Kids News - Articles with 400-600 Words

Depending on the hemisphere you live in late today or early tomorrow - December 22nd, will be the first day of Winter or Summer. Also known as Winter (Summer) Solstice it is the shortest day of the year for those living in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest for the lucky folks in the Southern Hemisphere....

Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish festival whose date is based on the Hebrew calendar and therefore, varies annually. This year, the 25th day of the month of Kislev, which is when the holiday begins, happens to fall today - December 20th, 2011....

Looking for something offbeat to do this Christmas vacation? How about the Ice Hotel? Located in the village of Jukkasjarvi, 200 km north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden, it is as the name indicates, built entirely from ice blocks lugged in from the nearby Torne River....

While today salt is a cheap commodity, such was not the case in the Middle Ages, when refrigerators were not yet invented and the only way to preserve food was by packing it in salt. Hence, it was not surprising that salt mines were worth their weight in gold - Literally....

A buffet for monkeys, a tomato throwing extravaganza, a wife carrying contest! Welcome to some of the world's most unusual festivals - While some are steeped in tradition, others are held just because they are a lot of fun....

To say that Southern California tween Thomas Suarez is a tech wunderkind is an understatement. While most sixth graders are still trying to figure out how to manage middle school schedules, this youngster has developed two successful iPhone Apps and is in the process of establishing a company, all while managing a full load of school work....

The beautiful oceans that cover three-quarters of our planet are home to some of our most valuable natural resources. However, while our knowledge of outer space is quite extensive, the same cannot be said about the deep waters, thanks to the fact that any attempts to monitor them has either been too cumbersome or too expensive. Now, California-based Liquid Robotics has come up with an innovative invention that is both economical and easily deployable across the waters....

The unassuming gecko - That tiny lizard that seems to scamper around any surface in gravity-defying positions, has intrigued scientists for many years. In the past, this amazing ability has been duplicated by researchers to create wall-scaling robots and now, a team of scientists from Germany have come up with a gecko inspired adhesive tape, that can be re-used thousands of times....

On June 3rd 2010, six brave astronauts bid adieu to their family and friends and launched off to Mars - This of course was not an actual mission to the Red Planet, but a simulated journey that entailed confining them inside a sealed five-capsule 1000sq.ft. unit, for 520 days....