Posts in “United States” Category

Celebrate America's parks on May 19! Kids all over the country will be visiting parks this Saturday. Are you planning to visit a park with your family this weekend? Check out the National Kids to Parks Day website to find an event near you and register to participate. As the National Park Trust mascot Buddy Bison says, "Explore outdoors, the parks are yours!"

Did you visit a park for National Kids to Parks Day last year?

Do you have a favorite national park or state park?

Ask your parents to sign up at the official National Kids to Parks website.

(AD) Check out the National Geographic Kids National Parks Guide U.S.A.

(AD) Tell your parents about the National Geographic National Parks book and app.

See pictures of U.S. national parks on National Geographic Kids.


Photograph by Jim Neumann, My Shot

Celebrate America's parks on May 19! Kids nationwide are gearing up for the second annual National Kids to Parks Day. "National Kids to Parks Day encourages children across America to get out and play. This simple idea of playing in a park can potentially give millions of kids the reason to get active and get outside just as families prepare for summer," said Grace Lee, executive director of the National Park Trust.

Visit the National Kids to Parks Day website to find an event near you and register to participate. As the National Park Trust mascot Buddy Bison says, "Explore outdoors, the parks are yours!"

Ask your parents to sign up at the official National Kids to Parks website.

(AD) Check out the National Geographic Kids National Parks Guide U.S.A.

(AD) Tell your parents about the National Geographic National Parks book and app.

See pictures of U.S. national parks on National Geographic Kids.


Photograph by Joel Ocay, My Shot

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to explore Hawaii? Write an essay about why you would like to explore this Hawaiian island and draw a picture of what you think you would see, and you could win a weeklong trip to O'ahu with Andrew Evans, National Geographic's Digital Nomad.

Learn more about the contest.

Which superhero would you be and why? That's the question that nine-year-old Ari Garnick asked the Republican candidates this summer. Ari took some time away from books and LEGOs to talk to the candidates as they criss-crossed his home state of New Hampshire. He met Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman at a Fourth of July parade in Amherst, New Hampshire. He also got to see Romney hand out coffee and sandwiches at a local diner. Ari braved a massive crowd at the opening of Herman Cain's headquarters in Manchester, New Hampshire. "If you have claustrophobia, you'd want to stay away from there," but Ari squeezed his way through to talk to Cain. He met Rick Perry at a house party, Rick Santorum at a Greek festival, and Newt Gingrich at a "meet and greet." He and his dad took a long drive to see Ron Paul at Keene State College, but Paul seemed "more interested in talking to adults," said Ari. As a consolation, Ari's dad took him for some pizza and ice cream. He and his dad were not able to talk to Michele Bachmann, but they hope to when she is back in New Hampshire.



Today, people in Iowa gather in the Iowa caucuses, the first election event and chance for people in Iowa to pick the Republican they want on the ballot to face off against President Barack Obama this fall. The 2012 presidential election is many months away and will be held on November 6, but the Republican candidates have already spent a lot of time on the campaign trail in 2011.

Ari thinks the election process is interesting, but he doesn't think kids should be allowed to vote. "Kids don't know anything about the candidates and might just like their name," he said. Most of his friends aren't interested in the election.

Don't forget to fall back this Sunday! Daylight saving time ends for most of the U.S. on November 6 this year. The law says that people must set their clocks back to standard time at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November. That means changing the clock back one hour at 2 a.m. During the winter months, there will be a bit more light in the morning, but the sun will set earlier in the evening.

Some places, like American Samoa, Hawaii, and most of Arizona, don't mess with Father Time. But why do we move our clocks one hour forward in the spring anyway? There was no standardized time until train travel became common. The U.S. railroad industry established time zones with standard times in 1883, and Congress made the railroad's system a law in 1918. The next year, the decision of whether or not to observe daylight saving time was left up to individual jurisdictions.

When updating legislation in the 1980s, Congress noted that daylight saving time has many benefits, including "more daylight outdoor playtime for the children and youth of our Nation." Not everyone agrees that this is beneficial, however. Till Roenneberg, a chronobiologist at Ludwig-Maximillans University in Munich, Germany, says that our bodies never really adjust to the different light schedule during daylight saving time.

Read more about daylight saving time on National Geographic News.

Spend your extra hour this weekend reading a book! Get recommendations from other kids on the DogEared Book Blog.


Photograph by Christian Loidl, My Shot

Sunday is the tenth anniversary of 9/11. On September 11, 2001 terrorists hijacked four planes and flew two of them into the World Trade Center in New York City, another crashed into the Pentagon building near Washington, D.C., and the remaining plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. The National Geographic Society was directly affected that day, as two Society employees were on one of the planes. Many people will be remembering the events of that day. The memorials at the World Trade Center site and at the Pentagon will continue to help people remember 9/11 long into the future.

National Geographic Kids magazine interviewed students from a school four blocks away from the World Trade Center when they returned to their school five months after 9/11. In the September 2011 issue, you can find out what some of the students are doing ten years later.

Click here to learn about the 9/11 memorial in New York City.

Click here to learn about the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon near Washington, D.C.


Photograph by Matt McClain, The Washington Post/Getty Images

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar designated six new national natural landmarks last week. One of the new landmarks, Lake Billy Chinook in Oregon, is pictured above. In a statement, Salazar said "By designating these remarkable sites in Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington as national natural landmarks, we help establish and pass down to future generations those awe-inspiring places that make America truly beautiful."

Learn more about the new national natural landmarks on National Geographic News.

See pictures of national parks on National Geographic Kids.

Photograph by Buddy Mays, Alamy

Snowmelt and heavy rainfall in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota have swollen the Mississippi River to near-record levels. Flooding has occurred in Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Some rural areas have been flooded by opening spillways on the river. Doing this might help keep flood water out of big cities.

Learn more and see pictures of Mississippi floods past and present on National Geographic News.

See pictures of wild weather on National Geographic Kids.


Photograph by Patrick Semansky, AP

Do you know how someone becomes President of the United States? Well, a lot of kids ask that question on the website, Kids.gov. Now is your chance to help explain how the process works as part of a contest on Kids.gov. Create a poster or infographic (information graphic) containing the information on how the presidential election works and submit it to kids.gov. The winner of the contest will receive $2,500, and their entry will be featured on Kids.gov. The entry period ends on November 3, 2010.

Learn more about the poster contest on the Kids.gov website.

If you were President for a day, what kind of zany stuff might happen? Add your words to this Funny Fill-In to create your own story.


Image courtesy kids.gov

This summer, kids participating in the Junior Ranger programs at national parks across the country can earn a special sticker designating them Let's Move Outside Junior Rangers! All you have to do to get your sticker is do a physical activity while working towards your Junior Ranger badge. Check the Let's Move website and see if a park near you participates.

Learn more about Let's Move Outside on the Let's Move! website.

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


Photograph courtesy of the National Park Service