Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2019 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

FOUR-WHEELED TURTLE At the Maryland Zoo, a turtle with a broken shell is slowly getting better. It has help from a wheelchair made of Legos. A zoo worker found the hurt turtle in the wild. The part of its shell below its body was cracked. Vets at the zoo did surgery to connect the broken pieces. But the shell would need time to heal, like a broken bone. The vets needed a way to keep the shell off the ground. So a vet’s friend built the turtle a special Lego wheelchair. The turtle can still use its front legs to crawl. But the wheelchair protects its shell as it zooms around. CRY LIKE A BABY When a baby cries, humans listen. And cats may have figured out how to use…

3 …2…1… Liftoff! The rocket surges upward, carrying a new satellite to help scientists predict the weather. As it rises, the rocket sheds empty fuel tanks. Finally, it releases the satellite, setting it into orbit around the earth about 12,500 miles (20,000 km) up. Since 1957, humans have put thousands of satellites into orbit. But they don’t last forever. What happens when they break or stop working? They keep circling around the Earth. And it’s getting a bit crowded up there. The white dots around this Earth picture show just some of the thousands of human-made objects orbiting our planet. Only about 1 in 10 of these dots is a working satellite. The rest are old satellites, rocket stages, and other debris. All of this space junk is moving at…

Challenge your friends to a pointing contest! Can they make an arrow drawn on an index card reverse itself without flipping over the card? You can! If you have a handy glass. What you’ll need • A tall, clear drinking glass, full of water• An index card or piece of paper• A marker What to do 1. With a marker, draw a thick arrow on an index card (or any paper). Make the pointy end nice and big. 2. Now, hold the card a couple of inches behind the glass. Look at the arrow through the glass of water. 3. And presto, the arrow will look like it’s pointing the other way! If it isn’t, move the card closer and farther from the glass until it works. What’s going on…

When you toss something in the trash, soon a garbage truck will come to take it away. Then where does it go? That depends on where you live. Different towns deal with trash in different ways. Compost Food waste might go to a composter. In a compost heap, bacteria and worms break down dead plants and old food. They turn it into good, rich soil. Some people keep compost heaps in their gardens. Big commercial composters handle waste from restaurants and farms. Recycling A recycling truck picks up paper, cardboard, metal, plastic, and glass. These go to the recycling plant to be sorted and made into new things. Landfill Some trash gets buried in landfills. A landfill starts as a big hole. Trucks dump trash. Big earth movers push it…

Dump City dumps are the shopping malls of trash. You never know what you’ll find. You might have to dig through paper, light bulbs, broken chairs, all kinds of stuff. And watch out for seagulls. But be persistent! Tasty, well-aged potato chips and old pizza are in there somewhere! If you’re lucky, maybe with mushrooms growing on it. Other Dump Now this is not a tasty dump. Just construction waste! Metal, concrete, plastic pipes—Bleh. No stars for you! Can The old, reliable garbage can at the curb may not be thrilling, but it’s always there. A good place to find a bit of everything. This house could do better at recycling—but under the plastic there’s bound to be some still-green veggies and not-yet-green cake. Nice and fresh! But when you…

Dear Ask, I am very worried about plastic pollution. It is everywhere! and it seems like nobody cares. Can you please help? Sincerely, Mia R. Dear Mia, WE care! I think lots of people care, they just don’t know what to do. But I think if everyone does a little bit, together we can do a lot. I’m working on a special spray that will dissolve plastic when you say the magic word. Explastico! Plush Dear Marvin, Do you know any tricks? If you do, tell me. My common trick is hiding, popping out, and saying “boo!”. Yours truly, Lucas B., Rhode Island Dear Lucas, I used to jump out at people and say “BOO!” but now I jump out and say “There are millions of tons of plastic floating…

What a beautiful fish! But take a closer look. What’s it made of? Are those bottle caps? A plastic shovel? A broken chair? Yep, this entire sculpture is made from plastic trash. And all of it came from the ocean. The beautiful rainbow fish was made by artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi. She likes to go for long walks on the beach near her home in Oregon. But she was bothered by all the plastic trash that kept washing ashore. Where was it all coming from? Volunteer groups collect tons of plastic litter from beaches. Scientists estimate that 8 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year. That’s 15 shopping bags full for every meter of coast! Some is dumped in the water. Some blows off streets. Wind and ocean…

Who decides what’s trash, and what’s art supplies? Maybe you. For this month’s contest, collect some interesting bits of junk and use them to make a unique piece of art. This kind of art is called “found object art.” Snap a picture of your recycled masterpiece, and we’ll curate a collection of the most captivating in an upcoming issue of Ask. Contest Rules: 1. Your contest entry must be your very own work. Ideas and words should not be copied. 2. Be sure to include your name, age, and address on your entry. 3. Only one entry per person, please. 4. If you want your work returned, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. 5. Your entry must be signed or emailed by a parent or legal guardian, saying it’s your own…