Real Life Minecraft – Cactus
Part of our series on the features in Minecraft. If you are a Minecraft player, then you know that Cactus blocks grow naturally in deserts and mesas. The blocks can be harvested, but will destroy any items that come in contact with them. But what are REAL cacti like (and why do we sometimes say “cactus” and other times say “cacti”? Sarah takes a closer look.
SCIENCE NEWS – What is Dengue Fever and Could Genetically-Modified Mosquitoes Prevent It?
Dengue (pronounced den-gee) fever affects between 50-100 million people each year, with around 25,000 people dying from the disease. It’s most common in south America and parts of Africa, and is also known as breakbone fever because it causes such intense pain in the bones. Dengue fever is a virus that’s spread by mosquitoes, and there is no vaccine or effective drug treatment to prevent or cure it.
Mighty Books for Mighty Girls
I’ve been reading only books written by women for nearly a year now and I have read incredible works by women such as Maya Angelou, Barbara Kingsolver, Margaret Atwood, Agatha Christie and Meg Cabot. There are so many wonderful books written by women that I’ve had to narrow the focus of my reading and read only those books written by women which feature strong, intelligent female characters. It’s been very hard to decide what to read next as so many friends keep recommending me new authors.
Prehistoric Art
When we visit art galleries or learn about art in school, we tend to think of paintings on canvas, sculpture or photographs. Often these will be clearly recognisable as people or objects like food and flowers, and we can relate to them as familiar in some way.
Art and pictures have been around ever since people first were recognised as human by historians, in pre-historic times. Prehistoric simply means history which dates before written accounts are available to study. The earliest humans did not have writing with which they could communicate and this means that art and pictures were even more important to them.
Calling All (Reluctant) Bookworms
Em is a reader. A bookworm. She always has been, and always will be. Some people love to read, but some people don’t. Which are you? Maybe you are nagged by your parents and teachers for not reading enough. Perhaps reading is a chore, part of your homework assignment that you rush through, without enjoying because it has to be done. Would you like to learn to love reading? Em has some tips for you.
I really love reading. I mean, I really love reading. I learned to read when I was 4 years old, and I’ve never really stopped since. I used to amaze adults with my reading – I read classic Greek literature (translated, obviously) when I was 9 years old.









