Tag archives for Washington DC
Posted by NASA’s decommissioned space shuttle Discovery took a victory lap over Washington, D.C., today on the back of a Boeing 747. The shuttle was traveling to its new home at the National Air and Space Museum in Dulles, Virginia. Discovery flew by several iconic buildings as it passed over the the city, including the Washington Monument and the White House.
Discovery‘s first space voyage was on August 30, 1980. The shuttle flew 39 space missions over the next 30 years. Its last mission was a trip to the International Space Station.
See more pictures from Discovery‘s last flight on National Geographic News.
See space shuttle pictures on National Geographic Kids.
Watch a video about space shuttle history on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph courtesy Glenn Benson, NASA
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
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
Eleven-year-old Sam Atkin, also known as the Shark Scientist, traveled to the TEDxOilSpill conference in Washington, D.C. last week to hear people such as National Geographic Explorer-In-Residence Sylvia Earle speak about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. NGKids News Bites asked him some questions about the conference.
News Bites: What are you hoping to accomplish by attending the event?
Sam: When I try to figure out a solution to the gulf oil spill, one problem leads to another and I get overwhelmed. I know there are going to be a lot of scientists at the conference and I’m hoping to witness a solution in the making with my video camera. My goal is to understand the problem better and share what I learn in Shark Scientist Magazine [Sam's blog].
News Bites: What can kids to do help with the oil spill?
Sam: I think it would be dangerous for kids to work physically with the oil. We don’t have the judgment and skills of the adults to handle hazardous materials. However, kids in the area can learn about the problem and bring what they know to school. By doing reports and projects about the problem, they can interest friends who have not done the research but are still interested in knowing more. Since that work doesn’t depend on your location, it can be done by kids far and wide. I think the kids in the gulf states have an opportunity to lead the rest of us. [I saw a video] done by VAYLA-NO, they teach about hydrocarbons and hydrosulfide in oil. I didn’t know that. If I saw a blob of oil on the beach, I might play with it before I saw their video. Now I know to keep away. They may not be able to clean birds and stuff, but they made a video that educated me about the dangers of encountering oil at the beach. That’s pretty important to me.
Read more about Sam on Nat Geo News Watch.
Find out more about the oil spill on the GreenScene blog.
The National Zoo in Washington, D.C. wants you to help name the new giant Pacific octopus. Zoo officials aren’t quite sure whether their octopus is a boy or a girl and won’t know until the octopus is bit more mature. Here are the four names from which to choose: Olympus, Octavius, Ceph, and Vancouver. Polls will remain open until noon Eastern time on April 7.
Learn about the names and vote!
Learn more about octopuses on National Geographic Kids.
German Students Win Solar House Contest
Photograph by Stefano Paltera/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon
Team Germany won the Solar Decathlon contest to create a house that uses solar power to supply energy for everything in the house, from the computer to the TV. Architecture and engineering students from around the world competed in the decathlon. The winning house, built of solar panels and colorful acrylic panels the team called “sun freckles,” was one of 20 designs that were set up on the Mall in Washington, D.C. for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon.
Watch a video and see the winning house on National Geographic News!
Would you want to design a solar house?
