Innholdsfortegnelse for 166 i The Week Junior

On 5 February, US president Donald Trump gave a speech called the State of the Union address to Congress. Congress is where US politicians debate and make decisions, similar to Parliament in the UK. What is the State of the Union address? The State of the Union address takes place each year. It is when whoever is president updates Congress on what the US government has achieved during the previous year, and sets out plans for the future. The president must give Congress this annual message because it is written into the US Constitution. The constitution is an important document that lists the fundamental laws and principles of the US. What did Trump say? Trump called for unity in Congress, which is mostly made up of politicians from either the…

On 11 February, International Day of Women and Girls in Science was marked around the world. Started by the United Nations (UN) in 2016, the day is held to encourage more women and girls to get involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The United Nations is an organisation of 193 countries that takes action on issues that affect the world, such as human rights, peace and climate change. There are already many women working in STEM. Donna Strickland, the Nobel Prizewinning physicist, tweeted on the day, “We need to celebrate women physicists because they’re out there... I’m honoured to be one of those women.” Yet in many STEM subject areas there are fewer women than men. Nick Gibb, the School Standards Minister, said girls in England are less…

What you need to know ● It’s film-awards season. One of the biggest ceremonies, the Academy Awards (known as the Oscars) takes place on 24 February. Several of the most-nominated films this year tell the story of historical events, but they’ve been criticised for changing facts. ● Historical inaccuracies can be found in many films, including The Greatest Showman and Titanic. They can be small, such as changing a location, or much bigger, such as changing whether someone was good or bad. ● Some filmmakers change the facts on purpose to make their films more dramatic or entertaining. Some films transport viewers into a world of make-believe, whereas others give us a glimpse into the past. Disney’s Pocahontas, for example, tells viewers about the life of the title character, a…

David Aguilar was born without his right hand and forearm (the arm below the elbow), due to a rare condition. When he was a child, he loved playing with Lego, using it to create cars and motorbikes. Now aged 19, Aguilar has spent years using the famous plastic blocks to build himself an arm. He is studying at university in Spain, and hopes to design affordable limbs for those who need them. “As a child I was very nervous to be in front of other guys because I was different, but that didn’t stop me believing in my dreams,” said Aguilar.…

Bird lovers are in for a treat at this RSPB nature reserve. Some of the most exciting residents might be heard rather than seen, such as bitterns, which lie in the reedbeds making an unmissable booming noise. Bearded tits also live in the reeds, and marsh harriers soar overhead. In the woodland, the nightingale’s beautiful song can be heard, and a large colony of avocets lives in the water. Lucky visitors might even see otters out playing in the reedbed pools. Find out more at tinyurl.com/TWJ-Minsmere…

A honey badger has been filmed protecting its cub from a hungry leopard at the Sabi Sands Game Reserve in South Africa. Despite being much smaller than the big cat, the badger ran and jumped straight at it, scaring it away. ● LIFESPAN IN THE WILD: Up to seven years. ● HABITAT: Each individual may roam across 500 square kilometres of mountains, rainforest and savannah. ● DIET: As their name suggests, they enjoy honey, but also eat berries birds, fruit, insects, mammals and reptiles. ● FUN FACT: Known as one of the meanest animals alive, honey badgers are rarely attacked by other species. They can even recover from potentially fatal stings and bites. WOW! Honey badgers have loose skin so that if a predator grabs them, they can easily wriggle…

In December 2014, a new island appeared in the South Pacific. It was made by an underwater volcano spewing out lava and ash that steadily built up, until eventually it stuck out of the water. Last autumn, scientists stepped onto the island for the first time since it emerged and found it teeming with life. Now, they have just published their results. The island, which is unofficially named Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, is nestled between two other islands in the kingdom of Tonga. When it was born, it caught the attention of the US space agency NASA. Research scientist Dan Slayback was keen to understand how new islands form on Earth. After nearly four years of watching it from space via a satellite, the NASA team took their first steps on…

A newly discovered dinosaur grew giant spikes down its back. Bajadasaurus pronuspinax roamed the planet about 140 million years ago in the early Cretaceous period (a period between 145 and 66 million years ago). It was a herbivore and part of the sauropod family – a group of dinosaurs that included the Diplodocus. The fossils, which included most of a skull and part of its backbone, were found in 2013, but the dino was only revealed on 4 February, by scientists at the Cultural Science Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Pablo Gallina, a palaeontologist (someone who studies fossils), said that the spikes would have looked pretty scary. “We believe that the long and sharp spines – very long and thin – must have been to deter possible predators,” he said.…

Running one marathon (a marathon is 26.2 miles long) is very difficult, but imagine completing seven marathons in seven consecutive days on seven different continents! That’s exactly what Susannah Gill did between 31 January and 6 February. The 34-year-old from London finished first in the women’s World Marathon Challenge in a record total time of 24 hours, 19 minutes and nine seconds for all seven races. The men’s winner, Mike Wardian from the US, finished in 20 hours, 49 minutes and 30 seconds. The gruelling event began with a marathon in Antarctica. The 41 runners then flew to Cape Town (South Africa), Perth (Australia), Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Madrid (Spain), Santiago (Chile) and finally Miami (US) to run in each continent within a week. “It’s been an extraordinary week. I’ve…

Matilda Matilda’s a genius who solves maths problems in her head, moves objects around with her mind, and stands up to her bullying head teacher. The theatre version of the book tours the UK until 17 August 2019. Find out more at tinyurl.com/TWJ-matilda Horrible Histories – Barmy Britain Adapted from the famous books, this new stage version takes a look at the history of Britain with nasty bits left in. The show is touring the UK from 21 February 2019 until 2 June 2019. You can find where it’s on at tinyurl.com/TWJ-horriblehistories Mary Poppins The famous tale of supernanny Mary Poppins returns to London later this year. With unforgettable songs and brilliant dancing, the musical is on from 23 October 2019 until 29 March 2020. To see dates and prices,…

The problem with ancient artefacts discovered by archaeologists is that they can be fragile; putting them on show is one thing, but letting curious museum visitors handle them can damage these objects. Google is trying to solve that problem by using 3D-printing technology to create copies of artefacts, and even entire historical landmarks. It’s working on the models with 3D-printing company Stratasys, and they are being made available through Google’s Open Heritage Project website, so that people – and museums – with their own 3D printers can download and print them at home. “The project was to get people excited about seeing pieces. That’s when we turned to 3D printing,” says Bryan Allen, who works in design at Google. Germany’s Brandenburg Gate, the Peirene Fountain in Corinth, in Greece, and…

Ancient treasures will go on display for the first time at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, thanks to an ambitious makeover. Over the past 15 years, the museum has spent £80 million building 29 new rooms to make space for 13,500 extra items. The newest rooms are filled with artefacts from ancient Egypt and east Asia. This doesn’t just mean treasures like jewellery and beautiful artwork, but also everyday items like toys and shoes. The museum is home to lots of ancient Egyptian mummies, including some decorated with realistic pictures of the people inside the coffins. One is a double coffin used to bury two young brothers whose pictures are painted on the outside. Another Egyptian artefact on display is a block from the Great Pyramid. The massive…

The world’s oceans will become a brighter blue and green colour by the end of the century, because of rising temperatures caused by global warming. Global warming is the long-term changes in the planet’s average temperature, mostly caused by harmful gases released by burning fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas. A team of researchers from the UK and the US have released a report predicting that the colour shift will happen because of changes in the numbers and types of tiny organisms that live in the ocean, called phytoplankton. These microscopic living things play a key role in the world’s oceans, providing food for many animals and supporting the entire food chain. Phytoplankton look greenish and the more of them there are in the water, the greener the…

Planting strips of wildflowers in crop fields could help farmers cut back the amount of pesticide they use on their crops. Pesticides are chemicals used to kill unwanted insects and other living things. Farmers often spray them on crops to stop their produce from being eaten or destroyed by bugs, but the chemicals can be dangerous to people and animals, too. Scientists have set up a study to find out if planting wildflowers within fields can act as a natural alternative. It is hoped that the flowers will offer shelter for natural predators of the unwanted bugs. These predators, such as hoverflies and ground beetles, will eat the pests and so reduce or get rid of the need for pesticide. The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) is trying the…

A volcanic island, also called an oceanic island, forms when a volcano erupts on the ocean floor. As the underwater volcano erupts, layers of lava and ash build up on its sides. Eventually, the volcano may reach the surface of the water to make an island. When the lava is still underwater, it is known as a seamount. Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai is only one of three volcanic islands to emerge in the last 150 years that have survived more than a few months, giving scientists a rare opportunity to study how new islands form.…

AWESOME EXPERIMENTS Every month in Science+Nature you’ll find eight pages of brilliant, easy-to-do activities to try at home. This month’s experiments help you to explore chemistry and the elements of the periodic table. Make fizzy lemonade, grow salt crystal geodes, create lightning in a jar and extract iron from cereal. Plus, with the Starwatch pages you can see some of the most amazing sights in the February night sky. VISIT sciencenature.theweekjunior.co.uk THE WEEK JUNIORSUBSCRIBERS GET AN EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT. CALL 0330 333 9494 TO CLAIM! NEW ISSUE OUT NOW JUST £3.49…

A nine-year-old girl from Nottinghamshire has written to Disney to ask it to create a new princess who wears glasses. In the letter to Robert Iger, Disney’s chief executive, Lowri Moore said that the character would make people feel beautiful. She said, “I’ve grown up watching Disney princesses, and I’ve always admired them and thought they were beautiful. Unfortunately, none of the princesses wear glasses, and that made me feel like I wasn’t beautiful enough.” Moore also talked about feeling that she had to take her glasses off whenever she dressed up as a princess. She added, “I kept seeing characters wearing glasses who were geeks or nerds, which I don’t think is fair.” Websites around the world have reported on her campaign. So far Disney has only responded to…

What you need ● 75g butter ● 150g cheddar cheese ● A small onion ● 1 red pepper ● 2 eggs ● 150ml milk ● 75g frozen petit pois ● 250g self-raising flour, sieved ● ½ vegetable stock cube ● Frying pan ● Grater ● Sharp knife ● Large bowl ● Whisk ● Spoon ● Muffin cases ● 12-hole muffin tin ● Cooling rack Instructions First, preheat the oven to 180° C. Melt the butter in a frying pan and leave to cool. While it’s cooling, grate the cheese. Next, cut the onion in half. Peel off the skin and finely chop one half. Next, finely chop the red pepper (you don’t want big chunks in these little muffins). Break the eggs into a large bowl, whisk them and stir…

Name: Lotte and Lusha “We were very excited to meet the Queen and tell her about a children’s book that we reviewed, Captain Coram: Champion for Children. The book tells the story of Thomas Coram, who set up the Foundling Hospital in 1739 to help babies and children whose families were unable to care for them. The Queen asked us what our favourite part of the book was and we said that we really liked that the children all had good life opportunities when they were older. The Queen replied that she would like to read the book too! ” What’s going on at your school? Have you taken part in a sporting event, put on a show or done something fun to raise money? Whatever you’re up to, we…

Armed forces supported by the US are making a final effort to defeat the extremist terrorist movement known as Islamic State (IS) in Syria.IS wanted to create a new state across Iraq, Syria and beyond, and at the peak of its power in 2014 controlled much of the region. Over the last few years, it has gradually lost ground and has been beaten back by its opponents. Just two Syrian villages, or 1% of its former territory – now remain under its control. IS is known for carrying out public executions and acts of torture, and has held thousands of people as slaves. Around 20,000 civilians, including the families of IS fighters, have been fleeing from the area it controls in Syria. IS’s main leader is also believed to have…

As The Week Junior went to press, pupils across the UK were expected to walk out of their classrooms on 15 February as part of an environmental campaign. The strikes (refusing to work as a form of protest) aim to put pressure on world leaders to do more in the fight against climate change – the longterm change in weather patterns, mostly caused by harmful gases released by burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. Whose idea is it? Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old from Sweden, came up with the idea for the strikes when she protested outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018. Her solo effort became a worldwide campaign, which now involves up to 70,000 schoolchildren each week. The walkouts on 15 February look set to attract…

Nantes, France Sala’s football shirt is retired Nantes football club, in France, has retired the No. 9 shirt, which had been worn by Emiliano Sala. The Argentinian footballer played for Nantes for three years, but on 21 January he died in a plane crash while travelling to his new club Cardiff City, in the UK. The decision means no other player will wear that number again at the club. “Emiliano will forever be part of the legends that have written the great story of FC Nantes,” the French club said in a statement. Madrid, Spain Catalonia leaders go on trial On 12 February, 12 politicians from Catalonia went on trial for holding an unofficial election. Catalonia is a region of Spain with some of its own powers and its own…

Lindsey Vonn is the most successful female skier of all time, but she competed at her final event – the Alpine World Championships, in Are, Sweden – on 10 February. After the race, Vonn, who is from the US, said she had been more nervous than she had ever been in her career, but that she still had fun. Vonn is happy to do things differently. She once chose a cow as a prize instead of money after winning a race in France in 2005. The cow turned out to be pregnant and now Vonn has a herd of them. Vonn revealed in October 2018 that this would be her final season, saying her body was “screaming to stop” after a knee injury. Her third-place finish in her last ever…

This year marks a century of women being allowed to serve as officers in public in the Metropolitan Police Service, more commonly referred to as the Met. The Met is the biggest police force in the UK. Its officers work across London, investigating crimes, enforcing the law and keeping people safe. Its leader, Cressida Dick – officially known as the Commissioner – is the first woman ever to take on the top job, and is leading a campaign to bring more women into the Met. So what has changed in the past 100 years? The history of the Met Until the 1800s, London didn’t have a formal police service. Instead, volunteer constables patrolled the streets, sometimes supported by the armed forces. In 1748, a writer named Henry Fielding decided to…

A wall on the wild side A fox walks past a mural in London. Channel surfing A surfer rides the Eisbach wave in Munich, Germany. All at sea Offerings are made to a goddess called Iemanjá in Uruguay. Dragon disguise Young people celebrate Chinese New Year in London. Where there’s smoke… People dance over firecrackers to pray for a good harvest, in south-west China. Zebras crossing Two zebras come together in Kenya.…

Do you like making loud noises? Do you enjoy making new friends? Do you want to learn a new instrument? You’ll do all of these things – and more – if you join a brass band. A brass band is a group of people playing music together on brass instruments. Brass instruments are metallic wind instruments such as the cornet, French horn, tenor horn, trombone, trumpet and tuba. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never picked up an instrument before because you will learn to play with the help of the band’s teachers. You can usually choose which instrument you’d like to start with, and most bands will loan you the instrument. “The best, and the most enjoyable way to make music is to do it with other people,” says Simon…

The streets with no names Streets in a small town in Germany will remain nameless after voters chose not to give them names. For more than 40 years, Hilgermissen, in northern Germany, has managed without street names, and 60% of residents who voted chose to keep it that way. The town was formed in the 1970s when several smaller villages were combined. Addresses are simply a house number and the name of the old village where the house stands. So is this story real, or rubbish?* Hotpot or a hot tub? A hotel in China is offering guests the chance to bathe in soup. The hotel, in Hangzhou, is encouraging guests to take a healthy dip in its hot springs, which have been designed to look like a hotpot. A…