Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2020 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

Hot-Foot Ants A shiny little ant in Africa is the fastest ant in the world, researchers say. It has to be fast to stay alive. The Saharan silver ant lives in the scorching hot desert. During the day, the sand can reach more than 140º F (60º C). Most animals stay out of the sun. But the Saharan silver ant darts across the sand in the middle of the day to look for food. To learn how the ants manage not to overheat, researchers took high-speed video of ants running on sandy paths. They saw that running ants move their legs three at a time: first the middle leg on one side with the front and back legs on the other side, then vice versa. This gait gives them a…

Stump the Scientists ! When paleontologists discover a new fossil plant or animal, they try to figure out where it fits into the tree of life, and also how it lived. Sometimes this is a piece of cake, especially when the fossil is similar to a living creature. There are ancient fossil clams, for instance, that are a lot like living clams. In this case, it’s clear that they are related. Since that is not nearly exciting enough, we have invited a bunch of utterly strange creatures from long before the dinosaurs to join us and tell us how they stumped the experts. Crazy Cambrians Freaky Fish In the Silurian Period and in the beginning of the next period, the Devonian, fish without jaws were common. They had armored heads…

In our November/ December issue we asked you what you might pack for the long trip to Saturn. Thanks to all you amply amused astronauts for sharing your suitcases! Send your letters to Ask Mail, 70 East Lake St., Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60601, or have your parent/legal guardian email us at ask@cricketmedia.com. My Saturn-bound Suitcase Ed M., age 8, Maine Saturn Suitcase Cason P., age 9, Washington Emily S., age 9, Texas Angela Z., age 6, California The Biggest Suitcase Ever!! Harper S., age 9, France Peter O., age 10 If I went to Saturn I would pack a really heavy jacket, enough candy, water, and books for 17 years, a net to catch diamonds, and an asteroid blaster. My suit would have jets to blow against the wind,…

Dinosaurs lived long, long ago—250 million to 65 million years in the past. But dinosaurs were not the oldest living things. So what lived before the dinosaurs? Who were their ancestors? If we go back 500 million years, we would find a very different world. Here is a very brief peek at six ages of life before the dinosaurs. Each of these eras lasted a long time, and life changed a lot during each. Ordovician Extinction: At the end of the Ordovician, a period of global cooling and dropping sea levels wiped out about half of ocean species. Devonian extinctions: At the end of the Devonian, rapid changes in climate and less oxygen in the ocean wiped out much animal and plant life, including the placoderms. Permian-Triassic Extinction: The largest…

Do you have a pterodactyl? Or one of those Loch Ness Monster creatures called a plesiosaur? Or how about a dimetrodon, with its majestic sail rising from its back? Well, guess what? Not one of these is actually a dinosaur. What Makes an Animal a Dinosaur? Dinosaurs are an ancient group of animals that first appeared about 240 million years ago. All dinosaurs share a common ancestor and are alike in some important ways. Members of the dinosaur family have bones, walk on land, and have hips that put their legs directly below their bodies, not splayed to the side like a lizard. Dinosaurs also had two holes in their skulls behind their eyes. Plesiosaurs and pterodactyls lived at the same time as the dinosaurs. But their families split off…

Why do dinosaurs get all the attention? Time to change that! For this month’s contest, make an ad, poster, or playing card to tell the world about the wonders of your favorite prehistoric creature that’s not a dino. Dreaming of dimetrodons? Excited by eryops? Cheering for Carboniferous cockroaches? Send us your shout-out, and we’ll post a parade of the most persuasive 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…

Hello! Wait! Don’t run away. Yes, I know I am a cockroach.SO, what’s wrong with that? You are speaking to the most successful species on the planet, you know! We’ve been around for 350 million years! Survived five mass extinctions! Dinosaurs, gone. Trilobites, gone. Dodos, gone. But WE’RE STILL HERE. So what’s the secret of our success? Be small! Run fast! Eat anything! Lay lots of eggs! Let me show you how it’s done. It all started a long, long time ago. The venerable family of Roach has been crawling around since at least the Devonian. By the Carboniferous era, half the insects on earth were roaches! Some people call the Carboniferous the Age of Coal, but around here it’s known as the Age of Roaches. Sure, we’ve had plenty…

Ocean Renegades! by Abby Howard Hungry for even more ancient creatures? These fantastic cartoon books by one of our favorite science cartoonists takes you to meet all the amazing creatures that lived long ago, from the weird fish of the Cambrian, to giant salamanders, and the world’s largest bugs. The epic story continues in two sequels, Dinosaur Empire! and Mammal Takeover! E-Z Build Your Own Time Machine by Marvin If you REALLY want to know what life was like in the Cambrian, go see! It’s easy with Marvin’s astounding, completely 100% working, build-it-yourself time machine! This Nobel prize-winning book tells you how. All you need is a cardboard box—and all of history is yours to explore! Evolution Revolution by Robert Winston This book can tell you anything you ever wanted…