Tag archives for New York City
Posted by 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
Posted by BOOK NAME: Masterpiece
AUTHOR: Elise Broach
After reading this book, you will never look at a beetle the same way again! Meet Marvin, a beetle living in a New York City apartment who is content with his normal life as a bug. But everything changes when the boy in the apartment, James, gets an ink set for his birthday. Suddenly Marvin discovers a talent he possesses, drawing! He dips his feet in the leftover ink and starts drawing miniature pictures. The drawings he makes are the bug size equivalent of regular art and so he makes miniature masterpieces. But all too soon, his amazing skill gets him into a heap of trouble. His parents warn him not to get mixed up in the world of humans, but it’s too late. With help from James, he manages to make a difference in the art world. In the process, Marvin not only learns a lot about humans, but also a lot about himself.
This was a book that I thought was really well rounded and would please a lot of bookworms. As a Rebecca Caudill nominee for 2012, I knew it would not be disappointing (I recommend you also read the other Caudill nominations since they always make for a good read). This charming story gets you to stop and think about what life is like for a bug. I love how you get to live the adventure through the eyes of a beetle and wonder what it would be like to live life miniature style. It definitely makes you appreciate the smaller things in life! Masterpiece would make for a great book to read over the summer. It’s fun, with just enough suspense to keep you turning the pages.
Things got a little shaky at National Geographic headquarters yesterday! A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck the U.S. East Coast, shaking Washington D.C., New York City, and beyond. The earthquake’s epicenter was in Mineral, Virginia, which is near Richmond. Earthquakes are rare in this part of the country, but their effects can be felt farther away than ones that strike the West Coast.
Humans weren’t the only ones shaken up by the quake. Animals at the National Zoo exhibited unusual behavior before and after the earthquake.
Read more about Tuesday’s East Coast earthquake on National Geographic News.
Read facts about the United States of America on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Justin Lane, European Pressphoto Agency
Posted by BOOK NAME: Code Orange
AUTHOR: Caroline B. Cooney
A historic killer will possibly ravage New York City. This weapon of mass destruction is so small that it is undetected by the naked eye. It takes a microscope to see it. Who or what could wreak havoc on the city and the people who live there? It’s a virus known as Variola major, or smallpox. Throughout history smallpox killed thousands of people until its eradication a century ago. That is, it was believed to be eradicated.
For his biology course, Mitty has to do a report on an infectious disease. Mitty, a known slacker, would rather talk and goof off. As the due date for the report nears, Mitty knows he must begin his report. In a hunt for his topic, Mitty discovers several old books about smallpox. Not only that, he discovers actual smallpox scabs in an envelope lodged in one of the books. Since Mitty has not researched the virus and is unaware of the infectious risk, he unknowingly handles the scabs. Unwittingly, Mitty Blake might become the first smallpox case in over 100 years. Soon after handling the scabs, he begins to show peculiar signs and symptoms. To make matters worse, Mitty lives in one of the most heavily populated cities in the United States, New York City. New York City has been the target for terrorists, including bioterrorists, who could use Mitty’s find to cause a human catastrophe in this great city. Smallpox, one of the most deadly diseases of all time, could possibly infect everyone. What will be the fate of Mitty and New York City?
This book was actually quite tense. The most intriguing thing about this story is that a smallpox outbreak could quite possibly happen if the virus managed to stay alive over time. If a scientist could store and contain infected tissue in which a virus managed to survive, who knows what would be the consequences. The descriptions of the oozing pox or pustules and other symptoms of smallpox made my skin crawl. I actually pictured the horrible disease in my mind, almost like I was seeing it with my own eyes. I enjoyed the constant suspense. Almost every chapter ended with a time line of how long it had been since Mitty had touched the scabs and made me uncertain what would happen next. If you like fiction that seems realistic, and have a strong stomach, this is the book for you!
A huge number of whales can be found near New York City, scientists say. To get an idea of what was happening under the surface, scientists placed underwater sound recorders off the coast of Long Island and in New York Harbor, and they picked up a surprising number of whale sounds! The recorders picked up the songs of six different kinds of whales: the fin whale, blue whale, humpback whale, minke whale, sei whale, and the North Atlantic right whale. The whales came as close as 10 miles of New York City.
Some of the whales were migrating to breeding grounds, but others stay around the coast all year round. Scientists are unable to tell exactly how many whales appear on the recordings because of the limitations of the technology.
Read more about whales in New York on National Geographic News.
Think you know your blue whale facts? Quiz Your Noodle and find out!
Photograph by Flip Nicklin, National Geographic
