July 2009 Archives

Photograph from Kyodo via AP


Japan may be invaded by giant jellyfish again this year. Nomura's jellyfish can be bigger than humans (up to 440 pounds, or 200 kilograms), and they're big trouble for people fishing on the coasts. Nomura's jellyfish breed in the waters off of the coast of China. From there they move to the coasts of Japan. The jellies clog nets and ruin potential catches with their toxic stings. This damage can cost the coastal fishers billions of yen.

Researchers at Hiroshima University have been monitoring sites where Nomura's jellyfish breed, and they've found large numbers of the jellies, meaning that a new invasion may not be far away.

Read more about the jellyfish invasion on National Geographic News.

Learn more about Nomura's jellyfish on National Geographic Kids.

Get the scoop on jellyfish in this Creature Feature.

James May is building a new house in Dorking, Surrey, United Kingdom. This isn't an ordinary house, though. This house will be made entirely out of LEGO bricks--bathroom included! May has received over 3 million LEGO bricks from the Czech Republic to build his house.

May is building the house for his BBC series, James May's Toy Stories. On August 1, May is hosting a building day! The public is invited to work on the project.

Read more about the LEGO house on the Get Surrey website.

Check out the winning entries from the "Win a Trip to LEGOLAND" contest.

Movie review by Lily, age 12
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

























Photograph courtesy Warner Bros.


Dumbledore takes Harry to Horace Slughorn's house. The house looks like it has been robbed. After they find Horace, who has disguised himself as a chair, they ask him to be the new potions professor at Hogwarts. Harry and Ron take his class and Harry ends up with the potion book, "The Half-Blood Prince." He uses the book to find out how Voldemort came across his dark magic.

In the end, Harry learns all of the secrets that Hogwarts has kept for years.

I liked the unexpected events that happened, including the VERY big one at the end. I won't tell you what that was, because you have to go see the movie!

I would rate this movie 4 out of 5 cow spots.

How much do you know about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? Quiz Your Noodle and find out!

They can fly on a new airline just for pets that launched this month called Pet Airways. The planes' interior cabins are appointed with pet carriers instead of seats, and the pets are checked on regularly by flight attendants. Airports offering service on Pet Airways even have pre-flight lounges for dogs and cats to wait in.

Read more about Pet Airways on USA Today's Today in the Skies blog.

Make a cool dog bed or kitty condo for your pet on National Geographic Kids.

As you may already know, cats can really get your attention when they want to. A new study has shown that kitty may even make a special sound to do so! Cats have the ability to combine their usual purr with a whining noise that is similar to the noise an upset human baby makes. This subtle noise may make the cat's owner more likely to feed it rather than ignoring it.




Study leader Karen McComb from the University of Sussex in the U.K. notes that not all cats make this purr-whine noise. Cats are more likely to purr-whine if they're the only cat in the household--possibly because the sound is more likely to be overlooked when there are multiple cats vying for attention. A louder meow could be more effective in multi-cat houses.

Get the story on the cat's purr on National Geographic News.

See cat pictures in the Photo Gallery.

Photograph courtesy NASA


July 20 is the 40th anniversary of humankind's first steps on the moon. On July 16, 1969, the world watched as the Apollo 11 rocket Columbia lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. The trip to the moon took three days, and on July 20, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped off of the Eagle, Apollo 11's lunar module. People back home on Earth watched the astronauts take their first steps on the moon, and heard Neil Armstrong say "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." The astronauts spent a total of 21 hours on the moon before the Eagle returned to the Columbia for the trip home.

The Apollo 11 crew safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. NASA plans to send another mission to the moon within the next decade.

Get the story behind the moon landing on National Geographic News.

Check out the Man and the Moon features on National Geographic Channel.

How much do you know about the moon? Quiz Your Noodle and find out!

Watch a video of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon.

Three teams of geography buffs went head-to-head in Mexico City today. The teams, from the United States, Canada, and Poland, answered questions similar to the ones asked in the National Geographic Bee. The Canada team came in first place, followed by the United States in second, and Poland in third. Who quizzed the kids? Alex Trebek, from "Jeopardy"! Trebek also moderates the annual National Geographic Bee.

The National Geographic World Championship started in 1993 and is held every two years.

Read about winning team in the 2007 National Geographic World Championship on National Geographic Kids.

Watch a video of the winning answer from the 21st National Geographic Bee on News Bites.

Surf Dog is one lucky stuffed dog! He's been all over the world, meeting new friends and exploring new places. Surf Dog began his latest journey, a road trip from San Diego, California to Seattle, Washington, in June. Surf Dog kicked off his travels by visiting a surfing dog competition in San Diego.

Rex Dubiel, a third-grade teacher from Hawaii, created Surf Dog as a fun way to raise her students' geography awareness. When Dubiel and Surf Dog travel, Dubiel posts pictures of Surf Dog and commentary on the places they have visited.


Follow Surf Dog's adventures on the Surf Dog Sunset Beach blog.

Want to read about more adventures? Visit the Global Bros blog.

One of the big attractions at Washington, D.C.'s National Zoo is Tai Shan, a giant panda. He was born at the zoo in 2005, and has been delighting visitors ever since. Tai Shan turns four today, and his fans have been leaving birthday messages on the National Zoo's website.

To celebrate his birthday, the zoo's staff made Tai Shan a birthday "cake," but it's really more like a Popsicle. The ingredients are water, bamboo, and beets. Yummy!

Send Tai Shan a birthday wish on the National Zoo's website.

Learn more about Tai Shan and the zoo's other giant pandas on the National Zoo's website.

Get facts about giant pandas on National Geographic Kids.

Photograph courtesy Mehgan Murphy/Smithsonian's National Zoo

Image courtesy Travis R. Tischler, Australian Age of Dinosaurs


"Banjo" is the nickname for the newly-named dinosaur Australovenator wintonensis, a meat-eating, raptor-like dino recently found in Australia. The fossilized remains are one of three new dinosaur species discovered in Winton, a town in the Australian outback.

Learn more about the dig and meet new discoveries "Matilda" and "Clancy" on National Geographic News.

Test your knowledge of dinosaurs in this National Geographic Kids Brainteaser.

Scientists are concerned that fireflies may be disappearing. With the help of volunteers around the country, they hope to collect information about where and when fireflies are appearing this year. Ask your parents if you can help count fireflies. Visit Ready, Set, Glow! to learn how to observe fireflies in your backyard. You can also learn some firefly jokes and do some activities.

Visit Ready, Set, Glow! from the National Children's Museum.

Ask your parents, then register for the Museum of Science, Boston's Firefly Watch and share your observations.

Check out bug photos on National Geographic Kids.


To celebrate the launch of the National Children's Museum's Ready, Set, Glow! project, families join Museum of Science Boston educator Don Salvatore, holding a firefly fishing pole, for a firefly night walk.


Photograph courtesy the National Children's Museum