1. ARCHITECT MAKES MILESTONE

Frida Escobedo is a talented architect from Mexico City who has worked on many big projects. She’s the first woman to design a wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Her design for the museum’s new Modern and Contemporary art galleries is elegant and calm, with a lot of focus on materials that age well over time. Although Escobedo started her career by creating temporary structures, like for museums and festivals, her big break came when she designed the Serpentine Pavilion in London in 2018. Despite facing challenges, especially as a young woman in architecture, she has earned respect for her unique and thoughtful designs. Escobedo’s approach is about making spaces that change over time, blending the old and the new. In your own words, write 3 to 5 sentences about Frida Escobedo and what you learned about her.

2. SPACECRAFT SENDS PICTURES

A spacecraft called BepiColombo, made by Europe and Japan, just flew close to Mercury’s north pole and sent back amazing photos. It got as close as 183 miles (295 kilometers) above Mercury’s night side. The pictures show craters that are always in shadow and some volcanic plains nearby. They also show Mercury’s biggest crater, which is over 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) wide. This was the spacecraft’s sixth flyby of Mercury since it was launched in 2018. Next year, it will start orbiting Mercury to study the planet more closely. The spacecraft is named after Giuseppe Colombo, an Italian mathematician who helped with NASA’s Mercury mission in the 1970s. Using resources in your classroom, look up facts about Mercury and how it compares to Earth. Write down at least 5 facts you learned.

3. ANIMAL ENRICHMENT

A zoo in England, called Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm, is asking people to donate their used Christmas trees to make the animals happier. Instead of throwing the trees away, the zoo uses them to create fun environments for animals like bears, elephants, and meerkats. Some animals, like elephants, eat the trees and play with them. Bears and rhinos like to explore around the trees, and smaller animals, like meerkats, use the trees to play and explore with their group. This is the fifth year the zoo has done this, and they’ve saved 15,000 trees from being wasted. The zoo even makes a forest for the elephants to enjoy. This idea also helps animals like spectacled bears, who love to play in the trees, just like dogs play in leaf piles! In other parts of England, people can also rent Christmas trees in pots, which are replanted after the holidays to keep growing. Some old trees are even used to help stop floods in small villages. These are all great ways to recycle fresh Christmas trees after the holidays. Can you think of any others? In small groups, brainstorm ideas of how you could use old Christmas trees. Share your group’s ideas with your class.

4. ANCIENT SHIPWRECK SURFACED

The Phoenician shipwreck called Mazarron II is being carefully rescued from the sea. A team of divers brought it up piece by piece between September and November 2024. The pieces are now going to a lab where scientists will work to preserve and rebuild the ship, which could take at least four years. First, they will remove the salt from the wood, then fill in the damaged parts with a special resin. They’ll freeze-dry the pieces before putting the ship back together. Mazarron II is one of the few well-preserved Phoenician shipwrecks and can teach us about how the Phoenicians built their ships and what their sailing life was like. Another Phoenician ship, Mazarron I, was found nearby in 1993 and is now on display at a museum. Write your own summary of this story and draw a picture of what you imagine a ship from 3,500 years ago would look like!

5. CITY GOES GREEN

The City of Chicago has done something amazing for the environment. All 411 buildings they own now use clean, renewable energy or help support clean energy projects in other parts of the country. Three years ago, the city made a big deal to get power from the largest solar farm east of the Mississippi River. This farm, called Double Black Diamond, is about 30 miles from Springfield, Illinois. It gives about 70% of the electricity needed for the city’s buildings, like libraries, airports, and City Hall. This change will cut down the city’s carbon pollution by a lot—equal to taking 62,000 cars off the road! But since 30% of their clean energy comes from funding projects instead of using clean power directly, some people think they could do better. Chicago’s leaders are working on finding new ways to get all their energy from clean sources, like solar panels on rooftops. They plan to make all buildings in Chicago run on renewable energy by 2035, which would make Chicago the biggest city in the U.S. to do this! Everyone has a hand in helping to protect our environment. Think of a way that your classroom could be more eco-friendly. Design a poster or flyer that could be used to encourage your classmates to make the change you thought of.