Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, has awed even experienced volcanologists, pumping out spectacular displays of lava, ash and volcanic rocks for more than a week

On March 1, South Australia will become the first state to ban single-use plastic, less than a week after the opening of a shop in Adelaide in which everything is made out of single-use plastic

A microphone on NASA’s Perseverance rover has recorded for the first time the sound of another planet. It’s hoped there will be more to hear from Mars soon as the rover gets to work

Melbourne Zoo’s oldest residents have shown no one’s ever too old to learn. Elephant Mek Kapah and tortoises Wilbur, Little John and Jean are all involved in their own health checks

Australia is set to play a bigger part in international space missions as scientists reveal the treasures collected from a Japanese capsule that returned to Earth near Woomera

The Perseverance rover has successfully landed on Mars in its mission to look for signs of ancient life on the red planet

Australian archaeologists are studying ancient koala teeth and bones to create a map that will show how people and animals moved across the continent through history

Health Minister Greg Hunt was so excited when Australia’s first vaccine delivery arrived he was doing cartwheels — at least in cartoonist Mark Knight’s imagination

A stunning image of sharks and seagulls at sunset has won the Underwater Photographer of the Year 2021 award from 4500 images entered by photographers from 68 countries

All the COVID-19-causing virus in the world right now could easily fit inside a single soft drink can, according to a fascinating calculation by a mathematician

Wildlife warrior Robert Irwin talks to Kids News about how kids can be community leaders in protecting the environment and wildlife and how every little thing we do helps

It’s getting busy around Mars, with two spacecraft recently entering the red planet’s orbit and another about to arrive

Millions — perhaps billions — of people around the world are preparing for a very important annual celebration — Chinese or Lunar New Year. Here’s what you need to know to join the fun

In a world turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic, we have to expect the unexpected, even when the unexpected comes in the form of Ash Barty’s wooden wombat tennis trophy

A mob of roos is about to be moved off the front lawn of an Adelaide school, but it’s not because they’re eating too much grass. It’s all to help raise money for bushfire recovery

Scientists from Madagascar and Germany say a newly discovered species of chameleon that fits on a human fingertip is a contender for the title of world’s smallest reptile

Aussie kids are most looking forward to spending time with their friends this year after an interrupted 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the results of a survey by Kids News

A phrase that was widely used in 2016 when Donald Trump first became US President has been crowned the “word of the decade”, outperforming “Karen”, the people’s choice winner last year

Best-selling author Trent Dalton wants kids to help him tell the story of the Black Summer bushfires — and maybe have their poem published in a special book

A curious emperor penguin nicknamed Smudge has made friends with an Australian Antarctic expeditioner undertaking the annual penguin census at the Auster and Taylor rookeries

A 10-year-old girl has become the first person to receive a patient-matched 3D-printed ear in groundbreaking surgery just in time for the start of the new school year

Rare footage has been captured of a male seahorse giving birth to dozens of offspring — yes, that’s right, a male having babies!

Zoos were closed for much of 2020 but the animals’ carers continued their important conservation work around Australia. Here are some of the year’s memorable moments

David Walliams introduces Code Name Bananas, in which an orphaned boy named Eric makes friends with a gorilla named Gertrude and they save the day! With activity sheets to download

Share your experiences of last summer’s bushfires for a chance to have your poem published in a special book commemorating the Black Summer fires

Two very special dogs have a very special job as guardians of some critically endangered eastern barred bandicoots just released into a conservation reserve in western Victoria

The Natural History Museum is inviting you to vote for your favourite among the finalist entries in this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award

It has been a year dominated by crises, from bushfires to coronavirus, yet neither were the most Google-searched terms in Australia. Instead, ‘US election’ was the most searched-for term

Breakdancing, skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing have been approved for inclusion at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in a bid to include sports popular among young people

A book that has travelled the world on yachts with sailors since 1987 has finally been returned to the Townsville library with a note that reads “we are sorry that this book is a little overdue”

Big Bash cricket is back — but it will look a bit different this summer. Check out the new rules and download our fun activity sheets and BBL scoreboard

In a mission described as perfect, a capsule containing a sample of an asteroid that could help unlock some of the mysteries about life on Earth has landed in the South Australian outback

A very special dinosaur that roamed Earth 67 million years ago is moving to Melbourne. The one-tonne triceratops skeleton has been described as one of the most complete dinosaur fossils ever found

Mark Knight chooses a favourite cartoon from 2020 and explains the process of starting with a news event, gathering ideas and working towards a drawing to tell even more of the story

Kmart has added to its range of inclusive toys with the Baby Charlie with Down Syndrome dolls, just in time for International Day of People with Disability on December 3

Another mysterious triangular metal pillar has been found next to an ancient fortress in the city of Piatra Neamt, Romania, days after one vanished without a trace in the desert in Utah, US

An Australian geologist is working to uncover the fossilised scene of a T-rex and a triceratops apparently locked in a ferocious duel, the teeth of the T-rex embedded in the other’s spine

The coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt travel around the world but the Prime Minister has confirmed that no matter what happens to Australia’s borders Santa will be able to do his job

Watching the devastation of Australia’s koalas during last summer’s bushfires was too much to bear for these nature-loving kids — so they are doing something about it

A young inventor can now bring her idea to life after it caught the attention of some of Australia’s brightest minds and scored her a big cash prize to help make it happen

Deep in the remote, Mars-like landscape of Utah’s red-rock desert in the US, a helicopter crew counting sheep stumbled on a mystery: A giant, gleaming metal thing embedded in rock

With his relaxation on wearing masks outdoors it seems Premier Dan has saved Victorians yet again, this time not from coronavirus but from weird facial tanning outcomes

Instead of famous streets in far-off London, a new Monopoly board features 22 Australian towns and regions to raise funds for communities impacted by bushfires, floods and COVID-19

Adelaide Strikers’ super-fast bowler Darcie Brown has been named Young Gun of the WBBL as she completes her year 12 exams from inside a Cricket Australia player hub

The Environment Minister unveiled a $2 million koala count as part of government’s commitment to protect the endangered species, while scientists call for threatened status for the platypus

Scientists and historians will use AI to study and recreate what the world smelled like hundreds of years ago. Called Odeuropa, the pioneering study will build an online smell encyclopaedia

A 10km fence will be built at a Victorian national park to protect endangered species from predatory pests

The first ever Kids News kids’ survey is here! We want students to share their thoughts on 2020, a year like we’ve never seen before

Because we can’t let the kids have all the fun, here’s the Kids News teachers’ survey so educators can have their say on 2020 too

Underdog Queensland has scored one of its greatest State of Origin series wins after taking the decider in a 20-14 upset

Two men have been seen whizzing on broomsticks along the famously traffic-choked streets of Brazilian megacity Sao Paulo. The inventors’ goal is to create a new version of Quidditch

Archaeologists have unearthed 100 Ancient Egyptian painted coffins — some with mummies inside — plus 40 precious statues at the Saqqara necropolis near Cairo, Egypt

Australian scientists have filmed five bigfin squid in the Great Australian Bight, the first time they’ve been seen in Australian waters. Little is known about these creatures of the deep

Australia’s indigenous culture will be celebrated when the men’s cricket team takes to the field in the coming T20 series. Discover what the design represents

Could Nick Hayes have the best job in the world? Or perhaps you think it would be the worst job. Find out what happens on a typical day for a climb leader on the Sydney Harbour Bridge

As Melburnians stretch their wings after the lockdown, the city’s famous peregrine falcon chicks are also stretching theirs, hopping and flying backwards and forwards along their home ledge