113 items in this section. Displaying page 10 of 12
Footprints on Earth
Have you ever been to a national park? If so, you must have tried to trace or locate a wild animal by trying to see its footprints on the soil. For example, people who go to Jim Corbett National Park, in Uttar Pradesh, India, spend most of their time looking for tigers. They do so by trying to look for its pug marks on the soil. If they find even one, they return happy and spin tall tales of adventure to their friends, about “How I saw a tiger”....
The End of Living – The Beginning of Survival
The End of Living – The Beginning of Survival In 1854, the government of United States made an offer for a large area of Indian land and promised a ‘reservation’ for the Indian people. Chief Seattle’s reply is a most beautiful and profound statement on environment… How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?...
How Green is Your School?
Here’s a little check – list from the New Delhi based children’s newspaper Gobar Times, to rate your school. Getting There Optimum use of the school bus fleet: School bus routes should cover a lot of area, with the fleet picking up as many students as possible. Car pooling: This is quite a workable idea today. Students coming to school from the same neighbourhood should be encouraged to car-pool, after working out the cost of petrol and vehicle wear and tear....
Seasons in a Tree’s Rooted Life
Seasons in a Tree’s Rooted Life [Illustrations by Kusum Chamoli] You may be very proud of the fact that the orange tree in your garden only comes up to your shoulders, but that is just one part of the tree that you see. Sometimes a tree’s roots, beneath the soil, are much bigger than the parts you see above the ground. It is with these roots a tree looks for water that gives it life, and makes its leaves look shiny, bright and healthy....
An Earth Day Fable
Indians are masters of junk. And out of junk they produce masterpieces. One such junk master is the sculptor Nek Chand who fashioned his sculptures from waste. The story goes that Nek chand was once invited to America to fashion sculptures, works of art out of waste. Nek Chand came back disillusioned and glum complaining that their junk was not so good, that its feel and smell was so alien. If Nek Chand turned masterpieces out of junk (see picture below), the slum is a craft built around junk....
The Song of the Bird
The Song of the Bird [] Humans speak when they are happy, they speak when they are sad. They speak when they are angry, and they speak when they see a thing of beauty. They try to speak even when they have toothaches, and often they speak even when they have nothing to say. Well, songbirds are quite the same. They sing to tell their winged neighbours and strangers that the branch on which they are sitting, or the shrub that grows next to the school, is THEIR home....
The Deadly King Cobra
Belonging to the family Elapidae, the name Cobra is popularly applied to African and Asian snakes that are capable of spreading long ribs in their necks into a hood when threatened. There are six species of cobras: the Naja, the south African ringhal (Hemachatus), king cobra (Ophiophagus), water cobra (Boulengerina), tree cobra (Pseudohaje), and shield-nose cobra (Aspidelaps). The Deadly King Cobra [Illustrations by Amarjeet Malik] The king cobra or Hamadryad holds a record length of 5....
Anacondas
You might have seen the recent English film Anaconda, where these snakes are shown as giant man-eating monsters. Well, that’s not all that can be said about these mighty creatures. Eating is but necessary for survival — and you never know, Anacondas might eat humans too, if one goes near them! But apart from their strange eating habits, these snakes are amazing in a lot of other ways too. Anacondas [Illustrations by Amarjeet Malik] The Anaconda (Eunectes murinus) is a semi-aquatic snake found in Central America and mostly in tropical South America....
So Many Monkeys!
They are an amazing lot, they really are! They are absolute monkeys! The Squirrel Monkey has a long and slender tail. The tail serves many purposes. It helps the animal to keep its balance when it monkeys around, I mean, jumps from branch to branch. So Many Monkeys! [Illustrations by D. K. Sharma & Amarjeet Malik] It also acts like a blanket during the night for, the monkey wraps itself cozily in its long tail!...
Excerpts From 'The Wonderful World of Insects'
What is an Insect? An insect is quite different from you and me. It has a body that is divided into three parts: the head, the middle which is called the thorax and the abdomen which is usually the largest part of the body. Did you know that many insects can see in more than one direction without turning their heads? This is because they have compound eyes. Compound eyes are made up of lots of cone-shaped units packed close together....