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myON is here to help ensure your students can keep reading and learning even if schools close. To support you and your students, please see the learning and implementation resources available on our Renaissance at Home hub.

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myON is here to help ensure your students can keep reading and learning even if schools close. To support you and your students, please see the learning and implementation resources available on our Renaissance at Home hub.

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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Are penguins only found at the South Pole

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Are penguins only found at the South Pole

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We've seen a video of penguins rocketing out of the water as if powered by jets, but we've never seen it happen from underwater... until now. In this National Geographic clip, photographer Paul Nicklen captures how these emperor penguins use air bubbles to launch themselves out of the water. From NationalGeographic.com:

When an emperor penguin swims through the water, it is slowed by the friction between its body and the water, keeping its maximum speed somewhere between four and nine feet a second. But in short bursts the penguin can double or even triple its speed by releasing air from its feathers in the form of tiny bubbles. These reduce the density and viscosity of the water around the penguin's body, cutting drag and enabling the bird to reach speeds that would otherwise be impossible. (As an added benefit, the extra speed helps the penguins avoid predators such as leopard seals.)

The key to this talent is in the penguin's feathers. Like other birds, emperors have the capacity to fluff their feathers and insulate their bodies with a layer of air. But whereas most birds have rows of feathers with bare skin between them, emperor penguins have a dense, uniform coat of feathers. And because the bases of their feathers include tiny filaments-just 20 microns in diameter, less than half the width of a thin human hair-air is trapped in a fine, downy mesh and released as microbubbles so tiny that they form a lubricating coat on the feather surface.

Keep in mind that emperor penguins are often almost 3.8ft (115cm) tall and weigh 66lbs (30kg). That's a lot of rocketing penguin.

You can see more of Paul Nicklen's nature photos at National Geographic.com or on his site. On this site, watch more videos about feathers and more penguin videos, including The Best Bloopers from Penguins - Spy in the Huddle and Penguins can't fly, but they can jump.

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Emperor Penguins Speed Launch Out of the Water | The Kid Should See This

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Smart videos for curious minds of all ages: Science, art, nature, animals, space, technology, DIY, food, music, animation, and more! The Kid Should See This is a free video resource for parents, teachers, and kids of all ages. Watch a huge collection of high-quality, kid-friendly, age appropriate, educational videos together at home, during homeschool, or in the classroom.

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Snow chicks venture onto the ice and into the huddle

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In these two clips from the BBC's Snow Chick: A Penguin's Tale, emperor penguin chicks venture from their parents' pouches into their communities. Kate Winslet dramatizes their transitions with her narration.

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Today's Wonder of the Day was inspired by Brody from Vincennes, IN. Brody Wonders, " Do penguins have knees " Thanks for WONDERing with us, Brody!

As you your ship at the of the floating of , you scan the for signs of life. You can't wait to hit the and get started exploring this cold, world. Suddenly your binoculars focus in on movement.

What could it be? As your eyes strain to make sense of the blurry motion, you realize you've found a large group of flightless birds that are all dressed up and ready to greet you. What are we talking about? Penguins, of course!

Wouldn't it be cool to explore the edges of the world and spend some time with penguins? They're super cute, especially since their coloring makes them look like they're wearing tuxedos.

In addition to their appearance, you can also recognize penguins immediately by their tell-tale . As they make their way across the , they along, seeming to take their time without a care in the world.

If you've ever watched a , you may have WONDERed: do penguins have knees? After all, if you didn't have knees, you'd probably , too!

If you were to x-ray a 's legs, you would discover that penguins do indeed have knees! In fact, a 's leg is made up of four parts: a , knee, tibia, and - the same bones you have in your leg!

Why do their legs look so short then? It's a bit of an illusion, because a 's upper legs are hidden by their feathers.

So penguins do have knees. And their legs are longer than they look, because the upper parts are hidden by feathers. Why would they then, if they have knees?

That question puzzled scientists for quite a while. Most scientists today believe that penguins because their legs were designed to help them faster.

If you look closely at a 's legs, you'll notice that they're set far back on the body. This makes it more difficult to walk on land, as it requires more energy to move quickly. Also, penguins walk on the soles of their feet instead of their toes like other birds. As a result, waddling helps penguins to maximize their momentum while using the least amount of energy.

Since penguins spend as much as 75% of their time in the water, their bodies have evolved to be able to move quickly through the water. They use their tails and feet as rudders, and their flippers act much like wings do on other birds - essentially, penguins "fly" through the water!

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Today's Wonder of the Day was inspired by Brody from Vincennes, IN. Brody Wonders, " Do penguins have knees " Thanks for WONDERing with us, Brody! As you your ship at the of the floating of , you scan the for signs of life.

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Would you like to hear a joke? Okay, here it is: Why can't penguins fly?

Any ideas?

It's because they don't have enough money to buy plane tickets!

Okay, so that's an old joke, but we still like it! And it made us WONDER...why can't penguins fly? After all, they are birds, aren't they?

Yes, penguins are , flightless birds that live in the Southern Hemisphere --especially Antarctica. Unlike the wings of other birds, penguins' wings are more like that make them well- for life in the water.

In fact, penguins swimming through water looks quite similar to birds flying through the sky. Their feathers trap air, which makes them more in the water and them from the cold water.

Penguins spend about half their time in the water and half their time on land. And their don't just help them swim! When they're on land, their and their tails help them keep their and walk .

Have you ever seen a penguin walk? Their walk looks more like a waddle, and they don't move very fast. If a penguin wants to move quickly, it slides on its belly! This is a movement called " tobogganing " after a northern method of sledding.

Okay, so a penguin's help them a lot. Still, why can't they fly? Scientists believe penguins can't fly because they likely had little or no threat from predators in their past. That means they never evolved to fly because they didn't have anything to fly away from. Instead, these birds evolved to become more to better survive in their habitat. They relied on the oceans for food, so developing to swim well was more important than growing wings to fly.

As they exist today, it's easy to see why penguins can't fly. Their , adapted for life in the water, simply cannot get their cute, chunky bodies into the sky. This is especially true for the largest species of penguin, the Emperor Penguin. Emperor Penguins stand over three feet tall and can weigh 75 pounds or more. They'd need some pretty strong wings to fly through the air!

It's easy to see why penguins would choose advanced swimming ability over flying. How about you? Would you rather glide gracefully through water or through the air? There are definitely advantages to both, as we can see from all our bird friends!

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Would you like to hear a joke? Okay, here it is: Why can't penguins fly? Any ideas? It's because they don't have enough money to buy plane tickets! Okay, so that's an old joke, but we still like it! And it made us WONDER...why can't penguins fly?

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Emperor penguins are the largest penguins on Earth. At almost 4 feet tall and weighing 50 to 90 pounds, these penguins grow to be the same size as many elementary school students!

Emperor penguins live in Antarctica , the coldest on Earth. Temperatures in Antarctica can drop as low as -140° F. The shape of its body helps the emperor penguin survive life in these temperatures.

The emperor penguin 's body has a thick layer of by a thick layer of covered by feathers. These three layers provide triple protection from harsh conditions and extreme cold. In addition to trapping body heat in, the feathers also keep cold air and water out.

The emperor penguin 's diet consists mostly of fish, squid and crustaceans . It catches its dinner by diving into the sea.

Although humans can't stay underwater very long before they need to come up for a breath, emperor penguins can remain for up to 18 minutes at a time!

This is possible thanks to specialized body systems. The emperor penguin 's blood allows it to function even with very low oxygen levels. In order to use as little oxygen as possible while diving, the emperor penguin can also slow its metabolism and stop any nonessential organ functions.

Each winter, the emperor penguin walks 30 to 75 miles over ice to . A single breeding can include thousands of penguins.

When a female emperor lays an egg, she immediately rolls it onto the father penguin's feet. Male penguins care for the eggs until it is hatching time. During this time, male penguins can lose up to half of their body weight because they stay on shore caring for the egg and do not return to the sea to eat.

About seven weeks after birth, emperor penguin chicks form groups called " creches." The penguins in a huddle together for protection and warmth, but they continue to be fed by their parents. Emperor penguin chicks can identify their parents from the group of adult penguins by the sound of their call.

At six months of age, emperor penguin chicks are fully grown. At this time, the adult penguins and all the chicks return to the open sea together. In the wild, emperor penguins live to be about 20, although some have lived to be 50 years old.

The emperor penguin , along with nine other species of penguins, may soon be included under the United States Endangered Species Act. Warming seas and industrial fishing have begun to change fish populations, making it more difficult for penguins to find enough food. The emperor's habit and breeding colonies are also becoming disrupted by .

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Emperor penguins are the largest penguins on Earth. At almost 4 feet tall and weighing 50 to 90 pounds, these penguins grow to be the same size as many elementary school students! Emperor penguins live in Antarctica , the coldest on Earth. Temperatures in Antarctica can drop as low as -140° F.