International Dialogue for Environmental Action) along with the photographer and National Geographic photographer and humanitarian Reza.
Entries must be received by September 15.
Visit the Children’s Eyes on Earth Photo Contest website to learn more and enter.
The 2012 BioBlitz is coming! The event will be held on August 24 and 25 in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park. Teams of volunteers will help scientists identify as many different species of plants, animals, and other organisms as they can during the 24-hour event. If you’re interested in signing up with a parent, click the link below to get more information.
Learn more about the 2012 BioBlitz.
Watch a video of bighorn sheep on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Richard Hahn, My Shot
Meet the mascots of the London 2012 Olympic Games! Wenlock and Mandeville are made of steel, and are said to be made from the last girder of the Olympic stadium! Wenlock is the mascot of the Olympic Games, and Mandeville is the mascot of the Paralympics. The mascots are both customizable. You can create your own Wenlock or Mandeville on their official website.
This summer’s Olympic games begin on July 27. The Paralympics begin on August 29. What events are you most excited to watch?
Learn more about the London 2012 Olympics.
Get the facts on the United Kingdom on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Johnny Green, AP
National Geographic explorers working on projects all over the world are meeting at NG headquarters in Washington D.C. this week to share their latest fieldwork. Learn more about their projects, and meet the 2012 Emerging Explorers, and get inspired by visiting the Nat Geo E-Team online!
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Did you know that 71 percent of the Earth is covered by either seas or oceans and they help feed us, regulate our climate, and generate most of the oxygen that we breathe? This Friday, June 8, you can join aquariums and zoos around the world to celebrate World Oceans Day.
If you can’t visit your local aquarium or zoo in person, you can still participate by visiting the World Oceans Day website and pledge your commitment to keeping the oceans clean and healthy for the future.
Learn ten things you can do to save the ocean.
How will you celebrate World Oceans Day?
