【推荐2】National Museum of Natural History

African Bush Elephant

Learn about the ecology of African elephants, their place in geologic time, and their connections to humans.

Things to Do:

Feel “elephant voices”—the low-frequency voices that elephants use to communicate over distances as long as 10 miles.

Watch a short film of African bush elephants in action.

Learn why elephants are called “ecosystem engineers”.

Lights Out: Recovering Our Night Sky

Experience the grandness of a starry night, discover the dark side of artificial lights, and find out how you can reduce light pollution and reconnect with the night sky.

Things to Do:

Look through a ”telescope“ into the past, adjust the skyglow in a famous painting, and see how artificial lights affect mating fireflies.

Find dark-sky sites around the world—there may be one near you!

Sea Monsters Unearthed: Life in Angola’s Ancient Seas

Get up close to the fossil remains of giant reptiles—mosasaurs(沧龙)and sea turtles—that once ruled the sea off the coast of West Africa 88—66 million years ago.

Things to Do:

Touch the teeth of a shell-crushing mosasaur.

Compare Angola’s ancient ocean ecosystems with today’s in a spinner interactive.

Take a photo of yourself with a massive mosasaur that’s ready to bite.

The Garden Lounge

Relax and recharge among an indoor garden of live plants.

Things to Do:

Play a sliding-door interactive game to learn how seeds spread.

Charge your mobile device.

Relax, breathe in deeply and sit for a while!

【推荐3】Hotels often undergo makeovers. However, few can compete with the Ice hotel in Jukkasjãrvi, Sweden. Carved entirely from “Snice”—a mix of snow and ice—the hotel is rebuilt annually, with each version more impressive than the previous one. The 32nd Ice hotel was open to guests on April 17, 2022.

The must-visit Swedish tourist destination came about accidentally. In 1989, Ice hotel’s founder Yngve Berquist organized an art show to attract tourists to Jukkasjärvi during the chilly winter months. The exhibition, held inside a 5.5-square-metre igloo (冰屋), was a runaway (迅速的) success. Many visitors decided to spend the night, selling out all of Jukkasjärvi’s warm houses. Hence, when a group approached Berquist about a place to spend the night, he offered them the igloo. “To my surprise, the guests were very impressed by the experience the morning after. Ice hotel was born,” Berquist recalls.

The Ice hotel has come a long way since its humble (简陋的)start. Constructed from 1, 000 tons of ice, and 30,000 tons of “Snice”, it now covers an area of over 5, 500 square metres, Preparations for the annual hotel begin in March with the harvesting of 5,000 tons of ice from the nearby Torne River. The ice is kept in cold storage until November when about 100 workers and artists get to work carving out a new structure. Ice hotel is typically open for business by mid-December.

This year’s hotel comprises 36 rooms, including 12 crafted art suites (套间). Decorated with massive ice stones and carved water shapes, it aims to provide visitors with a good nature experience. The “Dickensian Street” suite promises to take visitors on a tour of 19th-century England, complete with cobbled (铺鹅卵石的) streets, shops, and buildings from the era. Guests are advised to stay inside thermal (保暖的) sleeping bags and wear gloves and winter hats all night. Not surprisingly, most move to the conventional, warmer cabins nearby after a single night.

【推荐2】Earth Day: Kid Heroes for the Planet

On April 22, we celebrate Earth Day. On that day, people around the world work to help our planet. But many people, including kids, protect the Earth all year long Read about five inspiring kid heroes for the planet.

Saving the Frogs

Justin Sather is from Los Angeles, California. He has always loved frogs. When Justin was 5, he learned that their habitats (栖息地) were in danger. Justin started a group called For the Love of Frogs. He sold toy frogs to raise money to help them. Up till now, he has raised more than $20, 000 to support frog protection.

Growing Right

Aadya Joshi lives in Mumbai, India. When she was 15, she turned a junk lot in her neighborhood into a garden. She used native plants. Joshi said native plants attract native insects and animals. Now, she’s the leader of the organization The Right Green. She founded it to educate people about growing native plants and maintaining healthy ecosystems. Joshi also created a database of more than 2,000 plants in India. Joshi’s database is a resource where people can learn which kinds of plants are native to their area.

Cleaning Up

Jeremy Muchilwa, 13, and Michelle Muchilwa, 15, are siblings. They live in Kenya In June 2020, they participated in the Ocean Heroes Bootcamp. This inspired them to fight plastic pollution. They decided to create a campaign to pick up plastic waste in nearby Lake Victoria. Also, they worked with a research institute to find new ways to draw attention to plastic waste.

Creating Energy

Eleven-year-old Xavier Iglesias is from Florida. One day, Xavier was playing with a friend on an Astroturf field (人造草坪). He noticed the field was much hotter than real grass. It inspired him to invent SoleX Turf, which uses the heat from Astroturf to make electricity. Xavier said his invention creates electricity in a way that’s less harmful to the environment.

【推荐3】As a most popular tourist destination, Pearl Harbor is one of the most significant places in U.S. history and today. To make the most of your visit, consider one of these guided Pearl Harbor tours from Waikiki.