Muse is a children's magazine published by the Smithsonian Institution and Carus Publishing, the publishers of Cricket. Launched in October 1996,[1] it is published in Chicago, Illinois, and has readers throughout the United States and around the world. Recommended for ages ten and above,[2] it features articles about history, science, and the arts. Muse encourages the reader to think about questions that may not have definite answers. Nine cartoon characters, known as the Muses, appear in the margins throughout the magazine as well as in the Kokopelli & Company comic strip. Among them, only Urania was one of the original Greek muses; Kokopelli, a trickster, is a god in many native American tribes.
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Muse is published nine times annually. Each issue contains a comic strip ("Kokopelli & Company") written by Larry Gonick, a spoof about the main subject of the issue (Dear Muse Reader), a fun facts page (Bo's page), letters from readers (Muse Mail), a contest, a question-and-answer page written by Robert Coontz, Rosanne Spector, and Rebecca Lasley; an article written by a Muse reader ("Muserology"), a short article ("Last Page"), and articles on various topics. Often the topics of the articles are tangentially related. Past issues have included articles about vegetarianism, pie throwing, extraterrestrial life, naked mole rats, the origin of the moon, pirates, urban legends, insects, mummies, tenrecs, the history of napkins, contacting ghosts, New Zealand's exploding trousers, Rube Goldberg inventions, The Lord of the Rings, and blind cavefish.
Muse's Q&A columnists run an unofficial fan page and blog for readers. MuseBlog is an online community which welcomes anyone who enjoys the magazine. Via posts to various threads, MuseBloggers discuss music, books, relationships, movies, sports, science, and other relevant topics.