Apps For Kids

Today is World Lizard Day. From the giant 6-foot-long Komodo dragon, to the teeny-tiny 1-inch-long nano-chameleon, these amazing reptiles live all over the world. There are more than 7000 different lizard species. Chameleons can change color, geckos can walk on ceilings, and basilisks can run on water. Which scaly critter is your favorite?

On this day in 1457, the Mainz Psalter was the first book ever printed in blue, red, and black ink, using different-sized fonts. Celebrate Color Book Day, by reading a picture book. It’s also Wiffle Ball Day, invented nearly 500 years later. It’s like baseball, without the fear of breaking any windows.

Today is Creamsicle Day! Creamsicles are vanilla ice cream on a popsicle stick, covered with an orange flavored coating. 11 year-old Frank Epperson, made the original creamsicle in 1905, when he experimented with freezing orange juice around a vanilla ice cream popsicle. He originally called his inventions, “Epsicles”!

If you visit a National Park this summer, you might see wild animals. No matter how cute they look, remember they can be dangerous. Wild ponies, bison, moose, deer, or bears, can cause serious damage. Remember also to never feed wild animals like ducks or chipmunks. It makes them depend on humans for food.

Sometimes scientists find life, in unexpected places. An entire ecosystem lives beneath undersea volcanic vents near Central America. Using an underwater robot, a team found worms, snails, and bacteria, living underground. The world is hidden underneath the hydrothermal vents, and could hold lifeforms previously unknown to humans. They’re still studying this fascinating ecosystem.

Some kids have already started back to school, and most others will start in the next few weeks. Do you remember how to stay safe from viruses? Wash your hands often with soap, and use hand sanitizer. Wear a mask if you’re sick, to protect others. Most importantly, get vaccinated for the best protection of all.

Lefties, this day is for you! It’s International Left-Handers Day! About 10% of the population is left-handed. To stand out today, make people awkwardly shake hands with their left hands. Ask right-handers to write, or throw a ball with their left hands, for a good laugh.

The peak of the Perseid meteor showers, is tonight and tomorrow morning, before dawn. Stay up late or get up early, to watch as the Earth passes through fields of comet waste. The debris burns up, causing the shooting stars in our skies. Dark skies are best, to see the trails of light.

Elephants are the largest land mammals in the world. Their skin is an inch thick. They can weigh over 12,000 pounds, and grow 10 feet tall. They eat 300-600 pounds of food a day, with around 220 pounds coming back out as poop. Celebrate these amazing animals, for World Elephant Day!

Today is the United Nations’ International Youth Day. The theme this year, is “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations.” Kids from different cultures or economic situations, still have similar hopes for a happy life. Young people like Greta Thunberg have taken global ideas, and put them in action in their local communities. Dream big!