Our mission here at News Bites (a monthly children’s newspaper) is to Engage, Inform, and Inspire by bringing news, STEM, sport and entertainment to young people in a language they understand and in a manner they can easily relate to.
GATHERING INTERES TING NEWS THAT CONNECTS YOUNG READERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD Hello there, News Biters! You are very welcome to Issue #32. We hope you enjoyed last month’s offering of April Fool pranks. Can you believe people fell for spaghetti trees and left-handed burgers? This month, we’ve decided to embark on a hilarious tour of the world’s wackiest museums. With International Museum Day falling on Wednesday, May 18, there’s no better time to show you a side to museums you may not have known existed. If you think these homes of history are packed with nothing more than paintings, bones and ancient artefacts, think again. Check out our findings on pages 12 and 13 and you’ll see what we mean. If that’s not enough wackiness for your taste, you…
Fighting Fake News We’ve all heard of fake news, but do any of us really understand what it means? Is it a story that isn’t real or true? Is it when the person behind the story makes a mistake? There are two types of fake news – misinformation and disinformation. Misinformation Misinformation is when false information is shared by someone who believes that information to be true. Normally it isn’t done deliberately and there is no intention to deceive. Disinformation Disinformation is when misleading or even false information is shared with the intention to deceive others. Disinformation is when there is an ulterior motive. It’s important to learn how to recognise fake news so that we’re not deceived or tricked into believing it or letting it affect our actions and…
Reporting Happiness How happy are you? For the past 10 years, the United Nations has published information about the happiness levels in 150 countries. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected people a great deal in the past few years. But all around the world signs of kindness are showing up, which in turn can lead to more happiness. People are donating more to charities, volunteering, and helping others more! The UN Happiness Report uses figures from one part of a massive survey known as the Gallup World Poll. However, levels of happiness are higher in some countries than others. In 2022, Nordic countries like Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark earned the honours as the happiest places to live. Other countries in the top 10 include the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland,…
Doodle Boy Joe 12-year-old Joe Whale has recently signed a deal with sports brand Nike, to create artwork for them. His success story began when he couldn’t concentrate in school. Yes really! (Maybe you have that problem too?) He couldn’t concentrate, so he started doodling, using any surface he could get his hands on. His teachers were outraged when he used his exercise books as doodle books and he was soon branded as a problem child. His parents, however, looked at it differently and enrolled him in art classes. His art teacher was so impressed that she put his artwork online. Then a local restaurant, Number 4, had a light-bulb moment. They had a three-metre-long white wall that needed decorating. So they asked Joe to decorate it with doodles. Over…
Super Spider Senses If Spider-Man has taught us anything, it is that spiders have incredible abilities, from climbing walls to spinning webs. Only recently, scientists from Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, USA, discovered another amazing ability among arachnids – some species of spider use their webs as a hearing aid as well as a food trap. The silk that the webs are spun from responds to vibrating air molecules which allows the spiders to sense movement – perhaps potential prey or approaching predators. Even the soundwaves from the delicate flutter of an insect’s wings in the distance can be picked up. It could be said that spider webs help give their owners the best hearing in the world! Mountains Sway Many of you will know that skyscrapers and tall buildings…
Nelson Mandela becomes South Africa’s first black president Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in a small village in the south-eastern part of South Africa, known as the Transkei region. His father, Henry, was a chief of the Tembu people. Rolihlahla Named Rolihlahla by his father, he was given the name Nelson by his teacher on his first day at school. There he developed a love of African history, which would help to shape his future. He later went to university and became a lawyer. In 1944, Mandela became a member of the African National Congress (ANC). The ANC wanted native black South Africans to have the same rights as white people. Apartheid In 1948, the National Party (NP) – a white-only South African political party – came…
