News
Demons adopt Indigenous name
indigenous newsMelbourne Football Club has adopted its traditional Indigenous name for two rounds of the AFL season in a move the club hopes will promote education and important conversations
Young Aussies quite keen on Queen
civicsAn unusual poll that floats the idea of Australia inventing its own royal family finds a surprising number of young adult Australians are in favour of being ruled by the British one
Cartoon captures election outcome
civicsCartoonist Mark Knight has summed up the federal election result in his latest drawing for Kids News
Latest
Ancient tooth provides clue to extinct humans
The discovery of a child’s tooth in a Laos cave can teach us a lot about an extinct and mysterious group of ancient people known as Denisovans
Young Ivy rollerskates to ‘mini’ World Cup win
The ‘mini’ division of the Artistic Skating World Cup in Italy delivered a major victory for an Adelaide roller girl, who first laced up and skated onto a local rink at the tender age of two
Ariarne sets world record at Aussie swim trials
Aussie Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus has stunned the global swimming community, breaking the world record in her pet event after Zac Stubblety-Cook breaks the 200m breaststroke barrier
Tomato delivers vitamin D turbocharge
Over a billion people worldwide don’t get enough vitamin D in their diet or from the sun – but an engineered tomato could prevent health conditions by closing the gap in dietary deficiencies
Golden arches go dark across Russia
From fast food to fast exit, the world’s most recognisable golden arches will be dismantled across Russia as the burger giant quits the country for good due to the crisis in Ukraine
Moments that made sporting history
To celebrate Indigenous Sport Month, Kids News is looking at 50 sporting firsts achieved by Indigenous athletes through history, from Patty Mills to Cathy Freeman and everyone in between
Waddle they think at school?
A Victorian family’s pet goose shows birds of a feather don’t always flock together, preferring the company of his humans and canine best friend
Meet Australia’s new prime minister
Labor leader Anthony Albanese is to be sworn in as Australia’s 31st Prime Minister after his party won the federal election at the weekend
Australians love ‘true blue’ homemade TV
There’s laughter, tears, the relaxed local lingo, a familiar family and a relatable, authentic Australian vibe – no wonder a new study has found we want more Bluey-style TV
Bulldozer PM crashes into young soccer player
Under-8s soccer player Luca Fauvette has become the unexpected star of the federal election campaign after his tangle with the PM on the pitch
Hundreds of UFO sightings confirmed
The US Congress, or parliament, has held the first public hearing into UFOs in more than 50 years, with calls for greater investigation into hundreds of sightings
Eurovision has a new winner
First Ukraine took out Eurovision, now its leader Volodymyr Zelensky is the winner in cartoonist Mark Knight’s political version of the famous song contest
Aussie teen’s triumphant Everest trek
There were happy tears as Melbourne teenager Gabby Kanizay made it the top of Mt Everest after a six-week trek and became the youngest ever Australian to conquer the world’s highest peak
Traditional Indigenous games build sports skills
Olympian Beki Smith loves learning traditional Indigenous – or Yulunga – games from her eight-year-old son. You can try them too by downloading the special Yulunga games guide in this story
TikTok teaching set to trump tired English tasks
TikTok, memes, blogs, podcasts and Instagram posts might shake up the curriculum and revamp old-fashioned English tasks as digital writing looks set to join the classics in the classroom
Surprise! Seeds grow in moon soil
Brought back by Apollo astronauts, soil from the moon has stunned scientists by supporting plant growth despite billions of years of cosmic radiation and solar wind on the lunar surface
Australia ranks second for child cyber-bullying
With nearly one in four Aussie kids experiencing cyber-bullying, but only 20 per cent of parents aware their child is being exposed to online abuse, experts say gap must close to help combat crisis
Tassie girl becomes face of AFL team bid
The young star of Tasmania’s campaign for its own AFL team is a ten-year-old girl who dreams of tackling the opposition on her home turf as a future AFLW talent, not moving to the mainland
First image of black hole in our galaxy
A global team of scientists has captured the first shot of a supermassive black hole in our own Milky Way galaxy
Barty: I want to inspire kids to chase their dreams
Indigenous Sport Month ambassador and retired tennis champ Ash Barty reveals her heroes and hopes for the future
Ban on Nazi swastika symbol
Victoria has become the first state or territory in Australia to introduce a ban on the Nazi swastika, a symbol of racism and hate since World War II and the Holocaust
Leo’s a cut above in the charity stakes
Animal mad Melbourne boy Leo Saw is planning to cut off his prized mullet to raise money for the Lost Dogs’ Home
Footy ump would have been great in debate
The Great Debate between our political leaders was more like a contact sport, according to cartoonist Mark Knight. If only there had been a football umpire to pull them into line
Great Barrier Reef’s summer of bleach grief
Cooler La Nina conditions over summer were not enough to stop mass bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef as the annual snapshot reveals 91 per cent of surveyed reefs show signs of stress
Marilyn Monroe pop art makes a motza
Screen star Marilyn Monroe’s lasting allure was the perfect match for Andy Warhol’s pop art style, with one famous portrait now the most expensive 20th century work ever sold at public auction
Gaming and sport could restore maths mojo
Online gaming or sports could help those teaching STEM subjects to better connect with kids, as dated methods fail to excite modern mathematical minds and experts warn of future skills shortage
Ms Pac-Man enters Hall of Fame
An early trailblazer in the gender debate, Ms Pac-Man has chomped her way into history after popularising female video characters and proving girl gamers were ready to play
NAPLAN testing moves online
As 1.2 million students around Australia start NAPLAN testing from Tuesday, the national assessment authority confirms extra security measures for students completing the assessment online
Monstrous megaraptor unearthed in Argentina
Boasting terrifying talons, one mighty big belly and a bulky body the length of a three-storey building, this Cretaceous era Argentinian dinosaur was once the apex predator of the Andes
eSports in line for Brisbane Olympics debut
Competitive video gaming could be included at the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games – but there are fears it will come at the cost of some iconic Australian sports
Injured flying fox spreads her wings again
A broken wing is really bad news for a flying fox. But this girl is back gliding through the night thanks to life-saving surgery by vets from Werribee Open Range Zoo
Irwin family blazes digital art trail
No wilderness frontier is a match for the intrepid Irwin family and the new crypto universe is no exception, with the Australia Zoo wildlife conservationists launching a new digital art project
Sneaker addict gets his kicks from rare collection
A sneaker addiction has turned into an all-consuming passion for a Melbourne man, now hailed as having one of the top-five best collections on the planet
Inflation dragon turns up the heat
Economics might sound boring, but not when cartoonist Mark Knight conjures up a fire-breathing dragon and a postman PM to illustrate the challenges of rising prices
Chopper catches rocket … then drops it
In scenes straight from the set of a Hollywood blockbuster, a real life helicopter crew in New Zealand has attempted to catch a falling rocket midair – and very nearly pulled it off
Bol’s belonging boost for youth
Peter Bol became Australia’s fastest ever 800m athlete at the Tokyo Games, now the Sudanese-born sensation is racing toward a new goal: supporting troubled youths in juvenile justice centres
Primary kids on lunch box clock
Schoolchildren need at least 15 minutes to eat lunch, according to new research, but most primary schools are only giving students 10 minutes to race through their lunch box
Giant jungle bridge made of glass
A huge glass-bottomed bridge is set to bring international visitors to Vietnam after Covid, with Guinness World Records expected to confirm that the ‘white dragon’ is the biggest bridge of its kind
Covid kids can’t throw or catch
The last two years of cancelled club sport and PE classes have left a large number of Australian children without sporting skills, as experts call for a rethink so Covid-impacted kids can catch up
Covid jab heroes now beat malaria
The scientists behind the Oxford coronavirus vaccine have now come up with a vaccine to fight malaria which claims the life of a young child every minute
Migrant population shrinks for first time in decades
Australia’s migrant population has declined for the first time in 20 years amid the Covid-19 pandemic
Super koala Jagger to the rescue
Scientists are breeding super koalas with healthy genes in a conservation project to boost endangered populations along Australia’s east coast
Warning on harmful sour lollies
Kids and parents have been warned about the dangers of sour lollies after children suffered burns to their tongues
Crocs no match in trapdoor plant quest
Australian researches had to trek for three days in a crocodile-infested WA river to find a rare carnivorous plant that captures its prey with a trapdoor
Could this be Twitter’s new logo?
Cartoonist Mark Knight reckons Twitter’s new logo could look something like this if new owner Elon Musk’s pledge to boost free speech brings Donald Trump back to the social media platform
Beacon to send out message to aliens
No ordinary invitation to meet the neighbours, NASA’s new Beacon in the Galaxy signal includes plans to mark out Earth’s location for any aliens living in the Milky Way
Mercy the penguin’s second chance at life
Little penguin Mercy wasn’t in a good way before he was nursed back to health by Tasmanian wildlife keepers. WATCH THE VIDEO of his recovery and heartwarming release back into the wild
Major Covid-19 rules scrapped
Mask rules have been eased and close contact isolation scrapped in Victoria and NSW, with Queensland about to follow in rolling back Covid-19 restrictions
World’s oldest person dies at 119
Born in 1903, married a century ago and recognised by Guinness World Records as the planet’s oldest person, Kane Tataka has passed away peacefully in her home country Japan
Australians turn out in force for Anzac Day
After two years of Covid interruptions, hundreds of thousands of Australians turned out to honour our servicemen and women at full-scale Anzac Day services and marches
Spinosaurus’ underwater life was in its bones
Scientists have scratched their heads over Spinosaurus since the Cretaceous carnivore was first discovered – now a study has shed new light on how the giant dinosaurs hunted prey underwater
Inside tragic final months of King Tut’s life
Archaeologists don’t know for sure what killed Egypt’s “Boy King” Tutankhamun but a new documentary reveals his final months were probably pretty miserable
What does Anzac Day mean?
Each year on April 25 we commemorate Anzac Day. Kids News explains how the day began, what it means and how there’ll be a return to tradition after two years of Covid-19 disruptions
How to be a teen entrepreneur
More teenagers are having a go at starting their own businesses. We asked the experts for some advice on how to do it right
The smells the world loves and hates
When it comes to the smells we like and dislike, new research shows we are the same no matter where we are from. Guess what our favourite is
Bath time for rescued Tassie devil
A Tasmanian devil has been given a five-star spa treatment after being rescued from an oily pit in a mechanic’s workshop. WATCH THE VIDEO
Supermarket boss has amazing toy car collection
He’s a big businessman who runs a supermarket chain, but nothing gets John-Paul Drake revved up like a toy car. Check out his amazing collection
Top dog Elmo is in full flight
A busy airport can be stressful, but Elmo the labrador is making the experience a whole lot easier for nervous flyers and travellers with special needs
Microchipped footies to keep AFL on the ball
Footy commentator Eddie McGuire wants microchips inserted into footballs to aid umpiring decisions and keep the AFL in the game
How to have a native animal Easter
Australia’s beloved koala is now officially an endangered species – but families can help conservation efforts simply by downloading a free children’s book over Easter
Political leaders ready for election showdown
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is expected to call a federal election at any moment, but cartoonist Mark Knight reckons the leaders have had their fingers on the trigger for a while now
Taxis jump queue to get queen bees to hives
An exclusive new chauffeur service delivers VIP levels of comfort and security to a very small but vital customer base – queen bees in need of a ride as they relocate with their hives
Footy’s best and fairest sealed with a ‘shoey’
Brisbane Lions star Emily Bates has been crowned the AFLW’s best and fairest player – and her coach has pulled out a classic ‘shoey’ to celebrate
Star sighted from cosmic dawn
Mysteries dating back to the dawn of the cosmos may be one step closer to being solved as the Hubble telescope detects a super-hot, super-bright giant star formed nearly 13 billion years ago
Aussies win Women’s World Cup
Already the undoubted cricket team of the ODI tournament, Australia toppled England in Sunday’s rewrite of the record books, finally hoisting the Women’s World Cup trophy aloft
Baby squirrel monkeys for Taronga
Monkey mania has landed at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo with the birth of six highly sociable little squirrel monkeys, taking the total number of these critically endangered residents to 24
Saturn’s rings won’t hang around
The famous rings of Saturn will eventually disappear – and scientists think they know when
Push for high school mobile phone ban
More than 20,000 people have signed a petition calling for a mobile phone ban at high schools so kids spend recess and lunchtime talking to each other
Flying dino had two tummies
New pterosaur fossils from the Late Jurassic period suggest these flying predators had two stomachs, great for digesting unlucky prey they gobbled in one gulp
New law bans homework in Australia
A nationwide ban on homework for Aussie kids is news worth celebrating … or is it?
A farewell Warnie would have loved
Shane Warne has a smile from ear to ear in Mark Knight’s cartoon on the cricket great’s memorial service at the MCG
Towering ice volcanoes found on Pluto
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has identified giant ice volcanoes on Pluto unlike anything else in our solar system – and they could still be active
Why do we have daylight saving?
As many Australians prepare to wind back their clocks to regular time this weekend, let’s take a look at where daylight saving came from and why some states have it and others don’t
Aussie kids get D- for physical activity
A new report card has found children and young people are failing to move enough, with just one quarter meeting physical activity guidelines
Buddy Franklin gets his ball back
Buddy Franklin’s 1000th goal marked a great moment in AFL history and kicked off some high drama when the Sydney Swans forward’s fabled footy went home with a fan
How vampire bats got a blood diet
Scientists have figured out why vampire bats are the only mammals that live on blood alone, with a low-fat, low-carb diet keeping these ‘living Draculas’ flying high in the night sky
Mystery lunar sample to share its secrets
NASA has opened a 1972 sealed sample, taken from the lunar surface by the astronauts of Apollo 17 during the last manned mission to the moon
French fungus to the rescue of little penguins
The CSIRO hopes a French fungus will be the answer to controlling a weed that is threatening the nesting sites of Victoria’s little penguins
Female skaters ramp up Olympic ambitions
Girls are hitting skate parks in record numbers, some with an eye on skateboarding all the way to an Olympic Games
Simultaneous heatwave at North and South Poles
A weather event has seen temperatures jump at opposite ends of the globe despite the Arctic and Antarctic regions being in opposing seasons
It’s lights out for the planet this Earth Hour
Millions of people around the world will switch off their lights for Earth Hour this weekend. What’s this event all about?
The party’s over but it sure was memorable
The end of the Barty Party has left many of us feeling a bit flat, but the tennis champ knows when the time is right for her to head for the exit, according to cartoonist Mark Knight
Insect wings inspire food safety solution
Dragonfly and cicada wings act as deadly armour against bacterial attack, giving scientists an unexpected blueprint for better protecting our food
Ash Barty retires from tennis
Australian tennis legend Ash Barty has made the stunning decision to retire from tennis at the age of 25, saying she is ‘really, really excited’ about what the future holds
Solar storm could bring light show
The latest solar flare ejected from the sun could deliver a beautiful aurora light display … and possibly switch off the power
Fortnite profit to fund Ukraine aid
Epic Games to donate two weeks of proceeds from the game Fortnite to support Ukrainian relief efforts in response to the Russian invasion
NASA’s new ‘time travel’ telescope
NASA’s cutting-edge new James Webb telescope has captured the imagination of stargazers everywhere with the magic words ‘time travel’ – but what does that really mean and how can it be?
Eiffel Tower gets a growth spurt
The Eiffel Tower was already the tallest building in Paris, but the French capital’s most recognisable structure just got even higher
Hi-tech hunt for pharaoh’s tomb
An ultra-powerful scan will be done of Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza under plans to identify two mysterious spaces that could house the pharaoh’s secret burial chamber
World’s biggest spud is a dud
A couple who believed they’d dug up the world’s largest potato in New Zealand have had their hopes mashed after tests showed it wasn’t a potato after all
Blow to student climate activists
A court has thrown out a legal ruling in a climate change case brought by a group of high school students against Australia’s environment minister
Sydney Harbour Bridge turns 90
The iconic and beloved Sydney Harbour Bridge turns 90 on Saturday, March 19, and the NSW capital plans to party like it’s 1932
Thank goodness footy’s back!
The start of the AFL season this week is just the distraction we need after a bumpy start to 2022, according to cartoonist Mark Knight
Two epic blobs below Earth’s surface
Beneath the surface of our planet lie two gigantic ‘rock blobs’ that are 100 times taller than Mount Everest and could be the remains of an alien world
Fans unite to make Warnie a knight
A constitutional change – plus bringing back knight and dame titles – could be all that’s needed to declare Aussie great Sir Shane
Olympic hero honoured after Tokyo
Cedric Dubler’s memorable sacrifice motivating teammate Ash Moloney to a decathlon Olympic bronze medal has won a sportsmanship award
Octopus fossil found with extra arms
A well-preserved, 10-armed fossil puts octopuses on Earth ahead of dinosaurs, more than 80 million years earlier than previously thought