Kids News - World News Articles

Harbin, the largest city in the Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, that boasts winter temperatures of -13°F (-25°C) may not appear to be the ideal vacation destination. But don’t tell that to the millions of visitors who brave the area’s frigid weather annually, to experience one of the world’s biggest and most unique snow and ice festivals....

The decision to bestow the 2016 Good Design Award, Japan’s most prestigious design honor, upon the AuthaGraph World Map came as a surprise to many. Given that previous winners have been innovations like personal mobility chairs and robotic arms, people wondered what had impressed the judges about the design of a map. It turns out that this strange-looking map is the most proportionate depiction of our planet....

Though 3D printing technology has been available for over two decades, it has not gone mainstream as hoped because of the high cost and slow print speeds. But that may change soon, thanks to German sportswear manufacturer Adidas. On December 15, 2016, the company revealed Adidas 3D Runners, stylish sports sneakers featuring a 3D printed midsole that provides athletes with the extra cushioning needed for optimal performance....

On December 27, 2016, the world mourned the loss of the galaxy’s most beloved princess. Carrie Fisher, who was perhaps best known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, passed away at the age of 60 after suffering a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles. In a tragic turn of events, her 84-year-old mother, Oscar-nominated actress-singer Debbie Reynolds, died a day later as a result of a stroke....

At midnight on December 31, cities worldwide, bid farewell to 2016 and welcomed the new year with dazzling fireworks shows. In case you missed them, here are some of 2017’s most spectacular displays....

Echidnas, medium-sized animals that closely resemble porcupines or hedgehogs, are one of only two egg-laying mammals (the other being the duck-billed platypus) left in the world. Also called spiny anteaters, the timid creatures that are native to Australia, are very elusive and hard to observe in the wild. Therefore, though they have been around for millions of years, very little is known about their lifestyle, making it almost impossible to breed the mammals in captivity....

The “Muriwai Monster,” a twitching black mass that washed up on Muriwai Beach, 25 miles northwest of Auckland, New Zealand, has taken the world by storm since its discovery about a week ago. Melissa Doubleday, who stumbled upon it while driving by, initially suspected it to be a whale carcass. However, when she shared images of the mysterious “creature,” which was covered in seaweed and wiggling black tendrils with white shells on social media, people around the world began speculating it was a sea monster, a “beach Christmas tree,” or even an alien time travel capsule....

Since 2013, Torobo, a robotic arm designed to test the limits of artificial intelligence, has had one aspiration — to be admitted to the University of Tokyo, one of Asia’s top-ranked educational institutions. However, despite having an extensive database of textbooks and other teaching materials to draw upon, Torobo, (short for Todai Robot) has repeatedly failed to obtain the university's required minimum 80% score in the National Center Test, a standardized entrance examination adopted by Japanese universities. This year was no exception....

The thorny devil, named for the sharp spikes that cover its head and body, is a lizard that dwells in the Australian Outback’s hot and arid desert. Though its scary appearance has earned it other equally alarming names like the thorny dragon or the mountain devil, the palm-sized reptile is a harmless, slow-moving animal that has managed to adapt to one of the world’s most inhospitable environments. While researchers know a lot about these hardy lizards, the one mystery that had never been completely solved, is how they keep hydrated....