by Patricia Fenne Garcia, age 11
Did you know that not all birds can fly? Penguins, for example, have wings that they use not to fly, but as flippers, so they can swim through water.
Adult penguins are covered in black and white feathers that help them camouflage when they are swimming. When seen from below, penguins appear white, blending into the sky. When seen from above, they blend into the dark and often icy waters of the ocean. [Read More]
by Sophie Jenkins, age 10
Mathew Henson and Robert Peary wanted to be the first people to reach the North Pole. Their dream came true on April 6, 1909.
Henson was born in Maryland in 1866, right after the Civil War. Because he was an African American, he faced racism for most of his life. Soon after Peary returned from an expedition to Nicaragua, he asked Henson to be part of his expedition to the North Pole. [Read More]
We can learn a lot about ourselves by learning about our ancestors.
by Ava Badekas, age 9
Australopithecus afarensis and Homo erectus are human ancestors who lived between two and three million years ago. They looked like a species that was half ape and half human. Australopithecus afarensis was a lot smaller than humans today at just over three feet tall. Homo erectus , however, was as tall as humans are today.
Ancestors like Australopithecus afarensis and Homo erectus made tools to butcher and cook animals just like us. Using stone, they made tools such as knives, scrapers, and axes. [Read More]
by Angel Nemeckay, age 9
Many animals are colored so they can blend into their surroundings. This is called camouflage. The most common camouflage colors are brown and green.
A Gaboon viper snake, for example, has a pattern of brown and tan colors that help it blend in with dry leaves. Its camouflage allows it to hunt for food easier. [Read More]
by Jeremiah Starlin, age 10
Eldrick “Tiger” Woods is a golf legend. Many people know who he is, but most people may not know about how he got to where he is today.
Eldrick’s parents met in Thailand during the Vietnam War. After getting married they moved to California. Soon after, Tiger was born on December 30, 1975. His father nicknamed him Tiger, after a soldier he knew in Vietnam. [Read More]
by Arika Moore, age 8
The Romans named the planet Mars after the god of war. A reddish-orange planet with rusty colored rocks and dust, Mars is the fourth planet from the sun.
The surface of Mars has giant canyons and many large volcanoes. Only half the size of Earth, Mars is also orbited by two small moons—Phobos and Deimos. Mars is also different from Earth because the day on Mars is 30 minutes longer than Earth’s. [Read More]
Did you know that the Amazon River was named after fierce women warriors from ancient Greece? Spanish explorer Fransico de Orellana first named the river after he fought a tough tribe of women near the river who reminded him of the Greek women warriors called “Amazons.” [read More]
Summer time is great for a lot of reasons. It’s warmer, there’s no school, there’s no rules, and there’s so much free time. With almost three months of summer vacation, it is important to add in some reading to your free time. [Read More]
Earthquakes are very common on Earth. They are caused when tectonic plates bump into each other and make energy waves. Many earthquakes happen in South Asia and California, because they are near fault lines. Fault lines are where tectonic plates come together. [Read More]
