Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2025/January 2026 i National Geographic Kids

I’m standing at the midway point of the Yukon Quest—a thousand-mile sled dog race in central Alaska—with these two pups by my side. We’re waiting for the small yellow plane in the distance to fly us out of this remote location. The flight will take me to the next race check point, where I can continue photographing the event, and then it will fly the pups back home. Alaska sled dogs love to run, but, like humans, they sometimes get tired and would prefer to rest at home. So when the dogs have finished racing, mushers—the people who drive the dogsleds—bring the pups to checkpoints, like this one, so the dogs can head home. The planes that the pups travel on can create a lot of wind and noise, which…

BETTER ‘LEATHER’ These shoes are ‘grown’ by bacteria! Leather is a material that’s made from the skin of animals. It’s used to create lots of products, from shoes to handbags to furniture. But the chemicals typically used to preserve the animal skins are bad for the environment. The chemicals pollute the water and air nearby, and they can make the leather workers sick. Plus, ranchers cut down trees in forests so the cows used for leather and meat have room to graze. But in the future, you might slip on a more sustainable pair of shoes. National Geographic Explorer Theanne Schiros is experimenting with bacteria—tiny living things—to “grow” shoes with a similar texture to real leather! The shoes are zero waste, chemical free, fully compostable, and still super strong. Discover…

Ever lost a ring down the drain? So did the ancient Romans! Archaeologists in Carlisle, England, recently discovered dozens of gems in the drainage system of a bathhouse that operated 1,700 years ago. Researchers think that the heat of the bathhouse loosened the glue that attached the gemstones to the rings—sending the treasures tumbling into the drains. The designs on the gems tell us about the beliefs of the rich Romans who wore them, says Frank Giecco, lead archaeologist on the project. Some show the Roman goddess of luck, Fortuna; others show Diana, who protected women during childbirth; and some show Mars, god of war. Archaeologists are currently exploring another part of the bathhouse, where additional sections of the drain may hold even more rings. Giecco says he especially likes…

In Greek mythology, Poseidon was the god of the sea. (His brother was Zeus, the king of all gods.) He rode the waves in a gold chariot pulled by half-horse, half-serpent creatures. The Temple of Poseidon, built around 440 B.C. atop Greece’s Cape Sounion, honors the god of the sea. Poseidon lived in a palace under the ocean made from jewels and coral and decorated with sea anemones. To punish a queen named Cassiopeia for insulting his beloved sea nymphs, Poseidon placed the royal in the heavens, trapping her in the sky forever as a constellation. The ancient Greeks celebrated Poseidon with a boat race every four years. Season two of Percy Jackson and the Olympians—featuring Poseidon and other figures from Greek mythology—is on Disney+ December 10.…

Here’s a clever way to study snow leopards: Let them take selfies! Scientists have a hard time researching wild snow leopards. 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 some 40 cameras in the mountains of Central Asia to capture videos and photos of the cats on their home turf. Since then, the footage—plus data from GPS collars to track the cats’ movements—has helped experts learn how the animals spend their time. “For instance, they’re more social than we realized, hanging out in pairs and even groups occasionally,” says Örjan Johansson, a scientist with the Snow Leopard Trust. When researchers discover information like this, they can help conservationists…

Bright colors, defensive super powers, and the ability to “evolve” by taking traits from other creatures — soundssort of lik ePokémon, right? Turns out, real-life animals called nudibranchs (NEW-dih branks) have these attributes too! Nudibranchs are a type of sea slug in the mollusk family, making them relatives of octopuses, snails, and clams. Unlike Pokémon, nudibranchs don’t battle in gyms or hide in Poké Balls… but they do have serious game. “All nudibranchs have special abilities or adaptations that make them unique,” marine biologist Andi Swagler says. “Learning about them is incredibly exciting!” Keep reading to meet six nudibranchs—plus one other type of sea slug—that just might remind you of these cool Pokémon. WILLAN’S CHROMODORIS Chromodoris willani SIZE: Around two inches(about the length of a golf tee) HABITAT: Glides over…

The starry night sky might seem totally random to you. But ancient people imagined animals and other objects within the stars—sort of like a game of connect the dots. The ancient Greeks named 12 of these star groups—called constellations—after tales from their mythology. And sometimes they also created stories about how the figure wound up in the sky. The name for each of these 12 constellations—called a zodiac sign—is the Latin word for what the constellation looks like. (Over the centuries, many people have used the Latin language to write things down, which is probably why those names for the zodiac signs have stuck.) As Earth orbits, the sun appears in front of each constellation for about a month. Legend has it that people born during those dates share the…