Tag archives for Kids
Posted by President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted their first State Dinner last night at the White House for Prime Minister Singh of India. To celebrate the visit, children of the Indian Embassy staff and Washington, D.C. public school students were invited to Blair House in Washington, D.C. for a “Taste of India.”
A young lady leads children and adults in performing a flying eagle, a hand gesture used in Indian dances.
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
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Have you ever wanted to become a blogger for National Geographic Kids? Here’s your big chance! NG Kids is searching for three new bloggers for DogEared, the book review blog by and for kids. If you love to read (and if you love to give your opinions), this is the perfect contest for you.
Learn more about the “So You Wanna Be a DogEared Blogger” contest.
Read the official rules and enter.
Photograph by Bart Muhl/AP
Laura Dekker is a girl with a dream–to be the youngest person to circumnavigate (sail around) the world alone in her yacht, Guppy. Laura isn’t new to sailing. She was born on a boat in New Zealand, and was sailing solo on lakes when she was six years old. She sailed across the English Channel to England and back at her father’s insistence that she prove herself before tackling the open ocean. Laura is 13 years old.
A Dutch court has ruled that Laura is too young to make the trip alone, and has placed her under state supervision for two months to make sure she stays on dry land.
Do you think 13 is too young to sail solo around the world? How old do you think someone should be before sailing such a huge distance alone?
Read more about Laura Dekker on the BBC.
Read about a man’s attempt to circumnavigate the world on his own power on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph courtesy Anne McCormack
National Geographic Kids set the world record today for the largest collection of denim clothing to recycle. The final count, verified by Stuart Claxton for Guinness World Records, is an astounding 33,088 pieces of denim clothing! Erek H., a NG Kids reader from Ohio, collected 1,684 pairs of jeans for the project. He had the honor of putting the final pair of jeans into the display…jeans that once belonged to Ben Stiller! The actor donated one of his pairs of jeans at the beginning of the jeans drive.
Visit the Green Scene blog to find out more about the record attempt.
Check out videos of other Guinness World Records.
Read about the record NG Kids set for the longest chain of shoes.
Have you ever wanted to explore a new place and just be yourself? Forests are a great place for outdoors adventure! The Discover the Forest website helps you find a park or forest near you. Once you’ve picked a spot, you can print out a book of ideas, learn to use a compass, and match animal tracks. Go exploring!
Watch the Discover the Forest video from the Forest Service.
Visit Discover the Forest to find a park near you.
What’s it like to be a conservationist? Meet Mike Fay.
Learn how to take a camping trip in your backyard on National Geographic Kids.
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.
Becca: School, Cusco Style
Posted by Hi, it’s Becca again! One of my favorite moments of the trip was the school in Cusco. You get to talk to real kids from a country that a lot of people wish they could visit and see what they’re learning. As soon as we got there, the kids, in awesome costumes, started dancing for us and playing in their marching band. The dancers formed lines that wove in and out of each other, twirling before us. This way and that way; it made me a bit dizzy to follow one dancer in the group (and the high altitude added to that too).
Grace K: Kids of Peru
I knew that when I visited Peru I would see children. I wasn’t disappointed. Just like in the U.S, they were everywhere. I saw them walking home from school as well as running and playing with friends in the street. Some were sitting on the front step of their parents’ store watching the traffic roll by. Often the little ones were carried around on their mothers’ backs inside a colorful fabric scarf.
The kids in this picture are busy twirling around to some Peruvian music, while having a cool treat. I guess I got the little girl’s attention, because she started beaming at me. I got her to keep dancing, so I could get a picture. Her brother didn’t pay much attention to me. He was too distracted by his Popsicle.
The winners of the 2009 Hands-On Explorer Challenge contest flew to Peru on May 22 to begin exploring the wildlife, culture, and history of this South American country! The talented 15 kids and two teachers have already visited Lima, where expedition team member Lijah was fascinated by the face-shaped pottery at the Rafael Larco Herrera Archeological Museum.
Tomorrow they’re off to Machu Picchu. Follow their adventures in the Hands-On Explorer Trip Blog!
Check out their blog entries on the Hands-On Explorer Trip Blog.
Read excerpts from the winners’ essays on National Geographic Kids.
Hi, my name is Becca! We have arrived at beautiful Cusco, nestled in the Andes mountains. On the flight from Lima, early in the morning, we passed over the mountains and munched on crackers, very excited to land. When we got there, we got on a bus and drove to a welcome party, complete with marshmallows, advice, and coca tea. I liked the coca tea a little, and it really helped with the altitude sickness. I took some photos of the nearby fountain and pretty flowers.
Afterwards, we got back on the bus and started driving up the mountains. We drove in a zig-zag line, so that the sudden change in altitude wouldn’t bother us much. Along the way, we saw small villages and waved to workers and kids going to school. They have to walk several miles each way to get to school every day! I could never do that. Our guides, Luis and Edgar, told us about the buildings in the villages: the straw and mud bricks that dry in the sun, the crosses in between miniature bull statues on the tops of the roofs, the formerly Spanish houses that have the coats of arms above the doors…. We learned a lot.
Read the whole post »
Hi, this is Nellie!
Today, my dad and I went for a walk around our hotel. I saw this boy and I probably went a little goggle-eyed. Isn’t he adorable? He was holding hands with his father, and I just HAD to take a picture. He looked quite confused actually. He has such cute, little, chubby cheeks!
Lima is really interesting. They have public restrooms in the middle of the sidewalk…
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.
Mimi Ausland, 12, really loves animals! After visiting a website that donates rice to hungry people, she was inspired to create a similar website to help dogs and cats in animal shelters. When visitors answer a trivia question on Freekibble.com or Freekibblekat.com, they donate 10 pieces of kibble to Mimi’s project. Mimi’s sites have been a huge hit, and she has been featured in several articles both online and in print.
Mimi is passionate about her work collecting food for shelter animals. “I love helping animals because of how they cannot speak for themselves and people have to speak for them. I also love being able to help them get good healthy food and actually delivering the food myself to our local shelter–and I really like making other people aware that they need our help,” she says.
Photograph courtesy Kelly Ausland
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True Green Kids: 100 Things You Can Do To Save the Planet by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin was named the Best Hands-On Science Book by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. True Green Kids is packed with simple things you can do to help save the planet!
Read kids’ reviews about True Green Kids, including how Jordan earned eco-points and how Parker shortened his showers on the DogEared Books Blog.
AD: True Green Kids: 100 Things You Can Do To Save the Planet
Get green tips on National Geographic Kids.
Being green has nothing to do with the seasons and everything to do with protecting the Earth year-round. February 2-8 is National Green Week. Schools and students can sign up and help teach the world how to be environmentally aware. Is your school participating?
Learn about National Green Week.
Get tips on how to go green.
The Russian Federal Space Agency invites kids from around the world to design a patch for the crew of the Soyuz mission scheduled to launch in March. The first place drawing will become the official Soyuz TMA-14 logo, and will be worn as a patch on the crew members’ space suits!
U.S astronaut Michael R. Barratt, a Russian cosmonaut, and space flight participant will be on board the Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station. The Soyuz TMA-14 crew members will help judge the drawings submitted in the contest.
The first, second and third place winners will have an opportunity to visit the Baikonur space port in Kazakhstan and participate in a pre-launch ceremony.
The contest ends December 25. For information on how to enter the contest visit NASA.
