TIME for Kids - Age 8+ Family Edition G5012122

On January 7 and 8, NASA’s new space telescope unfolded its huge, flower-shaped mirror. The James Webb Space Telescope will soon reach its destination a million miles from Earth. Its mission: to find evidence of how galaxies formed, more than 13 billion years ago. Thomas Zurbuchen works on NASA’s science missions. “How does it feel to make history, everybody?” he said to his team, in Maryland. “You just did it.” Webb is the most powerful telescope ever launched into space. Because of its size, it was folded up when it was launched by rocket from South America on December 25. Webb’s mirror was the last part to unfold. It gathers light, allowing the telescope to pick up stars and galaxies in the far reaches of space. The mirror is 21 feet across and…

New rules in California put limits on outdoor water usage. They’re meant to combat drought. The State Water Resources Control Board voted for the restrictions on January 4. The rules include no lawn-watering for 48 hours after rain. They could take effect by the end of the month. Dry conditions from early 2021 affected California’s water supply. Governor Gavin Newsom had previously asked people to voluntarily cut water use by 15%. But between July and November, water usage went down just 6%. Eric Oppenheimer is the chief deputy director for the state water board. “Conserving water and reducing water waste are critical and necessary habits for everyone to adopt,” he says. “We need to be prepared for continued drought.” NEWS STORIES MAY INCLUDE REPORTING FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. TAYA GRAY—THE DESERT SUN/USA TODAY NETWORK/SIPA…

Power Words degrade verb: to lower the quality of widespread adjective: available across a large area or group…

Amazon’s delivery drones were supposed to be in full flight by now. In 2013, the online retailer announced an experimental drone delivery service. Packages containing anything from toothpaste to a new smartphone would arrive at your front door by drone. The drone would land, drop your parcel, and fly away. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said at the time that the service would take four or five years to develop. But it’s been a little more than eight years. The company is struggling to make progress. What happened? Amazon “is committed to making our goal of delivering packages by drones a reality,” the company said last year. But, Amazon added, “it will continue to take time.” Widespread drone delivery could have a huge impact. Drones have the potential to be even more efficient and…

The effect drones have on wildlife is still being researched. But videos (shot using drones) show that animals don’t take kindly to the buzzing machines. A European Environment Agency report points out the tension between drones and birds. “Bird species… were found to be more sensitive to disturbances relating to the presence of drones,” it says. It gave an example of bird-drone interaction: In Austria, a pair of eagles went after a drone, thinking it was food.…

WHO WILL BECOME KID of the YEAR FOR 2021? The answer will be revealed on February 9 during a TV special on Nickelodeon. In the weeks leading up to the show, we’ve been introducing the top five nominees. Read on! “Music is where everything started,” Samirah Horton says. The 13-year-old from Brooklyn, New York, is known to the world as DJ Annie Red. She has been rapping and performing since she was 6 years old. Through music, DJ Annie Red says, “I can express myself. I can let out my emotion.” The rising hip-hop star uses music to share a message about bullying. “I was bullied a lot,” she says. “I still am bullied now, especially because of my voice.” DJ Annie Red has a deep, raspy voice. People have told her she sounds…