National Geographic Kids (UK) Issue 234

Hey Kids! This issue is packed with clever scientists and explorers whose work helps us understand our world, reveals the secrets of our past, and solves problems of the future. We meet palaeontologists piecing together the green bones of a huge dinosaur on page 10. Then we hear from seed scientists protecting the planet's plants on page 20. And four brave ocean adventurers set sail on a science ship to study marine wildlife. Plus, we meet an extraordinary astronaut and an undercover filmmaker. Epic! Whose job would you most like to do?! There are all the usual puzzles, fun facts and posters, too. So jump in and get inspired! Editor Tim and the Nat Geo Kids team…

Rare frogs released! More than 3,400 southern corroboree frog eggs have been released into Australia's Kosciuszko National Park, in a bid to save the critically endangered amphibian from extinction! “There are thought to be only 50 of these beautiful little black-and-yellow frogs left in the wild,” explains zookeeper Ryan Moes, who looked after the eggs at Melbourne Zoo before their release. “Each precious frog is crucial to keeping the alpine bog ecosystems in Mount Kosciuszko healthy.” As well as eggs, the team released tadpoles and juvenile frogs into the area's pools and marshes. It's hoped they'll overcome disease, droughts and bushfires to boost the population. Ribbety great! Diamonds on Mercury! Talk about bling! Space scientists reckon that the planet Mercury could have a 16km-thick layer of diamonds under its surface.…

1 Launched in 2011, Minecraft is the biggest-selling video game of all time. It has 140 million monthly users (that's more than double the population of the UK!), who create, adventure and battle in the game's colourful, block-based world. 2 Minecraft's creator, Markus 'Notch' Persson, once used his sleeping cat to make sound effects for the game! He recorded the sound of the moggy waking up and used it for the noises of fire-shooting ghosts called Ghasts. 3 Known as a sandbox game, Minecraft is famous for letting users get creative and play however they like! You can explore the vast open world, fight monsters, befriend cute creatures, build cool structures, go on adventures and more!…

Find out more about Wakehurst's super seed bank on page 20. This October half-term, Nat Geo Kids is teaming up with Wakehurst, Kew's wild botanic garden in Sussex, for a planet-saving nature trail that YOU can take part in. Every school holiday, Wakehurst host a Nature Heroes event, where kids join fun missions to learn all about plants and how to look after them. And this autumn, they're putting on an awesome NGK-inspired Seed Seeker trail! You'll play the role of a seed scientist, learning how Wakehurst's Millennium Seed Bank collects, stores and studies over 2.8 billion seeds from over 39,000 species. Following a woodland trail amongst the trees, you'll tackle puzzles, solve plant mysteries and learn tons of fascinating weird-but-true facts. Head to kew.org/wakehurst for more information and to…

Fungi beats Musician and biologist Tarun Nayar, from Vancouver in Canada, makes music out of… mushrooms! Eh? Well, when Tarun plugs his synthesiser into fungi, their bioelectric pulses travel through wires, triggering note changes in the synth. Whoa! “When I tried it for the first time, I was blown away!” he says. We bet, Tarun! Paddling pooches! These heroic hounds were snapped taking part in August's World Dog Surfing Championships in California, USA. The doggy dudes competed in events including solo dog surfing, tandem dog-and-human surfing, tandem dog surfing and stand-up paddleboarding. Bone-kers! Yarnolympics If medals were awarded for yarnbombing, we reckon the Secret Society of Hertford Crafters would win the gold! The nifty knitters crocheted 37 postbox toppers to celebrate this summer's Olympics and Paralympics! Keep an eye out…

Sally's spa Aaaaand relax! This sleepy marine iguana appears to be getting a soothing head massage from the Sally Lightfoot crab on its back. Although that's not really what's going on, the colourful crustacean is providing a different kind of spa treatment – it's gobbling dead skin and parasites from the reptile's scaly body! Found on the Galápagos Islands, about 1,000km off the coast of Ecuador, South America, marine iguanas are the only sea lizards in the world. After diving into the choppy, chilly waters of the Pacific Ocean to graze on algae, the cold-blooded creatures need to warm up. So they soak up the sun by basking on the islands' black rocks – which is when the sneaky Sally Lightfoot crabs show up for a snack!…