Articles

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Environment

The Problem With Plastics

April 6, 2018

One late-summer day, a team of cleanup volunteers was exploring the shore of the Anacostia River, in Washington, D.C. The water rippled under a hazy blue sky. Tall grass swayed on the mudflats. But something else caught the group’s eye.…

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World

Trees, Please

April 5, 2018

China is known for its long history, rich culture, and cute pandas. It’s also known for some of the worst air quality in the world. But the Asian country is now wielding a natural weapon against air pollution—trees. In February,…

Business

Lego Goes Green

April 5, 2018

Lego bricks are among the world’s most popular toys. But fans might be surprised to learn that the process for making the colorful playthings—as with many other toys—is harmful to the environment. That’s because Legos are made with plastic derived…

Environment

A Big Mess

April 5, 2018

Around 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic have piled up in a stretch of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California. The area is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. According to a new study from the Ocean Cleanup foundation,…

Environment

Kid Heroes for the Planet

April 5, 2018

You don’t have to be a superhero to help the environment. Even small, simple actions can add up to big change. People around the world will celebrate Earth Day on April 22. But anyone—including kids—can work to help the Earth…

Time Off

Clearing the Air

April 5, 2018

Can one kid really take on a big problem like pollution? That’s the question facing the hero of a new book, Iqbal and His Ingenious Idea. Iqbal lives in Bangladesh. His mother cooks indoors over an open fire. The smoke…

Time Off

Protecting Pandas

April 5, 2018

A little more than 1,800 giant pandas exist in the wild. But scientists at the Chengdu Panda Base, in China, are working to increase that number. They are introducing captive-born pandas into the wild. Qian Qian (pronounced chen chen) is…

United States

Climate in Court

April 5, 2018

Levi Draheim lives in Satellite Beach, Florida. It’s warm year-round there, and Levi, 10, spends most of his time outside. He often walks from his house to the beach to go swimming and boogie boarding. But when Levi grows up,…

A ranger cares for the last male northern rhino.

World

Saying Goodbye

April 5, 2018

Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhinoceros, died on March 19. He lived in Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Rangers put the rhino down after an infection left him unable to stand. Thousands of northern white rhinos once roamed Africa.…

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Technology

Into the Wild

April 5, 2018

A crocodile in Uganda gently scoops her infants into her mouth. Behind her teeth, she holds the hatchlings and carries them to a river. But one of the babies in the croc’s jaws is not an ordinary hatchling. It’s a…

Environment

Goodbye to Glitter?

April 3, 2018

Want to help clean up the ocean? Then you might want to say goodbye to glitter. That’s what 19 preschools in the United Kingdom did last year. Now scientists are exploring the idea of a bigger ban to help reduce…

United States

The Final Inning

March 16, 2018

For more than 70 years, the face of baseball in Cleveland, Ohio, has been Chief Wahoo, the mascot for the Cleveland Indians Major League Baseball team. He’s a cartoon of an American Indian, with a big nose, feather headdress, and…

Community

A Show of Hands

March 16, 2018

Alice Paul Tapper was on a fourth-grade field trip last year when she noticed something that bothered her. The girls were standing in the back of the room, listening politely as the guide spoke. The boys crowded together in the…

Time Off

A Victory in Space

March 16, 2018

On Christmas Eve 1968, NASA’s Apollo 8 became the first spaceship carrying astronauts to enter the moon’s orbit. Author JEFFREY KLUGER documents the remarkable journey in his new book, To the Moon! At the time of the launch, the…

Time Off

Facing Evil

March 16, 2018

On the Netflix show A Series of Unfortunate Events, LOUIS HYNES (pictured), 16, plays 12-year-old Klaus Baudelaire, a protective brother fighting off villains. When the three Baudelaire children are orphaned, their relative Count Olaf becomes their caretaker. But Count…

Environment

A New Home

March 16, 2018

The National Aquarium, in Baltimore, Maryland, is home to nearly 20,000 animals. Among them are seven bottlenose dolphins: Jade, Spirit, Maya, Bayley, Chesapeake, Beau, and Foster. Bayley, the youngest, is 9. Chesapeake, the oldest, is 26. She is Bayley’s mom.…

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United States

Standing Strong in Florida

March 14, 2018

Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Florida, returned to class on February 28 after a difficult two weeks away. The school had been closed since February 14, when a shooter there killed 14 students and three adults.…

Science

Attitude Counts

March 9, 2018

Positive thinking leads to greater achievement. That’s the finding of a new study from Stanford University, in California. Researchers gave a math test to 240 children ages 7 to 10. The study found that when children believed they were good…