animal rescue!
Thumbs up for the friendly robot!
The latest news and fantastic facts from ar ound the globe...
12
OCTOBER
CRAZYS! WORLD CONKER CHAMPIONSHIPS
Each year on the second Sunday of October, contestants from around the world go bonkers for conkers! Ever since 1965, competitors have gathered in the small village of Southwick, Northamptonshire, to try and smash each other’s horse chestnuts off a string. All the conkers are supplied ready-drilled and laced by organisers Ashton Conker Club so that no cheating takes place! The winners are crowned King and Queen Conker and are given conker crowns. There’s a junior champ, too. Yay!
SALAD IN SPACE
Fancy eating this?!
Freeze-dried food could soon be a thing of the past for astronauts, thanks to research being done by the German Aerospace Centre. Engineers are currently growing space lettuce in a special soil-free greenhouse designed for use on Mars or the Moon! The lettuces are lit by red LEDs, and in future they’ll be partly fertilised by the astronauts’ own waste fluids. Gross!
ANIMAL RESCUE! Animal charity Animal Defenders International (ADI) headed to Peru last month to help rescue suffering circus animals that had been kept in poor conditions. Working together with the Peruvian authorities, ADI confiscated 12 lions, and a monkey from various circuses around Peru – despite some resistance from circus owners. The animals are now being looked after in a temporary centre specifically built by ADI for the rescue mission, called Operation Spirit of Freedom. After being quarantined they will be relocated to specialist sanctuaries.
CIRCUSES AND THE LAW
take a drink The rescued cubs rred to their fe ns before being tra new home.
Female lion Kiara is reunited with her cubs after the dramatic rescue mission.
Thankfully, a law was passed in 2012, meaning that wild animals in Peru have to be removed from circuses – a slow, on-going process. But while a total of 27 countries worldwide have now banned the use of all or wild animals in circuses, wild creatures ARE still allowed in UK circuses. And until the UK government makes it illegal, the practice will continue here. Let us know what you think about this, gang...
Pepe the mon ke a safe new ho y will have me soon!
HitchBOT: Reuters. Animal Rescue: Animal Defenders International. Illustration: Marek Jagucki. All other pictures: Getty Images UK.
EVENT
Could the chirping chiffchaff be crowned champ?
Meet hitchBOT! This wacky, welly-wearing robot recently returned from a 6,000km hitchhiking trip across the whole of Canada. Built by a team of experts from Universities in Ontario, hitchBOT relied on rides from friendly strangers to complete its
3 FAST FACTS
WHAT’S BRITAIN’S BEST BIRD?
America’s got the mighty bald eagle, New Zealand’s famous for the curious kiwi bird. So what’s the UK’s national bird? Well, actually – there isn’t one. The red robin, star of a billion Christmas cards, was voted top tweeter in an unofficial poll back in the 1960s. But now ‘Urban Birder’ David Lindo is fronting a new campaign to find an official feathered emblem for England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Head to votenationalbird.com by 31 October to choose your six favourites from 60 species. Then there’ll be another round of voting to choose the ultimate winner from the shortlist. Will the robin be knocked off its perch at last?!
Make it a
DATE
What’s going on this month?
HALLOWEEN
The year’s spookiest day is on 31 October! Halloween is probably ba Samhain, an ancient Ce sed on ltic harvest festival held at the end of summer. People believed that the spirits of returned to damage cro the dead ps and play tricks, so to ward them off bonfires. Over the years, they built thi got mixed up with others s tradition fro Romans and Christians to m the Halloween that we know form the today. The first Jack O’Lanter ns made out of turnips, no were Today, around 99% of pu t pumpkins! mpkins sold are used to make lanterns at Halloween! Trick or treating may ha ve in souling. This was wh its roots people in Medieval Engla en poor nd begged for food in return for pra ying for people’s souls. Spooky!
1
2
3
What will YOU wear this Halloween?
1 – 7 October
4 –10 October
International Vegetarian Week
It’s out of this world!
Fill your face with greens!
journey. A GPS and 3G wireless connection feeding to a map on hitchBOT.me were the only ways for fans to follow the trip. It was able to have conversations and tweet, and could be charged up by being plugged into a car lighter. Would you have given this barmy bot a lift?
Space Week
5 October
World Teachers’ Day Say ta to your teach’!
23 October
Diwali
It’s the Hindu ‘Festival of Lights’.
26 October
Summer Time ends
Put the clocks back at bedtime on 25th and get an extra hour in bed!
ngkids.co.uk
5
The latest news and fantastic facts from ar ound the globe...
12
OCTOBER
CRAZYS! WORLD CONKER CHAMPIONSHIPS
Each year on the second Sunday of October, contestants from around the world go bonkers for conkers! Ever since 1965, competitors have gathered in the small village of Southwick, Northamptonshire, to try and smash each other’s horse chestnuts off a string. All the conkers are supplied ready-drilled and laced by organisers Ashton Conker Club so that no cheating takes place! The winners are crowned King and Queen Conker and are given conker crowns. There’s a junior champ, too. Yay!
SALAD IN SPACE
Fancy eating this?!
Freeze-dried food could soon be a thing of the past for astronauts, thanks to research being done by the German Aerospace Centre. Engineers are currently growing space lettuce in a special soil-free greenhouse designed for use on Mars or the Moon! The lettuces are lit by red LEDs, and in future they’ll be partly fertilised by the astronauts’ own waste fluids. Gross!
ANIMAL RESCUE! Animal charity Animal Defenders International (ADI) headed to Peru last month to help rescue suffering circus animals that had been kept in poor conditions. Working together with the Peruvian authorities, ADI confiscated 12 lions, and a monkey from various circuses around Peru – despite some resistance from circus owners. The animals are now being looked after in a temporary centre specifically built by ADI for the rescue mission, called Operation Spirit of Freedom. After being quarantined they will be relocated to specialist sanctuaries.
CIRCUSES AND THE LAW
take a drink The rescued cubs rred to their fe ns before being tra new home.
Female lion Kiara is reunited with her cubs after the dramatic rescue mission.
Thankfully, a law was passed in 2012, meaning that wild animals in Peru have to be removed from circuses – a slow, on-going process. But while a total of 27 countries worldwide have now banned the use of all or wild animals in circuses, wild creatures ARE still allowed in UK circuses. And until the UK government makes it illegal, the practice will continue here. Let us know what you think about this, gang...
Pepe the mon ke a safe new ho y will have me soon!
HitchBOT: Reuters. Animal Rescue: Animal Defenders International. Illustration: Marek Jagucki. All other pictures: Getty Images UK.
EVENT
Could the chirping chiffchaff be crowned champ?
Meet hitchBOT! This wacky, welly-wearing robot recently returned from a 6,000km hitchhiking trip across the whole of Canada. Built by a team of experts from Universities in Ontario, hitchBOT relied on rides from friendly strangers to complete its
3 FAST FACTS
WHAT’S BRITAIN’S BEST BIRD?
America’s got the mighty bald eagle, New Zealand’s famous for the curious kiwi bird. So what’s the UK’s national bird? Well, actually – there isn’t one. The red robin, star of a billion Christmas cards, was voted top tweeter in an unofficial poll back in the 1960s. But now ‘Urban Birder’ David Lindo is fronting a new campaign to find an official feathered emblem for England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Head to votenationalbird.com by 31 October to choose your six favourites from 60 species. Then there’ll be another round of voting to choose the ultimate winner from the shortlist. Will the robin be knocked off its perch at last?!
Make it a
DATE
What’s going on this month?
HALLOWEEN
The year’s spookiest day is on 31 October! Halloween is probably ba Samhain, an ancient Ce sed on ltic harvest festival held at the end of summer. People believed that the spirits of returned to damage cro the dead ps and play tricks, so to ward them off bonfires. Over the years, they built thi got mixed up with others s tradition fro Romans and Christians to m the Halloween that we know form the today. The first Jack O’Lanter ns made out of turnips, no were Today, around 99% of pu t pumpkins! mpkins sold are used to make lanterns at Halloween! Trick or treating may ha ve in souling. This was wh its roots people in Medieval Engla en poor nd begged for food in return for pra ying for people’s souls. Spooky!
1
2
3
What will YOU wear this Halloween?
1 – 7 October
4 –10 October
International Vegetarian Week
It’s out of this world!
Fill your face with greens!
journey. A GPS and 3G wireless connection feeding to a map on hitchBOT.me were the only ways for fans to follow the trip. It was able to have conversations and tweet, and could be charged up by being plugged into a car lighter. Would you have given this barmy bot a lift?
Space Week
5 October
World Teachers’ Day Say ta to your teach’!
23 October
Diwali
It’s the Hindu ‘Festival of Lights’.
26 October
Summer Time ends
Put the clocks back at bedtime on 25th and get an extra hour in bed!
ngkids.co.uk
5
