Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 6 i Australian Geographic Explorers

Spring is finally here, after the weirdest ever 18 months, with lockdowns and restrictions in many parts of the country. I hope you are holding up well, but remember it is okay to not be okay. If you are struggling, talk to your family and friends, or call Kids Helpline if you need someone to talk to, on 1800 55 1800. This issue we have focused on WHAT?! – with the coolest people and weirdest facts. We hope you learn lots with Jessa (our resident bug expert), love meeting STEM star Eddie Woo, thrill to the story of the aquanaut who lived underwater, fall for our weirdest animal, enjoy our robot history, and LOL at all our jokes. We also have the winning photo of the junior category of the…

“I was just really trying to put down a solid first run, but it ended up being such a high score. I was so blown away by my score. So hyped! And to be able to put down my third run with my trick and get an even higher score was incredible. I have never received such a high score in my life. To be able to do it at the Olympics was insane!” Aussie skater Keegan scored a 95.83 to secure the top spot on the Olympic Games podium! And his dad Chris thought he’d lose his lunch with nerves while watching. 1 Keegan was born in the US, but spent his childhood on Queensland’s Gold Coast, mastering his moves at Elanora Skate Park. 2 Doing school tests helps…

Thomas Mayor is a Torres Strait Islander born on Larrakia Country in Darwin. He’s part of the Uluru Statement, and author of Freedom Day and Finding Our Heart. As a kid, your dad introduced you to many cultural traditions. He taught me how to hunt and cook in traditional ways. I still love doing these cultural practices today, teaching my own children. What inspired Freedom Day? I’m connected to the story through my union, which supported Vincent and his people many years ago, so I wanted this story to be told. His granddaughter Rosie is in my first book – when I interviewed her she said she wanted her grandfather’s story to be learnt by all Gurindji children, so we teamed up. What was that like? Rosie is very shy…

All about Rebecca Siblings: I am the sixth child in a family of eight, consisting of three girls and five boys. I have a twin sister, Ruth, and we both study at Nabiswera Primary School. Pet: A pet white-and-brown cat that I feed with milk and left-over food. Hobbies: Playing netball with Ruth and our friends; making new friends. Favourite food: Chicken and rice stew, which I like because it’s sweet. Favourite subject: English, because it is simple to both read and understand. I also love listening to gospel music, and listening to the choir at church on Sundays. What do you do in your spare time: I help my mother with cleaning our compound, washing dishes, preparing food and even cooking. I also enjoy relaxing under our big mvule tree,…

How did you get into zoology? I’ve always loved watching, learning and reading about animals – especially reptiles! From a young age, my quest for animal knowledge was insatiable! What is your favourite animal? Koalas. They are smarter than everyone thinks, and absolute experts in disguise. How can our readers help animals? Be a responsible pet owner – keep your cat enclosed day and night, walk your dog on a lead. Create native habitat for local wildlife. Reduce, reuse, recycle. What do you love about your job? Sharing my passion and wonderment of the natural world with others.…

Reader pop-ups Cool! With funding from WWF, Dr Romane Cristescu is updating her tiny solar-powered bluetooth ear tags to Very High Frequency technology, to better track – and save – koalas after bushfires. Awesome! That's tops! In an Aussie first, Tip Top has swapped the plastic bag tags on their bread to cardboard ones. Robo-friend Tobbie is an intelligent six-legged robot you build yourself. Once built, there are two program modes – Follow Me and Explore – to play with. It’s an awesome STEM build-and-play kit from Johnco, rrp $69.95, johncoproductions.com.…

Robots are automated machines that carry out the tasks humans designed them to do. Some look a bit like people, such as C-3PO from Star Wars – or the new humanoid robot Sophia, designed to serve in healthcare, customer service and therapy, and the first non-human to be given a United Nations title. Humans have long tried to make mechanical devices to simplify tasks, but it wasn’t until 1495 that Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci designed a humanoid automaton, operated by pulleys and cables. Dubbed the robot knight as it looked like a man in armour, it could sit, stand, raise its visor and move its arms, neck and jaw in human-like motions. In 1560, an Italian built a monk-like robot that moved as if praying. In the 1700s, Europeans…

TEAM'S WEIRD FLASHBACK Mel Tiyce When I was little I used to try to save cicadas from birds during summer. I’d try to nurse them back to health. Serene Conneeley I was washed in a bucket on the beach when I was a baby, and grew up in a tent! Mart ine Alla rs I did a voiceover for The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part’s first cut! Mike Ellott What’s weird is that I don’t have something that I’ve done yet that is weird – but I’m working on it! Chase Haslingden I used to collect rain in small bowls because I was convinced it tasted so much better than tap water! “I take photos because I love animals and nature, and it is the best way to remember…

1 You’ve written three maths books, and you’re also the subject of a novel, as part of the cool Aussie STEM Stars series. I read all the others in the series, and there are some incredible individuals with astonishing stories, and I wondered if I belonged there. But author Rebecca Lim helped me see there’s something worth telling in everyone’s story, and she told it with so much empathy, it was a delight from beginning to end. 2 What did you most want to convey to readers? While many of us think of ourselves as ordinary, it doesn’t matter how “ordinary” you are, you are a unique human being with wonderful gifts that are worth sharing with others. If you had told seven-year-old Eddie he’d have something special to give…

Motorized Dinosaur Learn how motors work. Connect a simple circuit to build this amazing dinosaur with wood. Have fun exploring basic mechanics. Easy to build. Human Skeleton Just mould to create your own glow human skeletons. Mould it, paint it, make it glow ! Solar Racer Place your solar racer on a smooth surface and watch it zip along in the sun. No batteries required as this fun science project turns the sunlight into electricity. Air Floating Air Kit A fast rotating motor is used to drive the propeller, and the airflow generated by the wind passes through the air duct. Place a foam ball over the air duct to observe the movement of the foam ball…

When mum told me there were dinosaurs in my backyard, I thought she was joking – but a visit to the Museum of Tropical Queensland in Townsville, where I spent some time in their Palaeontology Lab, confirmed it. There are plenty of fossils for kids to dig up on Outback Queensland’s Australian Dinosaur Trail, so we set off to see what we could find. STOP 1 Our first stop was Flinders Discovery Centre in Hughenden, where I learned that an ancient inland sea once covered this area. Giant marine creatures called this shallow sea home, and along its shoreline, dinosaurs like Hughie the Muttaburrasaurus roamed. He was one of the first dinosaur fossils found in Hughenden in 1963, but others have been found since. He would have weighed more than…

Awesome Australian Animals by Chris Humfrey, New Holland. A fascinating, hilarious, clever and fun book about 15 of our wonderful wild creatures, from the adorable koala and flying fox to the kooky kookaburra and the kinda-gross giant burrowing cockroach. Packed with great photos, info-rich illos and light-hearted as well as serious info, it’s a brilliant reference book by zoologist, conservationist, animal sanctuary owner and TV presenter Chris, and includes QR codes to unlock even more content. Aussie STEM Stars: Eddie Woo by R. Lim, Wild Dingo Press. This series is brilliant, and maths whiz and YouTube sensation Eddie Woo’s book is so inspiring. From being bullied (and hating maths) as a kid, he’s turned maths into an enjoyable subject that finally makes sense to millions of kids around the world.…