Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 250 i National Geographic Kids (UK)

Hi Kids! We're having a double celebration this month… it's our festive special AND we're celebrating our 250th issue. Woo-hoo! To honour this great occasion, we have a bumper puzzle section for you to enjoy over the holidays. Our cover star this month is a gorgeous snow leopard – turn to page 10 to see some 'selfies' that these mysterious big cats have snapped! Also this issue, we learn about an active volcano in Antarctica, get up close to 15 creatures that are new to science and read about some valuable gems accidentally flushed down the drain by Ancient Romans. Oops! Enjoy the mag, and have a fantastic Christmas and New Year – see you in 2026!…

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures Calling all future astronauts! This year’s famous Christmas Lectures take viewers on a thrilling voyage to the furthest known reaches of the cosmos! Join pioneering space scientist Dr. Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock to check out the latest space discoveries and investigate the possibilities of extraterrestrial life. Plus, there are loads of special guests, from astronauts to astronomers. And, as it’s the Lectures’ 200th anniversary, Dame Maggie will look back at some of the first ever astronomy lectures. Epic! ● On BBC 4 over the Christmas period. Catch up on iPlayer. Zootropolis 2 The gleaming city of Zootropolis is a bustling place where animals from every environment live side by side in harmony (well, most of the time). Nine years after the first film, expectations are high for…

Check out these outrageous facts… Melted snow from the Australian Alps helps generate electricity for parts of the country. Giraffe ‘horns’ are actually called ossicones. Every Pancake Day, runners in Olney, Buckinghamshire, race with pancakes in frying pans. In Kent, there’s an entire museum devoted to dog collars. A howler monkey’s roar can be heard up to 4km away. Cows can drink a bathful of water each in a day. Before mating, some mosquitoes harmonise their buzzing sounds. You can buy lollipops made with flecks of 24-carat gold. Aulophobia is the fear of flutes.…

Answers on page 49 1 Bamboo makes up about how much of a giant panda’s diet? 10% 25% 50% 99% 2 Some male orangutans have big cheek pads called …………………………… Along with a large throat sac, they’re used to make loud ‘long calls’ through the forest. Puffers Flanges Gills Noisemakers 3 How many minutes can Burmese pythons stay underwater for? 10 20 30 45 4 What is the main difference between male and female Siberian ibex horns? Males have longer, thicker horns than females Females have more brightly coloured horns Females have longer, pointier horns than males There’s no difference 5 A sun bear uses its long …………………… to help it reach honey and bugs in crevices and deep tree holes. Nose Tongue Fur Teeth 6 Irrawaddy dolphins prefer muddy…

ROUND 1: NAME GAME 1 Thousands of Australians queued to get a whiff of the stinking ‘corpse flower’ in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden in January, which bloomed for just 48 hours. What was the plant named by staff? Putricia Stinky Sue Cindersmella Reeky Martin 2 Historic British stationery chain WH Smith sold off their high street stores in June. What are the shops now called? KT Tunstell CS Lewis PD James TGJones 3 Disney’s live action movie Snow White flopped into cinemas in March. Which of these is NOT the name of one of the film’s seven dwarves? Bashful Sneezy Greedy Doc ROUND 2: CHAMPIONS 1 At the age of just 17, Luke Littler became the World Champion of which sport on 3 January? Darts Wrestling Tiddlywinks Conkers 2 In…

Birds of the Year! Forget the Oscars or Grammys – results are in for the awards from abroad that really matter: the New Zealand and Australia ‘Bird of the Year’ contests! This year, New Zealanders voted for the kārearea, aka New Zealand falcon, as their bird of the year, in a hotlycontested race organised by the Forest & Bird charity. The country’s only falcon, this high-speed aerial hunter can dive at speeds of over 200kmph to catch prey. Whoa! Meanwhile, Aussies gave top spot to the superbly strange tawny frogmouth. This wide-mouthed bird is perfectly camouflaged on tree branches, where it perches all day before waking at night to pounce on bugs, reptiles and smaller birds. It’s been a runner-up three times in the past – but this year it…

The Río Abiseo National Park, where Marmosa chachapoya was found, is home to important archaeological sites and many other unique species found nowhere else on the planet. The mouse opossum has a tail that’s much longer than its 10cm body. It wouldn’t fit in this photo! SCIENTIFIC NAME: Marmosa chachapoya FROM: The Andes mountains, Peru, South America *Many species ‘discovered’ by scientists are already known to local people – that’s why they’re often described as ‘new to science’. Officially naming them and documenting their habitat can help make sure they are protected from threats. Scientists give every species a unique scientific name – two words written in Latin or Greek. MOUNTAIN OPOSSUM This cute little critter loves living the high life! The 25cm-long mouse opossum was spotted way up in the…

What you’ll need Lemon Toothpicks Peppercorns or cloves Coin Knife (and an adult to help!) Start here! 1 Ask an adult to make a slit just below the ‘nose’ of the lemon for the mouth, and cut two V-shapes on top for the ears. Then carefully slice through the pith and flap back the ears. 2 Mark out the eyes with the end of a toothpick, wiggling it around to make small holes. Poke in peppercorns or cloves for the eyes. 3 On the underside, poke in four toothpicks for legs. Push them about halfway in. You may have to adjust the angle and depth so your pig stands up straight! Hopefully, your lemon pig will absorb any bad luck throughout the year! 4 Finally, stick a coin in the…

All of the images in this story were taken using camera traps. When the cats move past motion detectors, the cameras take a snap - so all these photos are selfies! LOCATION: Spiti Valley, India “Hee hee! I love my big nose. You would, too, if you needed large nostrils to take in more oxygen up in the mountains, where there’s less of it. Check out my curious sibling sniffing around behind me. We’re following our mum’s scent as we leave our den!” Here’s a clever way to study snow leopards: let them take selfies! Scientists have a hard time researching wild snow leopards. That’s because the shy creatures live in remote mountain regions, and as few as 4,000 of the cats may remain in the wild. So starting in 2009, the Snow Leopard Trust placed 40 cameras in…

COLOUR MY WORLD (page 37) Black belts, blackboard, black tie, blueberries, blue jay, blue jeans, blue ribbon, brownies, goldfish, gold medal, golden retriever, green beans, green apple, greenhouse, green light, grey squirrel, hazelnuts, oranges, orange juice, red ants, redhead, rosette, silver coin, Yellow Pages. ASIAN ANIMALS (page 38) 1-D; 2-B; 3-C; 4-A; 5-B; 6-A; 7-A. CROSSWORD (page 39) FESTIVE BRAIN GAMES (page 40–41) ELF CHASE 2 and 11 are only shown once. CRIMBO FIT SEASONAL SUMS A-132; B-76; C-96; D-12. STARDOKU WORD MATCH 1-C; 2-G; 3-F; 4-B; 5-A; 6-D; 7-E. REINDEER RUMBLE E is the match. SPELL IT OUT 1, 3 and 6 spell SLEIGH. MAKE MORE WORDS Here are some words that can be made from the letters in 'SNOWFLAKE'. Did you find any more? ALOE, ALSO, ANKLE, ANKLES,…