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How to make a lava lamp
How Things Work Kamri Noel and four of National Geographic’s experts find out how

polls to find out which pop-culture ghost Nat Geo Kids readers most want to hang

In this issue of National Geographic Kids, photographer Joel Sartore gives you a behind-the-scenes look at his quest to save animals. The National Geographic Explorer travels to zoos, aquariums, and rescue centers around the world to snap pics for his project, the National Geographic Photo Ark. He hopes the photos will inspire people to help endangered animals. You’ll also learn about the threats facing the critters and how you can help.
Then find out how you help save the Earth!

Rattlesnakes live in many places and habitats in the Western Hemisphere, from mountains to deserts and plains. There are more than 24 rattlesnake species and all of them have that most-famous feature: the rattle! The rattle is found at the tip of the rattlesnake’s tail. The snake uses the rattle to warn potential aggressors to back off or to distract prey. The famous rattle noise comes from the sound created when hollow and bony doughnutlike segments in the rattle bang together. As rattlesnakes age, segments on the end of the rattle wear out and break off. New segments grow when the rattlesnake sheds its skin, or molts. Like other snakes, rattlesnakes don’t have ears and can’t hear most sounds. They detect movement by sensing vibrations in the ground. Their eyes see well even in low light. The rattlesnake’s triangular head contains a hollow spot between the eyes and nostrils called a pit. This pit is actually a sensory organ that helps the rattlesnake hunt in darkness by detecting body heat.
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Learn the science of the water cycle
get more How Things Work Kamri Noel and four of National Geographic’s experts find

Reaching up to 13 feet (4 meters) long and weighing as many as 1,300 pounds (600 kilograms), West Indian manatees look more like small cars than people. Despite their large size, manatees are graceful swimmers. Although they usually move along in slow motion, they can also cruise, or swim at a steady pace, at five miles (eight kilometers) an hour. In short bursts they can even top 15 miles (24 kilometers) an hour! While cruising, manatees push themselves forward by moving their strong tails up and down. They steer with the help of their flexible flippers. When in shallow water, manatees use their flippers to walk, slowly placing one in front of the other. Like whales and dolphins, manatees are mammals. Although they live in water, they have to surface frequently to breathe air. While swimming, manatees take in air every three or four minutes. When they are resting, they can stay underwater for up to 15 minutes. Manatees are gentle animals. They rarely fight, and they have no natural enemies. Subsisting on water plants and plants that grow at the water’s edge, a manatee takes in up to 1 pound (0.5 kilogram) of food for every 10 pounds (5 kilograms) it weighs.
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Hear some of the greatest Greek myths ever told, many of which are found in the book series Zeus the Mighty. Learn how to subscribe.
Find out about a controversial tapestry, gods in disguise, and a creepy-crawly transformation

Caribou are mammals that live in the northern regions of Europe, North America, Asia, and Greenland. When snow begins to fall, caribou move south and travel to more sheltered climes where they can feed on moss or lichens. These members of the deer family dig for food using their large hooves. The underside of each hoof is hollowed out like a big scoop and allows the caribou to dig through snow in search of food. Caribou trek north in the summer in one of the largest animal migrations on Earth. They travel more than 600 miles (965 kilometers) along well-traveled routes. They spend the summer feeding on grasses, mushrooms, and plants in the tundra. They begin to move south in the winter and over one year they will have migrated over 1,600 miles (2,574 kilometers). One adult caribou eats about 12 pounds (5 kilograms) of food each day. Caribou are hunted by indigenous northern people throughout much of their range. Woodland caribou are listed as endangered, but other caribou populations are stable.
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Chipmunks are part of the squirrel family, and while they look similar to their bushy-tailed cousins, chipmunks are actually smaller, with alternating light and dark stripes along their cheeks and backs. There are 25 species of chipmunk, 24 of which live in North America. Chipmunks are excellent tree climbers and swimmers who live in a variety of habitats, including plains, mountains, forests, and deserts. Chipmunks like to live alone in holes or burrows called dens. Chipmunks hibernate in cold weather, which means they spend most of the winter sleeping in their dens. One chipmunk can gather up to 165 acorns in a day. In just two days, a chipmunk can collect enough food to last an entire winter, although chipmunks typically hoard much more food than necessary. Chipmunk young are born in late spring, and stay in the nest for up to six weeks. Female chipmunks have one or two litters per year, each with four or five babies. Chipmunks are 7.2 to 8.5 inches (18.5 to 21.6 centimeters) long including their tails, which can account for nearly half of their length.
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Snowy white tundra swans breed in the Arctic. Young swans have fluffy gray feathers in their first winter. The tundra swan call is higher and more like that of a Canada goose. Tundra swans mate for life and pair up for nearly a year before breeding. They breed in solitary pairs spread out across the Arctic tundra. They can be nasty protectors and are able to fend off predators like foxes. They prefer to nest near wetlands containing pondweed. They line their large, stick nests with moss and grasses. Females lay about four eggs and incubate them for 32 days. These large birds feed by dipping their heads underwater to pluck aquatic plants, roots, and tubers. Their diet consists of mainly submerged plants and roots, but they will also eat some cereal grains, corn, and mollusks, which are a kind of shellfish. The majestic tundra swan is a strong swimmer and can take off from the water with a running start and beat their wings until airborne. Their flapping wings produce a sound that earned them the name „whistling swan.“ They migrate thousands of miles to enjoy a milder winter in North America’s Atlantic and Pacific coastlines, bays, and lakes. Twice a year, they fly 3,725 miles (6,000 kilometers) round-trip between the breeding and wintering locations.
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