Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2019 i Click Science and Discovery Magazine for Preschoolers and Young Children

Can you name the coldest places on Earth? Did you answer the North and South Poles? You’re right! The region around the North Pole is called the Arctic. In pictures it sometimes looks like a frozen land, but it’s really an ocean covered with a thick layer of shifting, drifting ice. The area around the South Pole is called Antarctica. It’s solid land surrounded by seas and covered with ice thousands of feet thick. Scientists measured the world’s coldest temperature ever—minus 144°F—at a research station near the South Pole. Why do the polar regions get so cold? Because the sun never shines directly on them. Sunshine doesn’t even reach the poles in winter. And in summer, it shines at a slant. Each yellow band shows the same amount of the…

Spring has finally come to the Arctic. It’s been dark and icy for nearly six months. But now the warm sun shines, and the ice begins to crack and melt. Under the thinning ice, tiny plants called phytoplankton begin to bloom, turning the ocean green. Krill are only as big as a jumbo paper clip, but they’re still much bigger than the phytoplankton they eat. Krill spend their days in deep water, hiding from hungry animals. At night, they swim toward the surface to eat the tiny green plants. A polar cod swishes its V-shaped tail and leaves the ice shelf where it’s been hiding. It’s the only fish found in some Arctic waters. It gulps down krill as it swims through a swarm. A hooded seal rests briefly on…

Penguins have soft, downy feathers next to their bodies and dense, waterproof feathers covering the down. Emperor penguins keep their chicks warm and protected by tucking them under a flap of skin called a brood pouch. Groups of penguins huddle together against the cold and wind. Each penguin takes a turn standing on the outside while the other penguins get warm on the inside of the huddle. Eider ducks have wonderfully warm, soft, downy feathers underneath their outer feathers. Mother eider ducks pluck the down from their own breasts to line their nests. Ptarmigans have brown feathers in summer and then grow thicker, warmer, white feathers in winter. Unlike most birds, ptarmigans also have feathers that completely cover their feet. These feathers help the birds stay warm and keep their…