Kids News - Articles for Grades 11-12

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, made history on September 21, 2018, when its unmanned probe Hayabusa2 successfully landed two moving robots, collectively called MINERVA-II1, on asteroid Ryugu’s surface. A few weeks later, on October 2, the spacecraft repeated the feat by deploying a third, slightly bigger, rover called the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT). The information collected from the primitive asteroid could help shed light on the origins of our solar system and how the first life forms arose on Earth....

The sale of a Banksy painting for $1.4 million, the highest-ever paid for the British street artist’s solo work, was the perfect finale for Sotheby’s “Frieze Week” evening contemporary art auction on October 5, 2018. But before the auctioneers had time to celebrate, an alarm sounded and then, to everyone’s dismay, the artwork began to self-shred while sliding down the frame....

The Klondike region in Canada’s Yukon territory, which is famous for its gold mines, was once home to a large variety of animals. They included the long-extinct saber-toothed cats and woolly mammoths, as well as creatures like gray wolves, whose descendants still roam the Arctic territories. Hence, it is not uncommon for miners to stumble upon fossilized remains of the Ice Age inhabitants while unearthing the precious metal....

A few years ago, the idea that a Korean pop, or K-pop, group would perform to sold-out shows worldwide, top the Billboard 200 charts, and dethrone global phenom Taylor Swift's YouTube record for the biggest music video debut, would have been met with some skepticism. But the Bangtan Boys, or BTS as they are popularly called, have managed to accomplish all three feats, proving beyond doubt that music is a “universal language” which transcends across countries, languages, and cultures....

The Southeastern nation of Indonesia, which sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, is no stranger to earthquakes, many of which trigger tsunamis – powerful waves capable of immense destruction. However, the towering 18-foot wave that crashed into the island of Sulawesi on September 28, 2018 is one of the deadliest to hit the country in recent years....

Columbus Day, which is celebrated annually on the second Monday of October to honor the Italian explorer credited with “discovering” the Americas, has always been somewhat of a controversial holiday. That’s because while Christopher Columbus stumbled upon what we now call the Caribbean on October 12, 1492, he never set foot on the mainland – even on his subsequent three journeys. Besides, North America had already been “discovered” by the Native Americans, who had been living there for many generations....

While the volcanoes on Earth eject fiery lava, ash, and smoke, those on Ceres, a dwarf planet that orbits between Mars and Jupiter, have been spewing out ice throughout its history. The chain of events leading to the discovery began in 2015 when NASA’s spacecraft Dawn, sent to explore the asteroid belt where Ceres resides, captured some high-resolution images of its icy, rocky terrain. On the dwarf planet’s crater-covered surface, was a solitary 4km (13,000 feet ) tall mountain....

With over 350 million cubes sold since it hit toy stores in 1974, the Rubik’s Cube is probably one of the world’s most popular toys ever. However, while the iconic cube has an avid fan base, which regularly compete to be the fastest, the brain teaser is daunting for most. It is, therefore, not surprising to hear that even though the toy has been on the market for over 44 years, less than 6 percent of the world’s population is able to solve it. Now, Israel-based startup Particula is introducing GoCube, a hi-tech version of the classic toy that promises to make the puzzle fun and interactive for both beginners and experts....

Mention the word shark, and the first image that comes to mind is that of a ferocious carnivore circling helpless prey. However, while the bonnethead enjoys meat as much as any other shark, it seems to love its greens as well – so much so that about 50 percent of the shark’s diet is plant-based....