April 2009 Archives

National Geographic Kids Website has been nominated for a Webby Award! Grab your parents and cast your vote for NG Kids, kids.nationalgeographic.com, in the Website - Living - Youth category on the Webby Awards People's Voice page.

Lots of National Geographic Society employees brought their kids to headquarters for "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" on Thursday, April 23. They spent part of their visit with National Geographic Kids! Some of these kids became reporters for the day. Here's their take on what it's like to work at National Geographic.

The six winners of the 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize have been announced. This is the 20th year that the Goldman Environmental Prize has been awarded. Each year, a winner is chosen from each inhabited continent (making six prizes). It has been awarded to 133 grassroots environmentalists from 75 different countries.

This year's winners are Marc Ona Essangui from Gabon, Rizwana Hasan from Bangladesh, Olga Speranskaya from Russia, Yuyun Ismawati from Indonesia, Maria Gunnoe from the United States of America, and Wanze Eduards and Hugo Jabini from Suriname.

Illustration courtesy Soap Interactive


Starting today, follow 11 leatherback turtles as they swim from Nova Scotia, Canada, across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean in the Great Turtle Race. Eleven different turtles are competing in the race. The first turtle to cross the finish line and enter the Caribbean wins!

Meet the Turtles

Backspacer
Billy
Cali
Estéban
Grembo Jones
Lindblad the Explorer
Nightswimmer
Nueva Esperanza
Seabiscuit
Searcher
Wawa Bear

Photograph by Jake Norton


Four mountain climbers who have climbed Mount Everest are now taking a shot at reaching the summit again. Peter Whittaker, Ed Viesturs, Dave Hahn, and Melissa Arnot began their expedition to the top of the world's tallest mountain on March 30. Some of the climbers are going for records on their way to the summit! Dave Hahn is going for his incredible 11th Everest ascent, and Melissa Arnot is attempting to be the first American woman to reach the summit without extra oxygen.

Read more about the expedition and check out daily dispatches on National Geographic Adventure.

Quiz Your Noodle and find out how much you REALLY know about Mount Everest.

Malia and Sasha Obama now have the dog their dad promised them on election night. Their new puppy is a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog. The girls have named their new pal Bo. Soon he'll be running around the White House lawns--maybe he'll even visit the vegetable garden!

Learn more about Portuguese water dogs on the American Kennel Club site.

Quiz Your Noodle on other dog breeds!


















Photograph by Pete Souza/The White House/AP

You have to break a lot of eggs to whip up the world's largest pancake stack--about 100 eggs, in fact! In February, two chefs in Scotland created a 29.5-inch (75 cm) flapjack tower that just might beat the current record of 29.1 inches (74 cm). The grocery list of ingredients also included an incredible 11 pounds (5 kilograms) of flour and 6.6 pounds (3 kilograms) of butter.

See more crazy competition photos on National Geographic News.

Help National Geographic Kids set a world record!

Watch videos of more Guinness World Record attempts.












Photograph courtesy Danny Lawson/AP

Happy Opening Day! Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a professional mascot? How about one of the running presidents for the Washington Nationals?


Stephanie Montgomery, a National Geographic employee, tried out to be a racing president in February. During tryouts, the four "presidents" (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt) had to run a race around the baseball diamond. in full costume while wearing a giant head! Montgomery says that the giant head "was not as heavy as I had feared, but it was very awkward. I had listened to some tips
from some of the other folks who had run already, and knew that you should lean back for balance and comfort, but push your head forward for vision. It also seemed that small choppy steps were the way to go.




Photograph courtesy Kate Baylor

Photograph by Enric Sala


NG Fellow Enric Sala and a team of scientists are starting out on a six-week expedition to study undisturbed reef systems in the Southern Line Islands. This research will create a model of what healthy coral reefs and other healthy marine ecosystems should be like. Damaged coral reefs can be compared with the model, and scientists will be able to better understand what steps are needed to help the reefs recover.

Photograph courtesy Martin George/QVMAG


Jellyfish expert Lisa Gershwin was swimming near the coast of Tasmania and noticed a colorful blob swimming nearby. She was able to safely photograph this specimen by placing it in a small aquarium called a "phototank." This new jellyfish species doesn't sting, but the 5-inch (13-centimeter) long creature is very delicate and touching it can cause it to shatter.

The rainbow glow on the jellyfish comes from light reflecting off the creature's cilia. Cilia are small hairlike projections that the jellyfish uses to swim.

Read more about this bright spot in the ocean on National Geographic News.

Watch a video of other jellyfish species on National Geographic Kids.

Photograph courtesy Getty Images


Scientists in Australia have found an unbelievable dolphin species! Arcus pluvius, otherwise known as the Rainbow Dolphin, is a beautiful purple hue with multi-colored spots. The dolphin is quite rare, but National Geographic Kids has an exclusive photo of the colorful creature.