Kids News - Articles for Grade 8

Sunday, March 13 marks the beginning of Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the United States. On this day, most Americans will move their clocks forward by an hour. This simple action allows residents to enjoy more daylight during the upcoming spring and summer months....

With no threat of predators or the need to hunt for food, shelter, or find a mate, zoo orangutans have an extremely comfortable existence. But this also means that the smart animals lack the critical challenges they need for their mental and emotional well-being. To ensure the curious mammals that share 97% of their DNA with humans do not get bored and depressed, zookeepers are always looking for new ways to keep them entertained and challenged....

On May 18, 1969, NASA astronauts Thomas Stafford, John Young, and Eugene Cernan blasted off from Cape Canaveral aboard the Apollo 10 lunar module, the fourth manned mission in the US Apollo Space program and only the second after Apollo 8 to orbit the moon. Its mission was to circle the moon and thoroughly test the components and procedures to pave the way for the first lunar landing. The mission went flawlessly and without incident — At least that's what everyone believed....

Athletes and sports fans hoping to attend the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this August may be faced with a terrible dilemma. They will have to decide if a quest for a medal or the opportunity to cheer their favorite athlete is worth the potential health risk posed by the Zika virus that has been plaguing Brazil since April 2015....

For most people normal winter sports like ice skating, skiing, or snowboarding provides enough excitement. However, for a select few adventurous souls those are not sufficient. They prefer to take advantage of the abundant snow and ice with 'sports' that range from heart-stopping to downright hilarious....

When humans began Space exploration about 55 years ago, they had no intention of leaving behind equipment that had served its purpose. It could after all, easily fall to Earth and harm innocent people. But that fear subsided in 1964 when American research satellite Vanguard 1 continued to rotate in orbit even after it had lost all contact with ground scientists. Since then researchers have become increasingly comfortable about leaving trash behind....

Remember ROY.G. BIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet), the mnemonic that helped you to memorize the order and colors of the rainbow? Well, you can forget it because as it turns out, not all rainbows are equal. They can vary drastically depending on the conditions under which they occur. A team led by atmospheric scientist Jean Ricard of the National Centre for Meteorological Research in Toulouse, France, has identified twelve rainbow 'flavors', each with its own distinct characteristics....

Every year on the third Monday of January, Americans celebrate the life and legacy of the extraordinary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK). It is thanks to the vision and courage of this tireless clergyman turned civil rights activist that America is today a nation where everyone has equal rights, regardless of race, color, creed, or national origin....

The 2015 holiday season brought little cheer to the thousands of Southern California residents affected by a methane leak from an underground gas storage facility. Since late November, over 2,800 families from the Porter Ranch Community in Los Angeles have been forced to flee their homes to escape the adverse effects of the odorless gas. What's worse is that they have no idea when they will be able to return....