Posts in “United States” Category

Photograph by Lisa Poole, AP


Daylight saving time ends for most of the U.S. on November 1. But why do we change our clocks by one hour in the spring in the first place? "In the early 19th century ... localities set their own time," said Bill Mosley, a public affairs officer at the U.S. Department of Transportation. 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.

Some places, like American Samoa, Hawaii and most of Arizona, don't mess with Father Time. For those places that do observe it, though, the law says that people must set their clocks back to standard time at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday in November. This Sunday, the sun will set an hour earlier. The switch to daylight saving time again on the second Sunday in March "adjust[s] daylight hours to when most people are awake and about," Mosley said. During daylight saving time months, there's less light in the morning and more light in the evening. Although more light in the evening isn't helpful to everyone (like farmers), research shows that longer daylight hours decrease traffic accidents and crimes.

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."

Read more about daylight saving time on National Geographic News.

Read about atomic clocks on National Geographic News.

Spend your extra hour this weekend reading a 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.

Beginning in 2010, coin collectors will be able to collect a series of 56 new quarters that will depict national sites in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The mint worked with state officials to select the sites and collaborated with the U.S. Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The first five quarters in the series will depict:

- Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas
- Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
- Yosemite National Park, California
- Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
- Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon

Get the release dates for all 56 quarters on the United States Mint website.

Quiz Your Noodle and find out how much you know about the national parks.

Photograph by Gerald Herbert/AP


This morning, President Barack Obama welcomed kids across the country back to school. He stressed the importance of getting an education in his remarks, saying "...no matter what you want to do with your life - I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it." He also challenged students to take charge of their own educations by setting goals for themselves and working hard to achieve them.

Was today your first day of school? Did you set new goals for this school year?

Read President Obama's speech on the White House website.

Get tips on how to go green and stay germ-free at school this year.

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

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 Ron Edmonds/AP


First Lady Michelle Obama broke ground on a new vegetable garden on the White House lawn last week with help of students from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington, D.C. The last time there were veggies growing at the White House was when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President in the 1940s.

Over 50 different vegetables, fruits, and herbs will be grown in the White House Kitchen Garden. There will also be two beehives for honey. Some of the green goodies will be added to the menu by the White House chefs, and others will be donated to Miriam's Kitchen, a Washington, D.C. soup kitchen.

Learn how to plant your own veggies and flowers!

See photos of the First Lady working on the garden on the White House Blog.

Photo by Sandy Huffaker/LEGOLAND California


President Obama's Inauguration has been recreated at LEGOLAND California! A crowd of over one thousand mini figures can be seen in front of LEGO brick Capitol building. Temperatures at this mock swearing in ceremony are much warmer than at the real ceremony.

Barack Obama was inaugurated today as the 44th President of the United States. He is also the country's first African-American President. The inauguration took place on the west side of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

In his inaugural speech, President Obama said: "Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met."

Where were you during the Inauguration?

Photograph by Enric Sala


In the last few days of his presidency, President George W. Bush created three new national monuments in the Pacific Ocean in the largest ocean conservation effort ever. The new monuments will protect Kingman Reef  (as part of the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument), Rose Atoll, and the Mariana Trench, which is home to Earth's deepest spot.

All three of the protected areas are home to many species, including the giant coral colony shown in the photo above.