News Bites - National Geographic Kids

Today is the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, or UNCRC. The UNCRC is a treaty that grants children under the age of 17 more than 40 rights, including the rights to survive, to education, to health, to protection from harm, and to be heard. The treaty has been signed by almost every country in the world.

To celebrate the anniversary, World Photography Organisation, Sony, and UNICEF will be sending six young photographers to Ethiopia with National Geographic photographer and humanitarian Reza.

Learn more about UNCRC on the UNICEF website.

Visit the Sony World Photography Awards website.

Read an interview with Reza on National Geographic Kids.

Photograph © Sharon Lovell/UNICEF

The life-size Terra Cotta Warriors from China are on display beginning today at National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C.

Visitors can stand face-to-face with the 2,000-year-old statues, which were created to guard the tomb of China's first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi. The exhibit will be open until March 31, 2010.

Learn about Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor exhibit.

Watch a video of the artifacts being unearthed.

Is that sound a violin? Nope! You are hearing the vibrating feathers of the male club-winged manakin. This tiny songbird lives in the cloud forests of the Andes in South America. It vibrates one type of wing feather against another at twice the speed of a hummingbird's wings to "sing" to potential mates. The sound this vibration makes sounds like a violin.



Learn more about the club-winged manakin on National Geographic News.

Check out the dance the riflebird performs to attract a mate on National Geographic Kids.

Make a bird feeder to feed hungry birds in your area this winter.

Sesame Street's first episode aired on November 10, 1969. It was one of the first educational TV programs for kids. The idea behind Sesame Street was to help kids learn and to have fun while doing it. The show was specially directed towards inner-city kids who had fewer educational advantages. The Sesame Street set was designed to look familiar--it could be any street in New York City.

Today, 40 years later, kids are still watching Sesame Street, and in more countries than ever before. There are 140 different versions of Sesame Street broadcast around the world. Each edition is specially adapted reflect the lives and cultures of kids living in that area.

Do you watch Sesame Street, or did you when you were younger? Who is your favorite character?

Visit the Sesame Street website on PBS.

Learn more about Sesame Street around the world on National Geographic News.

Even Sesame Street is going green! Learn more on National Geographic News.


Photograph by Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Alamy

Photograph courtesy WFP/Rein Skullerud


Did you know that over one billion people suffer hunger in the world each day? That is about one-sixth of the population of the planet. The World Food Programme, part of the United Nations, helps feed people around the world and has created online resources to help kids learn about hunger and ways to help. The WFP blog for students and teachers called, Teaching Hunger, is a great way to learn more about how hunger affects people around the world. Another WFP blog, On the Road, features videos highlighting hunger issues. Check out the links below to visit the World Food Programme blogs on their website.

Visit the World Food Programme's Teaching Hunger blog.

Visit the World Food Programme's On the Road blog.

Learn how you can help others during the holidays this year on National Geographic Kids.

Hunger isn't the only problem in the world. Malaria is still a problem in Africa. Read more on National Geographic Kids.