Kids News - Articles for Grades 4-5

In August 1492, Christopher Columbus and a crew of 90, set off aboard three ships to find a new trade route to Asia. However, around Christmas of the same year, his flagship vessel, the Santa Maria, hit some reef off the coast of Haiti and was badly damaged....

A team of scientists led by University of Texas, Austin, astronomer Ivan Ramirez have identified a star that they believe is one of many siblings our sun has floating around the Universe. Formed 4.5 billion years ago from the same large interstellar cloud that gave birth to our sun, it is 15% larger and lies 110 light-years away in the constellation Hercules. Though not visible with the unaided eye, HD 162826 that lies close to bright star Vega, can be easily viewed with low-power binoculars....

Disney's super-hit animated movie Frozen has inspired millions of parodies. Some are funny, others a little silly, but none are quite like the one created by 17-year-old self-professed movie fanatic, Bobby Burns, who transformed the heartwarming film into a horror movie....

First there was the Drinkable Book that purifies water and now, this ordinary looking billboard that supposedly cleans 100,000 cubic meters or 3.5 million cubic feet of air, per day. To put it in perspective, that is the equivalent of the amount of purification provided by 1,200 mature trees....

Ever since the discovery of the first pyramid, scientists have pondered over how ancient Egyptians built these monumental structures that are visible even from space. Though there are some theories about the construction technique, the question that was always left unanswered is how workers were able to lug the giant limestone bricks that weighed as much as 2.5 tons, from the quarry to the pyramid sites that were located hundreds of miles away....

The listing for the 'Director of Operations' position advertised online and in national newspapers by Rehtom Inc., sounded like a really hard charging corporate job. Candidates were required to have a PhD in psychology or real-life equivalent, crisis management skills, the ability to juggle a minimum of 10-15 projects at any given time, and work unlimited number of hours per week....

Every year, global energy and petrochemical company Royal Dutch Shell challenges high school and university students to design, build and test energy efficient vehicles. Created to spark debate about the future of mobility and inspire young engineers, the Shell Eco-Marathon begins in the Americas, before moving to Europe and then finally Asia. This year's Americas event which took place in Texas from April 24th-27th, 2014 attracted 121 teams from all across the continent....

With the Memorial Day long weekend fast approaching, chances are you looking for somewhere to go. Here's a suggestion - Find a location that takes you away from bright city lights, one where you are able to see the clear dark skies and shining stars. That's because on May 24th, you might be able to witness a never before seen meteor shower....

This post is sponsored by Quirk Books, publisher of the Nick & Tesla Series. We have all enjoyed the first two 'electrifying' adventures of Nick and Tesla, the 11-year old fraternal twins who live with their Uncle Newt, an eccentric but brilliant scientist. With today's unveiling of their third adventure: Nick And Tesla's Secret Agent Gadget Battle, we thought it was time to sit down with Science Bob, one of the masterminds behind this fun series and get him to reveal some insights about the book series and what lies ahead for the young scientists. Curious? Read on . . ....