Mommy blog promotes Nat Geo Kids

Celeb Baby Laundry, a popular mommy blog, posted an entry about National Geographic Little Kids. National Geographic Little Kids is a division of the National Geographic Kids brand that targets toddlers and pre-kindergarten children rather than children in elementary school. There are separate magazines for National Geographic Kids and Little Kids. Each one also has specific online and tangible games.

The Celeb Baby Laundry blog discusses one of the games for National Geographic Little Kids. This game is called Look and Learn. Look and Learn is similar to the National Geographic magazine because it grabs the reader’s attention with the use of beautiful photographs. However, Look and Learn targets toddlers and pre-kindergarten children by using big photos of animals and nature. The photographs in Look and Learn are combined with learning concepts such as numbers, matching and opposites.

The woman who wrote this blog post provided a personal story about National Geographic Little Kid’s Look and Learn. She said that her two-year-old daughter, Ava, loves to play the game and answer questions about the pictures. She said Ava learned the names of animals as well as their characteristics by matching the baby animals to the mother animals.

Celeb Baby Laundry also has posts about National Geographic Kids Insider. National Geographic Kids Insider is a special program for bloggers and other social media gurus to spread news about National Geographic Kids. The author of Celeb Baby Laundry was at a blogging conference when she was asked by National Geographic Kids representatives to write posts about their brand and ask readers what their kids wanted to see in the magazine.

Animal Jam Saves The World!

The National Geographic Kid’s website offers children many ways to learn, have fun and interact with other users on the Internet. One of the websites most popular games is called Animal Jam. On Animal Jam, kids can choose an animal to create their own character. They can also create their own den, or living space.

The story behind Animal Jam is that a bunch of evil nemeses took over a world called Jamma. Jamma was a happy place, where animals were free. Now, all the animals are trapped. The players of the game must save all the animals before the evil nemeses destroy the world.

The players are brought to different ecological environments to play mini games. During their adventure in each ecosystem, interesting facts pop up.  Players can earn points by gathering the interesting facts.

Animal Jam, which was launched in 2010, grew 500 percent and already has millions of players throughout the world. It is one of the largest and fastest growing online games for children. One reason why the game is such a hit is because it does not allow advertisers to promote their businesses on the site (AnimalJam.com).

Animal Jam is a great way for National Geographic to bring children to their computers while still educating them at the same time.

“As we set out to develop this virtual world, it was important for us to give kids and their parents the opportunity to combine fun game play, personal discovery and exploration with real-world learning, much like the experiences of our own explorers,” said Paul Levine, executive vice president, Interactive Platforms Group, National Geographic Global Media. “A true example of entertainment with substance, National Geographic Animal Jam marries the creativity of veteran game designers with National Geographic’s award-winning storytelling, media assets and global reach to give kids a sense of self-expression and adventure unlike any other online destination.” –PR Newswire

Nat Geo Kid’s Photo Contest

National Geographic Magazine has a photo contest where people can submit a digital photo they personally took. The photos go onto the National Geographic website where other users can view your collection of photos. For every month, users vote on the best photos and the National Geographic employees discuss which ones will make it into the magazine. This photo contest is called Your Shot.

National Geographic Kids provides children a similar opportunity to Your Shot. This version is called My Shot. My Shot allows children to upload photos onto the National Geographic Kids website. The photos are moderated before being posted on the website.

My Shot Photo of the Day 10/14/2013
Photo courtesy of nationalgeographic.com

My Shot has different categories for children to browse through. Some of the categories include: Animals and Pets, Nature, Weird and Wacky, Fashion, Abstract and Random.

Each day, a photo is chosen to be the “Photo of the Day.” By featuring a different photo each day, kids are more likely to submit photos because they want to get their day of fame. Another way children are persuaded to post videos is because there is a “Photographer to Watch” on the homepage of the National Geographic Kids website.

There are incentives for children when submitting photos. NG Kids staff will choose pictures based on the category and also “badges” that kids can use when interacting with other kids. Kids can earn badges by uploading photographs and commenting on other kids’ photos.

 

Kids can also play games on My Shot. By clicking on a photo, you are able to make it into a puzzle with pieces ranging from six to 96. Kids can also play a game called Slider. In this game, users need to slide the pieces of the photo to put it back in its original formation. These two games require patience and skill, both essential to the learning and developing process. hen interacting with other kids. Kids can earn badges by uploading photographs and commenting on other kids’ photos.provide them with awards such as “Cutest,” “Most Artsy,” “Editor’s Pick,” etc.  There are

 

 

Websites for mommies and kids

The National Geographic Society as a whole is very good at targeting their audiences through the use of social media. There is a Facebook and Twitter page for each National Geographic brand including Traveller, the magazine, the channel and even Kids. There are also Pinterest pages for some of the National Geographic brands such as the channel, the magazine and Nat Geo kids UK.

While the National Geographic Society takes advantage of using free social media websites to connect with their specific audiences, they also have a very user-friendly website. They have a main website for the Society, which has links to the specific brands’ websites.

National Geographic Kids’ social media websites and main website are interesting cased because they are targeted to different publics. National Geographic Kids’ main target is children. But the children don’t have social media website such as Facebook and Twitter, so they need to target their social media to the children’s parents. For example, the National Geographic Kids Facebook page posts statuses about ideas for children’s birthday parties. The Twitter page tweets about the same type of information, and also targets parents of children who read Nat Geo Kids.

The website for National Geographic Kids is different from the social media sites because it is actually targeted toward children, not parents. The site has many different ways for children to interact with the brand, such as quizzes, games, blogs and contests. The National Geographic Kids website is fun, and educational for children. They can learn about animals, insects, countries and other exciting things.

Happy Hallow-green!

Photo courtesy of green-mom.com

Kids, teens and adults love Halloween! Halloween is not only an expensive holiday, getting candy, making costumes, having parties, it is also a holiday that is not so eco-friendly. In fact, the candy you distribute to trick-or-treaters, the costumes you buy and the decorations you use are all bad for the environment. Luckily, there are many things you can do to prevent harming Mother Nature.

Trick or treating-or-treating

Many Halloween costumes available in stores and/or online contain conventional toxic dyes that pollute waterways, and petroleum-based products that require oil drilling. Instead of investing in a new Halloween costume, which will cost money and is not eco-friendly, reuse or recycle an old Halloween costume. You can make a new costume from old clothes and interesting products you find around the house.

Individual pieces of candy which are packaged in single wrappers are not only unhealthy, but also not eco-friendly. Ask them to come up with healthy, earth-friendly treats your family can give out on Halloween instead of traditional candy.  You can give out pennies for UNICEF, raisins with recycled packaging, erasers, pencils or temporary tattoos. Not only are these treats more eco-friendly, they also promote healthier lifestyles than candy.

Another way to stay green during trick-or-treating is to give your children a pillow case or reusable bucket to collect their candy.

Photo courtesy of theexpressionist.com

Green decorations 

Instead of spending tons of money on Halloween decorations that will end up in the trash come November, opt for natural decorations such as squash, corn, pumpkins and other fall vegetables. Children can have fun creating decorations by making jack-o-lanterns from the pumpkins.

Another craft kids may enjoy is making a scarecrow. You can buy straw from your local Home Depot or Lowes. Use an old flannel shirt and jeans to dress him or her up. Making your scarecrow is a fun and eco-friendly craft for kids.

Green party

If you are having a Halloween party, send electronic invitations. Buy some compostable plates and utensils for guests. You can also go to your local Goodwill or thrift shop and purchase different pieces of cloth to use as napkins. You can wash the cloths and reuse them at your next party.

Make sure you tell your party guests to recycle cans and bottles, and compost leftovers.

When Halloween is over, compost your jack-o-lanterns, vegetable decorations and the straw you used to make your scarecrow.

Earth-friendly tips for fall

Photo courtesy of sfgreendrinks.com

There are ways to be eco-friendly all year round. Some of the most common ways are by turning off lights, taking shorter showers and using reusable water bottles. But did you know there are different ways to be eco-friendly depending on the season? Earth Share, an environmental activist website, shares dozens of ways to stay eco-friendly during each season.

With summer changing into fall, there are different things we can do to stay green. We can also encourage our children to help out with some of the following “green” activities.

Photo courtesy of Fab and Fru

Green yard work tips 

When brown, red and orange leaves are covering the yard, it’s easy to pick up a leaf blower and gather  them into a neat pile. However, not only are leaf blowers more expensive than rakes, they also emit dangerous chemicals into the atmosphere. Have your kids help gather the leaves by buying them rakes. Raking the yard is also a good way for the kids to get some exercise! If you need to use a leaf blower for hard to reach places such as the roof or gutter, use an electric leaf blower, which won’t emit the dangerous chemicals.

Instead of packing the leaves into plastic bags and sending them to the dump, compost them! You can mix the leaves, branches and plant clippings with kitchen compost to create nutritious soil for your yard.

Back to school

As your kids are going back to school, encourage them to save markers, crayons, pencils and other art supplies. If you live in an area where there is no bus service provided, take turns with other parents to carpool the kids to school. You can also visit Carpooltoschool.com to find local, safe carpooling help.

When packing your child’s lunch, use a lunchbox or canvas bag instead of a paper bag. Not only will this save you money, but it will also save some trees. However, when choosing a lunchbox, remember that some lunchboxes contain harmful chemicals such as PVCs.

When the kids get back from school, make sure they spend time outside the house. Too many kids go home and sit themselves in front of the TV or computer. When kids connect with nature, they will become more aware of the problems happening in the atmosphere. Teach your kids as much as you can about earth, and encourage them to spread the word about being green.

Promoting Geography in Schools

Because the earth bulges at the equator, which mountain peak on the earth is farthest from the earth’s center?

Don’t know the answer? Well, 12-year-old Sathwik Karnik from Massachusetts answered correctly at the 25th annual National Geographic Bee on May 22, 2013. Karnik walked away with a $25,000 scholarship, a trip to the Galapagos Islands and a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society.

GeoBee winner Sathwik Karnik celebrates with family.
Photo courtesy National Geographic

According to National Geographic’s website, the National Geographic Bee, hosted by Alex Trebeck of Jeopardy!,  is designed to encourage teachers to include geography in their classrooms, spark student interest in the subject, and increase public awareness about geography.

According to a 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress report in USA Today, fewer than 1 in 3 U.S. students are proficient in geography. Just 20 percent of high school seniors were found to be proficient or better, compared with 27% of eighth-graders and 21% of fourth-graders.

The GeoBee is one of National Geographic’s ways to help students become more “geo-literate.” Geo-literacy is a term adopted by National Geographic, which describe the understanding of how our world works that all members of modern society require.

To promote geography among students, elementary and middle schools from all across the country participate in Geo Bees at the primary level before the winners move onto primaries in Washington, D.C. The top ten winners at primaries compete in finals, which is filmed and aired on National Geographic Channel.

This year, the top ten finalists were:

• Tuvya Bergson-Michelson, California
• Pranit Nanda, Colorado
• Ricky Uppaluri, Georgia
• Conrad Oberhaus, Illinois
• Sathwik Karnik, Massachusetts
• Neha Middela, Michigan
• Neelam Sandhu, New Hampshire
• Harish Palani, Oregon
• Akhil Rekulapelli, Virginia
• Asha Jain, Wisconsin

National Geographic also hosts the National Geographic World Championship every other year. This year, the championship was in St. Petersburg, Russia.  Out of the eighteen countries that competed in the championship, the United States came out on top.

Think you have what it takes to compete in the National Geographic Bee 2014? Try answering these questions! 

Glimpse Into Wildlife With Crittercams

Have you ever thought about what goes on in the forest when humans are not around? What about what happens at the bottom of the dark ocean floor? Have you ever even thought about what your pets do when you are not home? Well, now is your chance to find out the answer to all of those questions.

Photo courtesy National Geographic

Crittercams allow people to get an inside look into the world of animals. A Crittercam is a small video camera that scientists attach to the backs of animals. The cameras are so small that the animals are not disturbed. Once the Crittercam is securely attached to the back of the animal, the animal is released to continue with their usual activities.

The National Geographic Society has been involved with the Crittercam project for decades. According to National Geographic’s website, Crittercams combine video and audio recording with a collection of environmental data such as depth, temperature and acceleration. The purpose of Crittercams is for scientists to study animal behavior without human interference. Crittercams are different than placing cameras in trees or caves because the animal wearing the camera travels into places humans would be unable to set up cameras. Instead, the animal becomes the videographer, taking us into their most intimate habitats.

The video below explains how the Crittercam works on lions in Africa.

Another live streaming video project is WildCam. WildCam is another National Geographic funded program. However, instead of being attached to animals’ bodies, the WildCam uses the internet to connect people from all over the world with Earth’s last remaining wild places. National Geographic created WildCam as a conservation initiative to raise money to protect wildlife and their homes.

While Crittercams and WildCams are mainly for scientific research and innovation, other live video feeds provide entertainment and education to National Geographic’s younger audience. On the Nat Geo Kids website, kids can choose from a number of different live feeds that range from bees to panda bears. These live video feeds allow kids to see what their favorite animals are like in their natural habitats.  By clicking video on Nat Geo Kid’s website, users are brought to an outside page, explore.com. The video below is explore.com’s live footage of Alaskan bears.

Combining technology and conservation initiatives allows National Geographic and National Geographic Kids to educate and entertain fans.