Apps For Kids

Hey 4th graders, would you like to visit a National Park over spring break? The year you’re in 4th grade in the United States, you can get into any National Park for free! Students can print a free annual pass, good for everyone in the car, at Every-Kid-Outdoors.gov. Where will you go first?

The world is full of stuff, that can be used again. Discarded plastics can become new roads. Electronics can be broken down to recover precious metals. Old clothes can be worn again by someone else. Uneaten food can be composted to become soil. For Global Recycling Day, vow to start recycling everything you can.

Today is Forgive Mom And Dad Day. Did they make you eat a disgusting vegetable? Or scrub the dirt off your face? Forgive them for being so mean! Maybe they shared a mortifying photo of you. Don’t stay mad, because it’s also Awkward Moments Day! Everyone does embarrassing things sometimes. Just laugh it off!

Scientists have found that mussels, can get rid of microplastics. That’s not muscles as in strong arms, but as in the clam-like shellfish. Mussels can filter the tiniest pieces of plastic from the ocean, without any harm to themselves. After eating microplastics mixed with plankton, they excrete droppings suitable for biofuel.

12 people have walked on the Moon. Making it to the bottom of the ocean is almost as rare, because only 27 people have visited Challenger Deep, over 36,000 feet down, at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The submarines had to withstand 15,750 pounds-per-square-inch. Congratulations to tiny subs, on Submarine Day.

Today is Saint Patrick’s Day. Patrick was British, but became a Christian missionary in Ireland in the 5th century. The Feast of Saint Patrick has become a celebration of all things Irish, from shamrocks to leprechauns to the color green. Bake some Irish soda bread, and dye the butter green. Happy Paddy’s Day!

Spring has sprung, and beautiful flowers are blooming. They’re lovely to look at, but did you know many flowers are also edible? Try making lilac, violet, or dandelion jelly. Turn forsythia, into a delicious syrup. Clover and lavender make tasty teas. Or pick some redbud flowers off a tree, and just eat them.

Have you ever seen a curlew? It’s a bird with a long, curving beak, and mottled brown feathers. Part of the sandpiper family, there are 9 species of the large, ground-dwelling bird. Curlews wade along coastlines, digging their long beaks into sand and mud for food. Listen to their distinctive calls, for Curlew Day.

Today is Panda Day, celebrating the lovable black and white fur-balls. The endangered giant panda lives in China, and has a boring diet. They eat bamboo, for up to 14 hours a day! They only weigh 4 ounces at birth, but grow to be 350 pounds. Instead of hibernating like other bears, pandas play in the snow!

Yesterday was Everything You Think is Wrong Day. Today, is Everything You Do Is Right Day! Whether you put mustard on your pizza, or wear your socks in the shower, you’re still right. It’s also Lips Appreciation Day, so give them some moisturizing lip balm, and use them to smile!