What on Earth! Magazine

What on Earth! Magazine, published in partnership with Encyclopaedia Britannica, is the UK’s fastest-growing children’s magazine, helping curious kids fall in love with reading, knowledge and learning. Covering all their favourite topics – from space, animals and the natural world, to history, machines and inventions – each issue is bursting with amazing facts, photos, quizzes, puzzles, jokes and more!

SNAP IT! • Astonishing photos from around the world

Eureka! • The latest astonishing discoveries, inventions and scientific breakthroughs.

How to chat… PRAIRIE DOG • These herbivorous rodents live in large groups, or ‘towns’, in the Great Plains of North America. Prairie dogs have many predators, so they always need to be on the lookout for incoming danger. If a predator is spotted, they will raise the alarm, using one of these calls.

MAP IT

EYE DON'T BELIEVE IT! • Amazing optical illusions that trick your brain…

The World of Castles! • Discover where and why castles were built, how to storm and defend them – and what life was like inside their walls.

Inside a Castle • From simple forts to towering stone keeps, discover how castle design evolved over centuries - and what life was like for the people inside.

Under Siege! • Find out how medieval armies attacked castles - and how the defenders fought back with crossbows, fire and even angry bees.

10 amazing castles • From mighty fortresses to fairy-tale palaces, explore some of the world's most famous and spectacular castles.

WORD UP! • Your guide to the wonderful world of linguistics and languages. THIS MONTH… consonants!

PUZZLES & GAMES! • Inside this 16-page activity section, you will find quizzes to do, puzzles to solve and fun activities to try. And don't worry if you get stuck - all the answers are on page 38.

ANSWERS

COMPUTERS IN NUMBERS…

TURTLE vs TORTOISE

NOBODY is KNOW • Life began on Earth more than 3.5 billion years ago. Scientists have many theories about how living organisms first appeared, including ideas about chemicals in the oceans and material from space. But as for exactly how life began…

What is the wood wide web? • Did you know that plants and trees share hidden connections with each other? And that it's all thanks to fungi? Underneath the soil, fungi grow on the roots of trees, forming a system of interconnected threads called mycelium. Mycelia transport water, nutrients and chemical signals from one plant to another through their complex underground network.

THE BIG QUESTIONS

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What on Earth! Magazine

Jokes & Riddles • Send your name, age and favourite joke to our jokes editor May at jokes@whatonearthmag.com If your joke is featured in a future issue of the magazine, you will WIN a copy of Secret FACTopia!