Squiz Kids

We can find it in shells, flowers, pine cones and snails... It's needed in sport, construction, space exploration and more... and it pairs very nicely with a sweet, flaky dessert.

Squiz Kids Shortcuts give you and your primary-aged kids the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the big news stories.

Classroom Resources

LINKS:

TedEd on Pi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a5vHXsUvUw

Jaden Chong recites Pi to 1,800 places: https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/melbourne-sevenyearold-memory-boy-becomes-sensation-remembering-pi/caf43ef6-dc39-486b-89eb-a79bfba64641

How to count seed spirals on a sunflower: https://momath.org/home/fibonacci-numbers-of-sunflower-seed-spirals/

The Fibonacci sequence spiral: https://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/fibonacci-sequence.html

More Fibonacci:

https://www.naturphilosophie.co.uk/fibonaccis-golden-spiral-relationship-maths-nature/

https://mathimages.swarthmore.edu/index.php/Fibonacci_Numbers

NASA's Starshade: https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/resources/1015/flower-power-nasa-reveals-spring-starshade-animation/

Maths in art: https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/math-is-muse-for-these-artists

What’s a tariff and why should you care?; Dino-prints in Aussie playground; Marvel’s Black Widow gets cranky; and Saturn has all the moons.

America is slapping a 25% extra charge (a "tariff") on Aussie steel and aluminium. That means it’s more expensive for American companies to buy from us, which could affect jobs in Australia. Economics in action!

Turns out Saturn has way more moons than we thought—128 more, to be exact! That brings its total to 274, leaving Jupiter’s 95 moons in the dust.

Imagine finding dinosaur footprints in your school's playground! That’s what happened in Queensland, where a rock sitting in a school office for 20 years turned out to have 66 dinosaur tracks on it!

Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson is fed up with fake videos using her face and voice without permission! These deepfakes can trick people into believing things that aren’t true. She’s calling for new laws to stop them

For the full episode transcript, click here.

Check out the Squiz Kids website for all of our other Fun, Free and Fresh offerings!

What is Newshounds - video explainer.

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 It’s NAPLAN time again; Vienna’s vibing veggies; row row row your pumpkin; and an annual British riot.

Your daily kids news podcast.

NAPLAN is here! Over a million students are diving into reading, writing, and maths tests this week. It’s not about passing or failing—just seeing where you’re at.

Forget guitars—how about a cucumber saxophone? The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra has taken home a Guinness World Record, playing 344 concerts using instruments made from fresh veggies!

A scientist in NSW has done it again—rowing his 426kg pumpkin down a river! Growing these mega-pumpkins isn’t easy, but Mark Peacock has it down to a science.

In England, a football match like no other just took over the streets! Royal Shrovetide has hundreds of players battling over a giant ball in a two-day game through rivers, fields, and alleyways. The only official rule? No murder. Yep, it’s that wild!

For the full episode transcript, click here.

Keep listening after the podcast for a special Q+A when former NAPLAN boss, Peter Titmaniss, takes the Squiz Kids Hot Seat to answer questions from the kids of Australia.

Check out the Squiz Kids website for all of our other Fun, Free and Fresh offerings!

What is Newshounds - video explainer.

Find out more about Newshounds.

Get started for free HERE.

Each fortnight, we give the world globe a spin and see where we land. Then, we take the kids of Australia on an audio excursion to visit that country and its people. Join your captain, Amanda Bower, on an audio adventure.

Today, we’re off to a country where you can swim at Pacific Ocean beaches, trek through the Amazon jungle, and hike the Andes mountains—all without leaving the country's borders! It's a place where you’ll find ancient cities built by the mighty Inca Empire, where potatoes were first cultivated, and where people still speak a language inspired by the sounds of nature. So, buckle up and get ready to discover Peru!

For the full episode transcript, click here.

Links:

Machu Picchu 101

“Secrets of Machu Picchu”

Recipe - Lomo saltado

Recipe - Peruvian ceviche

The sting in Cyclone Alfred’s tail; Giants and Hawks win big; Moon landings and Sun missions; and the mysterious woolly mammoth mouse.

Your daily kids news podcast.

Wild winds, torrential rain, and massive floods hit Queensland and NSW as Tropical Cyclone Alfred wreaks havoc! Over 300,000 homes lost power, and 500 schools shut down—giving kids an unexpected day off! Rescuers worked nonstop, and now, the big clean-up begins.

The Moon was the place to be last week! One spacecraft landed successfully, another tipped over (oops!), and NASA had to cancel two missions. Scientists are working hard to explore space, but sometimes, things don’t go to plan.

The AFL season kicked off with big wins for the Hawthorn Hawks and the GWS Giants! Meanwhile, the NRL saw the Broncos and Storm score massive victories. Get ready, sports fans—it's game on!

Scientists are one step closer to reviving woolly mammoths! Using ancient DNA, they created tiny, shaggy-coated "mammoth mice."

For the full episode transcript, click here.

Check out the Squiz Kids website for all of our other Fun, Free and Fresh offerings!

What is Newshounds - video explainer.

Find out more about Newshounds.

Get started for free HERE.

Who's smarter, kids or adults?

For the full episode transcript, click here.

What is Newshounds - video explainer.

Find out more about Newshounds.

Get started for free HERE.

Your daily kids news podcast.

Millions brace for Cyclone Alfred; Return of the fish doorbell; AFL season kicks off; and a record-breaking polar bear swim.

Batten down the hatches! Cyclone Alfred is charging towards Australia’s east coast, bringing wild winds, heavy rain, and the risk of flooding. Schools are closing, supermarkets are packed, and sandbags are in high demand.

In the Czech Republic, thousands of brave (or bonkers) swimmers dived into a freezing 3-degree lake to break the world record for the biggest polar bear swim.

In the Netherlands, fish get VIP treatment! A special underwater camera alerts locals when fish are stuck at river gates, so they can call the city to open the locks.

Check out the Fish Doorbell yourself!

Remember: only ring the doorbell if you see a fish waiting.

Watch out! The internet is flooded with fake videos of Cyclone Alfred—some from storms years ago! Why? Clicks and money. Remember: STOP, THINK, CHECK before sharing!

For the full episode transcript, click here.

Check out the Squiz Kids website for all of our other Fun, Free and Fresh offerings!

What is Newshounds - video explainer.

Find out more about Newshounds.

Get started for free HERE.

Your daily kids news podcast.

A doughnut emergency; seven years in the saddle; a Blue Ghost on the Moon; and virtual dessert.

A spacecraft the size of a hippo has landed safely on the Moon! Built by Firefly Aerospace, the Blue Ghost lander sent back stunning images and is now running experiments for NASA.

A little boy in Oklahoma used an old phone to call 9-1-1 for an "emergency"—doughnuts!

Listen to the call.

Two adventurers are riding horses 30,000 km from Argentina to Alaska! No backup, just them and their trusty steeds. It could take seven years, but with kind locals and strong horses, they’re off to an incredible start!

Scientists have made an artificial tongue that can recreate flavors in VR! So far, it can mimic sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami.

For the full episode transcript, click here.

Check out the Squiz Kids website for all of our other Fun, Free and Fresh offerings!

What is Newshounds - video explainer.

Find out more about Newshounds.

Get started for free HERE.

Humans have been slurping them for thousands of years. We're going to take you through WHY it is that we humans love noodles so much; WHERE in the world we can eat noodles; and—I think I'll be surprised by this one—WHEN we can eat them. This is your Squiz Kids Shortcut to The Food That Changed The World—the podcast where we dig into the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the big news stories.

Your Noodle Word Search

For the full episode transcript, click here.

Check out the Squiz Kids website for all of our other Fun, Free and Fresh offerings!

What is Newshounds - video explainer.

Find out more about Newshounds.

Get started for free HERE.

Your daily kids news podcast.

Batten down the hatches, Queenslanders! Tropical Cyclone Alfred is hovering off the coast, and there’s a chance it could head straight for Brisbane.

Hollywood is buzzing as the biggest night in movies—the Oscars—takes centre stage! Will The Wild Robot take home the gold for Best Animated Feature, or will another film surprise everyone?

The NRL season kicked off in the bright lights of Las Vegas, where the Raiders and Panthers scored big wins while the Warriors and Sharks missed out. Meanwhile, Australia’s Young Socceroos made history, winning their first-ever Asian Cup in a thrilling penalty shootout!

Meet Max, the koala-saving super dog! This clever pup sniffs out koala poop in NSW forests to help rangers track and protect Australia’s furry friends.

For the full episode transcript, click here.

Check out the Squiz Kids website for all of our other Fun, Free and Fresh offerings!

What is Newshounds - video explainer.

Find out more about Newshounds.

Get started for free HERE.