Indholdsfortegnelse for March/April 2025 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

Nano-Noodles Chemists have created the world’s thinnest spaghetti. How thin? About 372 nanometers thick—that’s 372 billionths of a meter thick, or 200 times thinner than a human hair and 1,000 times thinner than the next-thinnest known pasta, su filindeu (“threads of God”), made by only one family in the town of Nuoro, Italy. The skinny spaghetti is made from flour and formic acid instead of the usual flour and water. And rather than pushing the “dough” through holes in metal plates the way noodles are usually made, the researchers used an electric charge to pull it through the tip of a needle. The narrow noodles formed a thin mat of fibers about three-quarters of an inch (2 cm) wide. The mat could be seen with the naked eye, but the…

Where Does the Water Come From? Where Is It Going? The water in our creek comes from rain and snow falling on land for miles around. Standing Stone Creek is one of many small streams that all flow into the Susquehanna River. Eventually, all that water empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Standing Stone Creek may look small, but it’s important. It carries water to forests, towns, and farms. Lots of animals, birds, and insects live in the stream and along the banks. It’s a fun place for people to boat and fish. And we get our drinking water from it! So it’s important to keep it clean and healthy. Today we’re going to get to know it a little better. Along the Banks First stop is the woods beside the…

Plush - Nile River I like to imagine myself as Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, so the Nile is my favorite river, of course. It’s recognized as the longest river in the world and flows through 11 countries in Africa. Marvin - Yangtze River I dream big, and I like big things! The Yangtze River is called Chang Jiang in China. That means long river, and it is the third-longest river in the world, after the Nile and the Amazon. It carries more water than any other river in China and flows into the sea near Shanghai, China’s largest city. That’s big! Elvis - Mississippi River M-I-S-S I-S-S IP-P-I Spelling the name sounds like poetry to me. It’s no wonder the mighty Mississippi River has inspired poets, artists, and musicians.…

Source Snow melts in the mountains. Rain falls on land. Water seeps through soil and rock. Streams trickle downhill, following the lowest path. All that water collects in rivers. Rapids and Riffles Where fast-moving water flows over rocky ground, it forms wavy riffles and foamy whitewater. Tributary Small streams join up to form bigger streams, which merge into rivers. A smaller stream that flows into a bigger one is called a tributary. Groundwater Rain seeps through soil and rock into underground waterways. Some flows out in springs. Some feeds rivers from underneath. Beaver Dam Beavers build twiggy dams across streams to make small ponds. Beaver dams don’t block the water entirely. The ponds make homes for fish, amphibians, and birds. Meander Sometimes a river’s path twists and turns. These turns…

I carry water from the mountains across dry deserts and through deep canyons, almost all the way to the Pacific Ocean. I am so mighty, I carved the Grand Canyon! Yep, that was me! Took me a really long time. But it looks fantastic! I’m so strong and fast, I wash away a lot of soil and rock and silt. So my water’s kind of muddy. Some people say I’m “too thick to drink, too thin to plow.” In the old days I dumped all that silt on California, where it made pretty good soil. Sometimes in spring, I overflow with water from melting snow. I have to spread out a little. You call that a flood. But I don’t do that so much anymore. Why? I’ve been chained up!…

Send your letters to Ask at ask@cricketmedia.com. In our October issue we asked you to design a bodacious bandage. Thanks for sharing your bold, beautiful, and beguiling boo-boo strips. We’d gladly wear one of these the next time we get a cut or scrape. Dear Ask, Your friend, Amelia P., age 8, California Dear Amelia, What a great drawing! If I had a T-shirt like yours, I’d wear it every day. Proud to be your pal, Marvin Dear Ask, How do caterpillars turn into butterflies? Thank you, Conall F. S., age 6 Dear Conall, Not all caterpillars turn into butterflies. Some turn into moths instead. But whether moth or butterfly, all caterpillars go through a process called complete metamorphosis. First, a tiny caterpillar hatches from an egg, then it eats…

Beavers are the largest rodents in North America. They have sharp orange teeth that can gnaw through trees. And like humans, they build dams. A Perfect Pond When it’s time to build a new dam, beavers look for a nice shallow stream with plenty of tasty trees nearby. Beavers gnaw down trees to make their dams. They also eat leaves and the sugary layer under tree bark. But not all trees taste good. Aspen, cottonwood, maple, and willow trees are their favorites. This beaver family finally finds the perfect place—a shallow stream in an aspen grove. The water is moving slowly. And what luck! A tree has fallen across the stream. They’ll start building their dam right there. Mom, Dad, and the kits all help. They work at night to…

Rivers help us in so many ways—how can we help them back? For this month’s contest, design a poster to inspire people to take good care of your favorite waterway. What do you love best about it? Beautiful water? Fun fishing? River animals? And how can we keep it that way? We’ll float a flotilla of the most fun in an upcoming issue of Ask. Contest Rules: 1. Your contest entry must be your very own work. Ideas and words should not be copied. 2. Be sure to include your name, age, and address on your entry. 3. Only one entry per person, please. 4. Your entry must be signed or emailed by a parent or legal guardian, saying it’s your own work and that no one helped you, and…

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