4 . Last Friday, a special event took place at the National Theater of Korea. A robot called EveR 6 led an orchestra in a performance of Korean music. Robots have led orchestras in other countries, but this was the first time in Korea.

EveR 6 is a robot built by the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH). EveR 6 has joints in its neck, shoulders, elbows, and wrists. As a result, it can move its arms quickly and smoothly in many different directions. But EveR 6 doesn’t think on its own like some Artificial Intelligence (AI) programs. Instead, it has a limited group of movements that it has been trained to perform. EveR 6’s movements are based on movements “captured” from real human conductors.

In Friday’s performance, the National Orchestra of Korea presented a concert titled “Absence”. The concert included five different pieces of music. Two were conducted by EveR 6, and two were conducted by Soo-Yeoul Choi, who led the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra. Both conductors worked together on the final piece.

Mr. Choi was impressed with the way EveR 6 moved. But the robot’s greatest weakness is that it can’t hear. “Some people think that conducting is just a combination of hand waving and keeping the beat,” says Mr. Choi. But a good conductor needs to listen to the orchestra so that he or she can correct and encourage the orchestra as it plays.

Mr. Choi said that once EveR 6 started, the musicians had “no choice but to follow its beats.” He said this created a situation where “the performers have to communicate with each other to follow the right beats.” Mr. Choi doesn’t think robots are likely to replace human conductors. However, he believes robots could be helpful in situations like practice sessions where the same thing needs to be repeated many times.

5 . Here is a selection of books offering poems that range from being funny to being educational.

Containing a different poem for each day of the year, this beautiful book brings together a various selection of poetry inspired by the animal kingdom. There are old and new poems from all over the world, by poets including Lewis Carroll and Grace Nichols—as well as lots of attractive artwork.

The first collection from exciting new poet Laura Mucha explores all sorts of topics, such as science, space and classic fairy tales. Other poems are inspired by events that affect us today, such as Dear Key Workers, which praises those who have helped us all during the coronavirus pandemic.

There are all kinds of unexpected advice in this funny poetry book, whether you want to know about lively castles, breakfast or parrots. Bringing together lots of impressive poems by A. F. Harrold, it's also filled with fun illustrations by Mini Grey.

Two former Children's Laureates have joined forces to create this book. Michael Rosen has taken inspiration from his childhood and family history, as well as stories of migration from all over the world, to create poems that will leave you with lots to think about.