Page Type: Elementary

Every April, sculptors gather in Port Aransas, Texas, for a contest that attracts onlookers from around the world. The contest takes place on the town’s wide, sandy beach. A beach might sound like a weird place to show off artistic masterpieces, but it makes perfect sense when those masterpieces are made of sand!

Texas SandFest is the largest beach sand-sculpting contest in the United States. Tens of thousands of people travel to the Port Aransas beach to watch professional sand sculptors do their thing. Sculptors are allowed to create whatever they want, which sounds easy enough. But anyone who has tried to make a sandcastle knows that shaping objects out of sand isn’t so simple.

This year’s sculptors arrived on the beach on April 18, one day before SandFest officially began, and set up wood bases that would support their giant sculptures. Each sculptor gathered about 20,000 pounds (9,070 kilograms) of wet sand, set it around the base, and started sculpting. The sculptors had about two and a half more days to finish their work. In addition to the wooden base, the sculptors were allowed to use biodegradable glue to hold the sand in place so it wouldn’t blow away.

Each sculptor had their own way of working. Some made detailed plans before they even touched the sand. Others had a general idea but started sculpting before they were sure what they’d end up with.

This year’s winning sculpture was called “Sweet Dreams Are Made of These,” by Abe Waterman of Canada. It was of a young woman dreaming about a vampire, who appears behind her. Waterman took home a $2,000 prize.

Like most sand sculptures, the ones at SandFest didn’t last long. After the contest, a bulldozer knocked them down so the beach would be ready for summer fun.

Check out the slideshow for more pictures from SandFest!

When Ruby Reynolds was 11, she came across something remarkable—pieces of a prehistoric creature’s jawbone. The discovery led scientists to identify a species they hadn’t known about before.

Ruby found the jawbone fragments in 2020 along the River Severn in southwestern England, where she was fossil hunting with her dad. The pair contacted paleontologist Dean Lomax and fossil hunter Paul de la Salle, who told them the pieces had been part of the jawbone of an ichthyosaur that lived more than 200 million years ago. Ichthyosaurs, which went extinct about 90 million years ago, were marine reptiles that looked a bit like dolphins. There were more than 100 species of ichthyosaur, ranging from just a few feet long to gigantic.

Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is all about celebrating the achievements of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Artist Jasmine Cho honors these achievements all year long—with cookies.

Cho, who owns a bakery called Butter and Joy, bakes up batches of cookies and then decorates them with the faces of admirable Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Her portrait subjects include actor Daniel Dae Kim, civil rights activist Grace Lee Boggs, and Olympic diver Sammy Lee.

Cho, who is Korean American, says she didn’t see many Asian Americans on TV shows or in books when she was growing up. Painting faces on the cookies she sells is her way of spreading knowledge about the amazing things the AAPI community has done. Why cookies? Because cookies make people happy.

If a robot were dressed up as a predator, would a bird be fooled? Officials in Alaska are about to find out. The state’s transportation department will use a robot disguised as a fox or a coyote to try to scare birds and other animals away from a busy airport.

The robot, which officials named Aurora, is the size of a large dog. It travels on four legs and is controlled by a human using a computer or tablet. Aurora can move through snow and rain with ease and even climbs rocky areas or flights of stairs if needed. Its outer panels can be replaced with panels that make it look like a fox or a coyote.  Check out the video to see the robot in action.

There’s an unusual farm in the middle of London, England. Unlike many other farms, this one doesn’t produce vegetables or raise cows and chickens. What it does raise is flies…tons of them.

The insect farm is operated by a company called Entocycle, and the black soldier flies are being bred as part of an effort to change the way livestock is fed. Here’s how it works: The flies lay hundreds of eggs, which hatch to become worm-like larvae (the stage of development before adulthood). The larvae can be fed to farm animals like pigs and chickens instead of the foods these farm animals currently eat, such as soy and corn. Some of the larvae are allowed to grow into adulthood. They are fed food waste as they lay eggs for the next generation of larvae.

Jane Goodall has spent her life connecting with and learning about the natural world. When Goodall turned 90, on April 3, 2024, she had a message of hope for our planet and all living things.

Goodall first became famous for her observations of chimpanzees in the wild. Beginning in 1960, Goodall saw chimpanzees using tools to get their food, lovingly holding their babies, and, at times, fighting each other. She concluded that these animals were far more intelligent and complicated than people had assumed. Since then, scientists have drawn similar conclusions about many other species. Over the years, Goodall began to focus on protecting animals and their habitats, or the places where they live.

Today, Goodall continues this work, along with the Jane Goodall Institute, which she founded in 1977. The institute helps not just animals but people as well. As Goodall says, “Everything’s connected.” People, animals, and the environment affect each other. They also need each other.

A 10-year-old from Canada just earned a world record for collecting the most aluminum can tabs for recycling in one year. Jace Weber of Ontario said record setting wasn’t his goal. He just wanted to raise money for charity.

Jace got the idea to start collecting tabs after watching a YouTube video about a man who had done this. Jace learned that the March of Dimes, an organization that helps newborn babies and their mothers as well as people with disabilities, has a can tab program. Metal tabs from cans of soda and other drinks can be recycled for money, which the March of Dimes will gratefully accept as a donation. Jace began putting away used can tabs from around his home.

Pretty soon, others heard about Jace’s collection and began giving their can tabs to him.

“There were always tabs sitting at our doorstep,” Jace’s dad, Curtis, told CTV News. “Every day when we’d come home, there would be more.” 

Gordon Hartman’s daughter, Morgan, has a disease that makes it difficult for her to speak. When Hartman noticed that this made it hard for Morgan to play with other kids, he decided to build a theme park where all kids would feel included. He called it Morgan’s Wonderland, in honor of his daughter. Today, Morgan is all grown up, and millions of kids enjoy the accessible theme park that she inspired.

Located in San Antonio, Texas, Morgan’s Wonderland has rides, playgrounds, a make-believe village, and more. Each attraction is designed to be used by children with disabilities (though every kid is welcome). For example, all the rides are built so kids who use wheelchairs can enjoy them. And because many kids with autism are sensitive to loud sounds, nothing in the park is noisy. 

“It’s the small things that make the big difference: Having fun,” Hartman told CBS News. “And for too long, I think, individuals had to watch and say, ‘I wish I could.’ Here at Morgan’s Wonderland…you don’t watch. You participate.”

Recently, Morgan’s Wonderland added even more fun features. There’s a new movie theater that gives kids the feeling of riding a roller coaster. There’s a zip line that lets riders soar over the park’s lake. Another new ride is a cross between bike-riding and hang-gliding. 

“It’s just simply mind-blowing to know that there’s a place like this where we can enjoy the things that most people—typical people—[get a chance to do] across the world and around the country,” Victoria Garcia-Ammann told Texas Public Radio. Garcia-Ammann’s daughter, Emily, has a disability.

Hartman is now building an accessible hotel. He’s also planning to teach other business owners how to make stores, hotels, and restaurants more accessible to everyone.

Check out the slideshow for more photos of Morgan’s Wonderland.

It’s one thing to participate in a race to see who’s fastest. It’s another to do so while balancing a tray of food and drink. That’s what 200 of the best restaurant servers in Paris, France, did on March 24. Called the Course des Cafés, the race required speed and skill.

The Course des Cafés required participants to walk 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) through the streets of Paris while carrying a tray with a croissant, a glass of water, and an empty coffee cup. The rules were simple. Don’t run, don’t spill, and don’t carry the tray in both hands at once.

Judges examined each participant’s tray at the finish line. They took off points for broken dishes, spilled water, and empty glasses. The men’s winner, Samy Lamrou, finished in 13 minutes, 30 seconds. The women’s winner, Pauline Van Wymeersch, reached the finish line in 14 minutes, 12 seconds. Van Wymeersch said being a server is very hard work, but she can’t imagine having any other job.

Paris is famous for its restaurants and cafés, and its servers are well trained. They are known for being able to remember complicated food orders—and for balancing trays full of food. The Course des Cafés first took place in 1914 to honor these skills.

This year’s race celebrates Paris as the host of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, which will open on July 26. Experts thought a food race would be an ideal way to promote both the world’s biggest sporting event and the host city’s famous tradition of restaurants.

The winners of the Course des Cafés will have the opportunity to go to the Olympics. They each won tickets to the opening ceremony that starts the big event!

At an animal shelter in Spain, kids are learning lessons in kindness by spending time with gentle greyhounds.

The shelter, called SOS Galgos, is devoted mostly to one breed of dog. Greyhounds are known as racing dogs in some parts of the world. In Spain, where they’re called galgos, they are often used as hunting dogs. Sadly, they are sometimes abandoned after they reach a certain age. SOS Galgos takes in and finds new homes for these greyhounds.

The shelter also works with schools, inviting students to visit and spend time with the dogs. The cost is six euros (about $6.50) per child, and all the money is used to support the shelter’s work.

During a two-hour session, kids learn how the dogs are cared for in the shelter and how SOS Galgos finds new homes for them. Greyhounds are known for their quiet and gentle personalities. Many greyhounds dislike loud noises and rough play, so it’s important to be calm around them. Spending time with animals that depend on humans is a great way to learn about kindness and sympathy.

“Children who have not had any contact with the animal world…leave here excited and happy that they have touched a dog,” Sara Cadenas, who is in charge of the school program, told Reuters.