Articles for Grade 3

Each year in late July or early August, we witness the Perseid Meteor showers, a spectacular 'shooting star display', as the Earth in its orbit around the sun, passes through the dusty remains of the comet Swift-Tuttle. This year, the best time to watch nature's annual firework show will be on late Saturday, August 11th or early Sunday when the skies are darkest....

If you are aspiring to get into the Guinness World Records for Olympics, but don't quite have Michael's swimming talent or Gabby's gymnastic prowess, here's some encouraging news - It's still possible. All you have to do, is attend more than 18 Olympic Summer Games which, is the record set by 90-year old Harry Nelson....

While destruction of rainforests is causing concern in many parts of the world, nowhere is it worse than in the Amazon. Often referred to as the 'lungs of the planet' the 1.2 billion acre rainforest produces about 20% of the earth's oxygen and is therefore, not just crucial for its own ecosystem, but also, for the survival of all living creatures, including humans! Fortunately, the deforestation there trends are slowly but surely, starting to reverse....

Summer vacations are all about lazing around, frolicking on the beach and . . . . . . Building sand castles. However, no matter how hard we try, most of us never seem to get it right. Turns out, it's not because we are doing something wrong, but because there is a scientific method to the madness - At least that's the conclusion reached by a global team of researchers from Amsterdam, France and Iran....

Two-year old Emma's life started out a little shaky - Born with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, a rare disorder that affects muscle strength and limb movement, she had a hard time lifting herself. However, her condition improved as she grew older allowing her to be a normal toddler in everyway except for the fact that she could not lift her hands. Now, thanks to some amazing technology, a 3-D printer and some caring doctors, the little girl has been bestowed with what she aptly calls 'magic arms'....

Olympics spoiler alert - Usain Bolt has been outrun! How do we know this before the world's fastest man has even run the finals of his signature 100-meter dash? Because, while Usain hopes to complete the distance in 9.4 seconds, Sarah has already done it in a blistering 5.95 seconds. However, in all fairness to the Jamaican sprinter, she does have a slight advantage, because Sarah is not a two-legged human, but a four-legged cheetah!...

While to most of us ants are just tiny annoying insects that seem to come in droves whenever they sense something sweet, the household pests are quite fascinating - They have a naturally built-in GPS system that allows them to navigate their way, the ability to morph into 'living rafts' to survive floods and now it turns out that with a little help from humans, some of them can even be transformed into colorful gems....

Cruising around town in a giant mechanized robot suit is something every kid (and most adults) dream about - Now thanks to the efforts of Japanese artist Kogoro Kurata and Roboticist Watara Yoshizaki, their wishes may come true....

If you ever happen to visit Central Asia's Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan, you will witness a strange but breathtaking sight - A giant hole in the middle of the desert aglow with a fire that never seems to go out - And the fact is, that it has not gone out for the last forty years at least. However, this phenomenon, which has become a minor tourist destination, is not a natural wonder but the result of an accidental excavation....