What did you learn this week? Let us know in the comments or at education@ngs.org. This week we learned … … an American won the Man Booker prize. Congratulations, Paul Beatty! What novels are you reading now? … what wind, currents, and geography tell us about how people first settled Oceania. How do you think the remote islands of Australia and Oceania were populated? … Continue reading 11 Things We Learned This Week
SCIENCE Two spider lovers in Australia have discovered seven new species of peacock spider. These crawlers are known for their bright colors and unusual mating dances. To biologist and photographer Jürgen Otto, they’re cute enough to be compared to kittens. He hopes their approachability may change the public perception about spiders as a whole. (National Geographic) Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key … Continue reading People are calling this new species of dancing spider “adorable”
ENVIRONMENT Millions of spiders dropped from the sky in Australia, blanketing the countryside with their webs. “We see these falls of spiderwebs that look almost as if it’s snowing,” said one local resident. (Nat Geo News) Use our resources to learn about slightly more terrifying arachnids from Down Under. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources, including a link to today’s MapMaker … Continue reading Spidery ‘Plankton’ Pours Down
We typically think of ghosts and goblins on Halloween, right? Plenty of creepy creatures really roam our world and cause a similar type of fright all year long. For some of us, when you know you’re in the presence of a spider, but you don’t know where it is, you might be slightly afraid. For those that dare, try to find the spider in the web below: … Continue reading Media Monday: The Real Creeps of Halloween
SCIENCE How does a tick simultaneously cut through skin and embed an often-toxic anchor? It sinks its teeth into the situation. When seen with an electron microscope, a tick’s mouth has what look like twin saws flanking an appendage that appears to be the kind of long, barbed sword that a villain in a video game might favor. (New York Times, be sure to watch … Continue reading How a Tick Does Its Dirty Work
