Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 237 i National Geographic Kids (UK)

Nothing says Christmas quite like, er, radishes?! The people of Oaxaca, Mexico, celebrate the salad ingredient on Noche de Rábanos, when thousands of the special oversized pink veg (some up to 80cm in length!) are carved into fancy shapes – from grasshoppers and Catholic churches to people and holy figures. There's a cash prize for the best creation! It's thought the radish-whittling event started over 100 years ago so farmers and market traders could attract customers to their stalls. Today, visitors flock from around the world to check out the arty veg. Radish-ulous!…

Magical mantis Whenever Bulgarian photographer Georgi Georgiev spots an insect, he doesn't freak out – he grabs his camera and takes a photo of it! “I found this praying mantis by accident,“ Georgi explains. “It was autumn, and I was in a forest in the Balkan Mountains looking for fungi to photograph. The mantis was near some mushrooms and it was a challenge to not scare it away. So I crawled on the ground very slowly until I got close enough.“ Imagining how he wanted the picture to look, Georgi waited until the fairytale scene was just right. He used a special macro lens to take the pic, which makes small insects look much bigger and brings out details like the mantis' antennae and leg spikes. “Diving into the universe…

Fish make a lot of really strange noises! Using my hydrophone (underwater microphone), I can hear everything from chirps, pops and grunts to chattering teeth, drumlike muscle vibrations, squeaks and singing! Sound travels much faster and further in water than it does in air. Isla films fish as well as recording their sounds. By studying how they behave while making certain noises, she can work out what they might be saying! RESEARCH TIME! “Sometimes scientists need to get creative with our experiments! Here, we attached cameras to hard hats and wore them underwater, so we could film fast-moving fish like cleaner wrasse while writing notes about them on waterproof paper.” WHALE SONG “Some whale songs can travel across the entire ocean, which means that whales can be singing to each other from one side of the world to the other!” Sadly, human-made noises like boat engines can drown out sea creatures' sounds and stop them communicating properly.…

WILDLIFE WATCH Hi Nat Geo Kids, Here is a picture of the massive spider we found in my kitchen! Maybe it came inside because it's starting to get colder? Stevie, 10 ● Epic spot, Stevie! Looks like a giant house spider, which live indoors all year round. We tend to spot them more in autumn, as that's when males are out looking for mates. Luckily, they're harmless! ART ZONE! Hi Nat Geo Kids! I was inspired by the poster of the common potoo in issue 235 to draw this picture of it using oil pastels. Finn, 8 ● Great artwork, Finn. Thanks for sending it in! Dear NGK, I have been reading about green iguanas and was inspired to make this one out of clay. They are fascinating creatures! I…

Rats to the rescue! Ten African giant pouched rats have been trained to sniff out illegal wildlife products like rhino horns, elephant tusks and pangolin scales! Sadly, many endangered animals are killed for their body parts, which are then smuggled abroad for use in food, ornaments or 'medicine'. But the clever rats can detect the scent of these trafficked goods, helping bust smugglers and prevent wildlife crime! During a recent test at the busy port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Africa, the clever rats detected almost all of the hidden contraband within minutes! After smelling the items in shipping boxes, the rats triggered an alarm by tugging a ball on the front of their vests. It's hoped they'll soon be set to work at air and shipping ports around the…

COOKIE MATCH Spot the perfect match for each of these Christmas cookies! HOLIDAY MISSION Can you complete these festive words? The letters have been jumbled up and each word has a letter missing! WORD WHEEL Make as many words of three or more letters as you can using this word wheel. Each word must contain the letter 'A' and at least two other letters. You can only use each of the letters once per word! Can you spot the 9-letter word hidden in the wheel? SANTA SEARCH & FIND Oops! Santa's dropped some presents. Can you circle the 10 gifts hidden in this snowy scene? Answers on page 49 CHRISTMAS CANES Which two candy canes only appear once on these pages? TREE TESTS Can you complete these number pyramids? The…

CARD STARS What you'll need ● Thick cardboard ● Scissors ● Cup ● Embroidery thread Start here! 1 Draw around a cup or a can onto card, then cut out a circle shape. 2 Make 8–16 slits into the circle at equally-spaced intervals. Make each slit about 0.5cm in length. 3 Hold the end of the thread at the back, and then wind it from the slit at the top to the opposite slit at the bottom. Then take the thread behind the circle, through the next slit along, and down to the bottom slit opposite. Continue around the shape until a star forms. Repeat two or three times. 4 When you've finished, turn the card over and check out the cool shape on the other side! Remember to leave…

A wild dog with rusty red fur makes a high-pitched yelp, alerting its pack members to a potential meal. Alarmed by the sound, a deer darts away – but the dogs are too quick for it. Lunch is served. Communication is key for the survival of dholes (say “DOHLS”). Found throughout much of Asia, these pups are among the chattiest of all 35 wild dog species, making at least 11 different calls to 'speak' with each other. Turn over to find out more… The dholes' calls all mean different things. For example, a chattering sound lets others know if threats like humans are nearby. Screams are meant to scare off tigers and leopards, which, like dholes, also dine on deer, wild pigs, hares and goats. A dhole pack usually contains 5–12…

Ancient Polynesians used the stars, ocean currents and wind patterns to find their way across the sea. This special way of navigating is called 'wayfinding'. Set in ancient Oceania, the new film Moana 2 follows Polynesian wayfinder Moana and demigod (part human, part god) Maui as they voyage to fictional islands inspired by actual places in the central and southern Pacific Ocean. Two thousand years ago, real people in this part of the world worshipped gods and goddesses who they thought influenced everything – from the weather to the outcome of wars. Read on to discover the mythology some of these people believed in… 1 One Tahitian myth says the world was created from a giant cosmic egg. 2 Just like the film character, Maui the mythological figure carried a magical…

EXTRA HARD! You might need to work with a grown-up on this one! ACROSS 1 A Navy ship you can land planes on and take off from (8, 7) 9 Event where the night sky lights up with glowing space rocks. More prolific than a 'shower' (6, 5) 10 Fortune or chance (4) 11 Fancy type of cup – Harry Potter's was 'of fire' (6) 13 The part of a vehicle that makes it go (6) 14 How rabbits and kangaroos move (3) 15 Cleverer or having more experience (5) 16 Not yesterday or tomorrow (5) 19 Fish use these to help them move through the water. Dorsal, for example (4) 20 A long period of time in history (3) 21 Large black-and-white dolphin that hunts in packs (4) 22 Lists of instructions for making food (7) 23 Drinks small amounts of…