Apps For Kids

This week in Alaska, it’s the Cordova Iceworm Festival! Iceworms live in glaciers, and function best at temperatures below freezing. They’re only a few centimeters long, and move between the ice crystals. The festival’s mascot however, is 150 feet long! The festival includes learning about iceworms, games, the Miss Iceworm Coronation, dances, and a Beard Contest.

The Netherlands are not normally a home to flamingos. But this week, a group of 6 Chilean flamingos and 1 European flamingo, were spotted at a nature reserve near Pijnacker. They apparently had not escaped from a zoo, so maybe they were simply taking a little vacation! Meanwhile, birdwatchers are enjoying the rare visitors.

Today is Green Juice Day. Smoothies made with spinach or kale, green grapes, and other fruits and vegetables, might surprise you with their deliciousness! It’s also Peanut Brittle Day. The buttery hard candy is full of peanuts, and can stick in your teeth, so you can wash it down with your healthy green juice!

19 year-old Melati Wijsen grew up in Bali. Living on an island, she’s seen the effects of plastic pollution in the ocean. Melati and her younger sister created the organization, Bye Bye Plastic Bags, to clean up the beaches. Melati spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland with other Teenage Change-Makers.

A stray cat named Lady in a Fur Coat, had to have her ear flaps removed, at a Wisconsin animal shelter. The employees were worried that she’d have a tough time getting adopted. Ash Collins decided to crochet a pair of pretty purple ears for Lady. The kitty has already found a forever home!

Today is Seed Swap Day! Many libraries have seed lending programs. You check out seeds, grow plants, and return some seeds the next year. Learn more about seed trading, from a website like Dave’s Garden. It’s also Visit Your Local Quilt Shop Day. Maybe they’ll have fabric, patterned with flowers you hope to grow.

Today is Opposite Day, so say the opposite of what you mean. Ice cream is horrible! I love getting tons of homework! I want to clean the toilets! Don’t forget to say, “Just kidding, it’s Opposite Day,” or you might confuse a lot of people! It’s too bad there’s no school on Saturdays.

Xīn nián kuài lè! That means “Happy new year” in Chinese. The Chinese Lunar New Year starts today, and it’s the Year of the Rat. The Spring Festival begins 15 days of parties, fireworks, feasts and parades. It’s traditional to wear red and avoid sweeping. You’d  sweep out good luck that the new year brought!

If you have trouble choosing flavors at ice cream shops, you’d better skip dessert at Gibson’s Gourmet Burgers & Ribs, in Cape Town South Africa. They set the world record for the most flavors of milkshakes. The restaurant serves 207 different varieties! Maybe I’ll just have a vanilla one!

18-year-old Fionn Ferreira, from Ireland,  invented a new way to extract microplastics from water. He created his own version of ferrofluid, a liquid developed by NASA. Fionn will be speaking to world leaders, at the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland, along with other young people fighting for the Earth’s future.