Kids News - Articles for Grades 11-12

While gorillas are perfectly capable of walking on two legs, most take just a step or two before dropping on all fours. However, Louis, a 16-year-old male gorilla at the Philadelphia Zoo is often seen taking longer strolls, especially when the ground is wet or he is holding a delicious snack or two....

When the ashes from a December 2014 eruption of a submarine volcano created a 400-foot (120-meter) island in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga experts predicted it would last a few months at most. However, over three years later, the land mass, situated between the uninhabited Polynesian islands of Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha’apai, is showing no signs of dissipating. Now, NASA scientists believe it may be around for as long as 30 years!...

Marvel’s Black Panther superhero T’Challa, the king of East African dynasty Wakanda, is not the only one ascending to the throne. Since its February 16 release, the film has collected over $1.2 billion at the box office worldwide, making it the 14th highest grossing movie ever. It is also the fourth highest grossing superhero movie, surpassed only by Iron Man 3 ($1.215b in 2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron ($1.4b in 2015) and The Avengers ($1.5b in 2012)....

On March 14, 2018, the world mourned the loss of one of the most brilliant minds of the modern age – Stephen Hawking. The 76-year-old theoretical physicist, who was born exactly 300 years after the death anniversary of Galileo and died on Albert Einstein’s 139th birthday, finally succumbed to ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), which he had been battling since the age of 21. The brilliant cosmologist, best known for his invaluable discoveries about black holes and the origins of the universe, was beloved for his sense of humor and his engagement with the public....

On February 14, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz calmly walked into Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and used his legally purchased semi-automatic weapon to kill 17 people. On Wednesday, March 14, exactly a month after the horrifying event, thousands of Americans students paid tribute to the innocent lives lost with an unprecedented nationwide walkout....

At first sight, Action Hunger’s bright orange and white vending machine at the entrance of the Sussex Street subway in Nottingham, UK, appears like any other. However, look closer, and you will realize that the wide range of products inside have no price. That’s because the goods are not to satiate commuter cravings but to provide the area’s homeless with free and easy access to essentials like socks, toothbrushes, fresh fruit, energy bars, and water....

You don’t have to be a fan of math to get excited about Pi (“π”) Day. While the event, which is also Albert Einstein’s birthday (139 th this year ), may start with some calculations, it is more than likely to conclude with a slice or two of delicious pie. The holiday, which celebrates the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, is held every March 14, because the infinite number is widely recognized as 3.14....

Always wanted to be part of an important space mission? Now, thanks to NASA’s recently launched “Hot Ticket” program, you can get your “moment in the sun” — literally, by simply submitting your name. The space agency will put all the names received on a microchip which will accompany the Parker Solar Probe on its mission to observe our fiery star’s atmosphere from up close – something that has never been attempted before....

In mid-January, while exploring the white sands of the beach-side dunes just north of Western Australia’s Wedge Island, Tonya Illman came across an “interesting” bottle. Little did she know that inside the glass container lay an invaluable treasure — a 131-year-old note, the oldest message in a bottle discovered to date!...