Kids News - Science Articles

Judging by their looks, one would never guess that New Zealand's national bird - the tiny flightless kiwi and the colossal African elephant bird that roamed Madagascar until the 17th Century, had much in common. While the kiwi is roughly the size of a modern chicken and weighs between three to seven pounds, the elephant bird loomed a massive ten feet tall, and could weigh as much as 600 pounds! In addition to the difference in size, the two species lived 7,000 miles apart, making any connection between the two almost impossible....

The plan had been to create a beautiful nature park complete with a large artificial lake on the outskirts of the city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province in north-central China. However thanks to a cruel trick played by nature, what the officials have ended up with, is an unsalvageable sandy mess!...

Given that technology is being incorporated into every aspect of our life, it is not surprising to hear the emergence of 'smart' clothing that make lifeless fabrics fun and playful. London-based Cute Circuit has been creating interactive fashions like huggable shirts and dresses with live tweets since 2004. Now Hungarian designer Judit Eszter Karpati has joined the fray with Chromosonic, a high-tech material that changes color when exposed to touch or sound....

Visitors that dare to venture deep into the Western Amazon rainforest often encounter a strange sight - groups of butterflies hovering above yellow-spotted river turtles that are basking in the sun. What's even stranger is why they are there - To drink the tears from their eyes! And it's not because the beautiful insects are trying to comfort the reptiles, but because the tears contain the one ingredient that is lacking in their diet - sodium....

Always wanted to experience what it would be like to live in a gravity-free world? Then you may want to check out the 'Mystery Spot' - a nondescript barn located in the redwood forests that lie on the outskirts of the picturesque city of in California. That's because short of flying, you will be able to experience almost everything astronauts do, without ever leaving earth....

The idea that the mighty crocodile which can shred its prey to pieces within minutes, would even glance at a vegetable let alone eat it, seems almost insulting. But don't tell that to the residents of the Nyanyana crocodile farm that lies on the shores of the world's largest artificial lake, Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba. They apparently are completely vegetarian....

A team of paleontologists in South America recently announced that they have found the remains of what may be the biggest dinosaur found yet. According to their estimates, the unnamed giant, a new species of the Titanosaur, weighed at least 77 tons, stood 65-feet high and measured 130-feet long, from head to tail. In contrast, the previous record holder, the Argentinosaurus, which stood a slightly taller 70-feet, is believed to have weighed just 70 tons and measured 115-feet in length....

Scientists have often pondered over how the eight-armed octopus avoids getting tangled around itself. This mystery was particularly perplexing given that each tentacle is lined with hundreds of suckers that are strong enough to stick to almost anything. Also, unlike animals with rigid skeletons, the mollusks have no idea where their arms are at any given moment....

One of the most popular ways to demonstrate this year's severe US winter appeared to be tossing out a glass of boiling water and watching it freeze instantly, in mid-air. Of course, the reason the fun experiment impressed viewers is because nobody expects boiling water to turn to ice that quickly. Turns out that contrary to intuitive thinking, it actually solidifies faster than cold water! Why? That's a mystery still waiting to be solved....