National Geographic Kids

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cover of 1978 edition of National Geographic World, known as National Geographic Kids since 2001
Cover of 1978 edition of National Geographic World, known as National Geographic Kids since 2001

National Geographic Kids is an award-winning children's magazine published by the National Geographic Society. [1]

Its first issue was printed in September of 1975 under the original title: National Geographic World.

At right is a cover of the magazine with a bicentennial sculpture by Jim Gary that was painted in joyous colors. The magazine was an instant success and gained wide circulation.

The title of the magazine changed in October, 2001. National Geographic Kids, in a broad sense, is a children's version of National Geographic, the flagship magazine of the National Geographic Society.

Contents

[edit] Publication and readers

National Geographic Kids publishes ten issues annually. As of June, 2006, the magazine reports a circulation of more than 1.3 million in English, with an estimated English language readership of more than 4.6 million. There also are twelve editions of National Geographic Kids in languages other than English, with circulation of more than 400,000. The magazine is written for children between the ages of six and fourteen. It has an advisory board of 500 subscribers and solicits reader feedback after each issue. [2]

The magazine recently launched a spin-off, National Geographic Little Kids, targeted toward children under kindergarten age.

[edit] May 2008 issue

The May 2008 issue of National Geographic Kids saw a lot of games. (Although it kept the same chapters.) On Inside, it said that this issue was a supersize Fun Stuff. The games were:

  • Meet Zipper! (In most of the pages, Zipper is hiding 13 times in the issue.)
  • Signs of the Times
  • Trading Places
  • Splashdown
  • Eye Magic
  • The Funnies
  • Funny Fill-In
  • We Gave it a Swirl
  • Perfect Match
  • Family Project: Cinco De Mayo
  • Stump Your Parents
  • Back Talk (see below)
  • What In The World? (see below also)
  • Art Zone (The answers are upside down on that page.)

[edit] Features

These are some of the regular features, most of which appear periodically,

  • Amazing Animals
  • Fun Stuff (formerly called "Kids Express")
  • The Inside Scoop (formerly called "World News")
  • Kids Did It!
  • Go On Safari!
  • What in the World (this is one of the two features to appear in every issue)
  • Video Game Central (formerly called "The Next Level")
  • Weird But True
  • Cool Inventions
  • Stupid Criminals
  • Just Joking (this is the other of the two features to appear in every issue)
  • Sports Funnies (comical pictures of people in sports)
  • Guinness World Records
  • Wildlife Watch
  • Naughty Pets (funny photos of pets doing something bad)
  • The Green List
  • Bet You Didn't Know (similar to Weird But True, but issue seasonal)

[edit] Dare To Explore people

Recently, in the March 2008 issue, there was a new chapter called Dare to Explore. It lists seven famous explorers. Here are the seven adventurers:

[edit] Anniversary issues

The twenty-fifth anniversary issue in September, 2000 was well publicized. It featured a "Top 25" list of the things readers most enjoyed (the magazine covers were #1) a collection of cards people had sent to the magazine, and a special "Kids Did It" column that featured updates on the lives of celebrities who had been featured in the magazine when they were children, such as Michelle Kwan.

The thirtieth anniversary issue in September, 2005 featured an article describing what life would be like in thirty years (in 2035). It also featured thirty "cool things" of the future. Here's a small preview,

Digital ink and e-paper transform newspapers and magazines into re-writeable computer pages. "E-paper will work sort of like a complex Etch a Sketch", Zolli says, "using digital technology, your newspaper will erase yesterday's issue and download today's."

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • [3] National Geographic Kids Media Kit URL accessed on November 16, 2007