Kids News - Articles with 400-600 Words

Every year on the second Sunday in May, Americans shower their mothers with lavish gifts and treats. This year's celebration on May 12, 2024, will be no exception. A National Retail Federation (NRF) survey indicates that the 84 percent of US adults who plan to celebrate Mother's Day will each spend an average of $254. This adds up to a staggering total of $33.5 billion. It is just shy of the record $35.7 billion spent in 2023. It is no wonder that retailers look forward to the holiday almost as much as mothers....

Sixteen US states, stretching from Maryland to Oklahoma and Illinois to Alabama, are bracing for the arrival of trillions of noisy cicadas. What makes the event especially rare is that two broods are emerging simultaneously. Brood XIX, comprising four species that surfaces every 13 years, and Brood XIII, consisting of three species that appears every 17 years. This unusual coincidence last occurred 221 years ago, in 1803, and won't happen again until 2245....

Fossils found by a father-daughter team has led to the discovery of a new, massive species of ichthyosaur. The marine reptiles dominated the seas during the Triassic and Jurassic periods (251 to 145 million years ago). Often referred to as "fish-lizards," they shared physical similarities with dolphins and whales but were, in fact, members of the reptile family....

Renowned wildlife filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory is known for capturing rare and unforgettable moments in the animal kingdom. On April 11, 2024, Gregory once again made headlines with his unprecedented footage of a flock of baby penguins bravely diving off a 50-foot (15m) cliff for their first-ever swim in the icy Antarctic waters....

In the mid-1970s, Judith Hernstadt, an avid collector of 18th-century artifacts, bought a set of sketches from a New York antique dealer. One piece, depicting a scene from the Revolutionary War, particularly stood out to her....

Cole Brauer has made history as the first American woman to sail alone around the world without stopping. The Long Island, New York, resident completed the tough 30,000-mile (48,280-km) Global Solo Challenge on March 7, 2024, in just 130 days. Brauer placed second among 16 sailors and was one of only seven participants who made it to the finish line....

Celebrated every April 22, Earth Day is an annual reminder of the urgent need to protect our planet. The global movement began on April 22, 1970, when US lawmaker Gaylord Nelson mobilized more than 20 million people to demonstrate support for environmental protection....

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in Washington DC, is celebrating the birth of two adorable pygmy slow lorises. This is the first time the endangered primates have been born at the zoo. The twins are the first offspring of three-year-old Naga and two-year-old Pabu....

On April 3, 2024, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan's east coast. The tremor, centered 11 miles south of the coastal city of Hualien, was the most powerful to hit the island nation in 25 years. It was felt across the country and as far away as Hong Kong and Shanghai, China. The quake sent boulders and mud tumbling down the mountains and destroyed or damaged several buildings in Hualien. At least 13 people were killed, and over a thousand were injured. As of April 7, 2024, rescuers were still looking for six people believed to be buried in the rubble....