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Environment

Change in the Air

April 8, 2020

Cities and countries around the world are asking residents to stay home to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Fewer cars are on the road. Fewer planes are in the sky. With many businesses and factories closed as well, it’s…

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World

Building Green

April 3, 2020

Have you ever noticed a problem in your community that you couldn’t figure out how to fix? Dr. Aboubacar Kampo has. He was living in Côte d’Ivoire, a country on the coast of West Africa, where plastic is a major…

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Technology

Best Inventions of 2019

January 3, 2020

Every year, TIME magazine names the year’s best inventions. This year, the list includes robotic hands, recyclable footwear—what will they think of next? Inventors are always at work, dreaming up new technologies. Some inventions help us solve problems. Others make…

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World

The World's Coolest Places to Play

December 5, 2019

ArcelorMittal Orbit London, United Kingdom Think art’s not exciting? The monumental ArcelorMittal Orbit sculpture, at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, in London, will change that. The 376-foot-tall sculpture was created by artist Anish Kapoor and engineer Cecil Balmond. It’s wrapped in…

Technology

Drones in Space

November 8, 2019

In 2005, scientists saw the first close-up pictures of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. The pictures, snapped by the Huygens space probe, showed mountains and dunes. But what got scientists most excited were riverbeds and lakes. Where there’s liquid, there could…

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Science

8 Questions for Jennifer Heldmann

November 7, 2019

Jennifer Heldmann is a planetary scientist. Her team at NASA is looking for water on the moon and Mars. The research will help determine if astronauts can live in these places. Heldmann spoke with TFK Kid Reporter Mira McInnes. 1.…

Environment

Youth in Action

October 10, 2019

Leading climate activists gathered at the United Nations (U.N.) Youth Climate Summit, in New York City, on September 21. Of about one thousand attendees, 42 were under the age of 18. They were invited to the summit after being nominated…

World

On Strike

September 20, 2019

Across the globe, hundreds of thousands of young people are taking to the streets today, urging world leaders to address climate change. Many of the protesters are kids and teens. They’re skipping school to take part in the Global Climate…

Technology

Women to Note

September 19, 2019

George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin. These are some of the historic American men who appear on United States paper currency. But where are the women? “Thousands of women have been overlooked in history,” Rosie Rios told TIME for Kids.…

Environment

Forest on Fire

August 22, 2019

The Amazon rain forest is on fire. There are more fires burning there than ever before. That’s according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research. Using satellites to track deforestation and wildfires, the agency has counted 74,155 fires in the…

World

Amazing Places

July 11, 2019

Vatnajökull National Park, in Iceland. Ancient Babylonian ruins, in Iraq. The buildings of architect Frank Lloyd Wright in the United States. These and 26 other additions were made to the UNESCO World Heritage List last weekend during the group’s annual…

Health

Food for Thought

April 15, 2019

Avocados, sweet corn, and pineapples are largely free of pesticides when they reach grocery stores. That’s according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG). It released its Clean Fifteen list this spring. Each year, the EWG names the 15 fruits and…

Community

Engineering Our World

February 22, 2019

“We’re called civil engineers because we engineer civilization.” These are the words of Yung Koprowski, one of the many civil engineers who design, build, and maintain the infrastructure of our towns and cities. Civil engineers specialize in different things,…

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United States

TFK Explains: National Emergencies

February 22, 2019

President Donald Trump declares a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border. What is a national emergency? In 1976, Congress passed the National Emergencies Act, which allows a president to declare a national emergency if he or she thinks there is…

United States

National Treasure

January 11, 2019

For Kari Cobb, hiking in the Grand Canyon is a journey through history. At the bottom, the Colorado River flows as it has for some 6 million years. Gazing up at the cliff face, Cobb can almost feel the presence…

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Environment

Changing the Tide for Coral Reefs

July 9, 2018

Hawaii lawmakers are on a mission to save coral reefs. On July 3, Hawaii governor David Ige signed a bill to help. It bans sunscreens containing chemicals that are harmful to reefs. It is the first bill of its kind…

portrait of Jacob Riis

TFK Library

Jacob Riis

June 7, 2018

Jacob Riis (May 3, 1849—May 26, 1914) was a photojournalist who documented the lives of poor New Yorkers in the 1890s. He published the photographs in his book How the Other Half Lives. The pictures shocked Americans and inspired a…

Arts

8 Questions for Amanda Gorman

April 27, 2018

In 2017, Amanda Gorman, then 19, was named the first National Youth Poet Laureate. She spoke with TFK’s Brian McGrath about how poetry can give voice to a new generation of leaders. Has poetry always been a part of your…

Environment

The Problem With Plastics

April 6, 2018

One late-summer day, a team of cleanup volunteers was exploring the shore of the Anacostia River, in Washington, D.C. The water rippled under a hazy blue sky. Tall grass swayed on the mudflats. But something else caught the group’s eye.…

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United States

A Monumental Fight

January 16, 2018

In December, President Donald Trump traveled to Utah. Supporters greeted him at the airport. But protesters waited for him at the state capitol. The purpose of the trip was to announce that two of Utah’s national monuments would be shrunk.…

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