Activities, videos and other extras

SEPTEMBER 2024 ISSUE

Rubik’s Cube Crossword

Read “Fifty years of solving the Rubik’s Cube” (page 25) in our September 2024 to complete our latest crossword.

Superfast: Champion cuber

Ten-year-old Wang Yiheng is a Rubik’s Cube world record holder. In official competitions, each round consists of five solves. The fastest and slowest solves are not included. The average times of the middle three solves is calculated to decide who wins. At the Philippine Championship 2024, Yiheng scored an average speed of 4.36 seconds, beating the previous record (also held by him) of 4.69 seconds. Watch him in action below.

Superslow: Snail racing

You don’t have to be fast to be exciting, say fans of snail racing. Read about this unique competition in our September issue.

AUGUST 2024 ISSUE

Wooden Robots Crossword 

Read “Bringing wooden robots to life” (page 24-25) to complete our latest crossword.

Longest road-and-rail tunnel

Our August 2024 issue has a story on page 23-25 about the world’s longest road-and-rail tunnel being built in Europe. This video shows how this mega-project is being carried out.

JULY 2024 ISSUE

Takhi Horse Crossword

Read “Bringing the takhi back to the steppes of Central Asia” (page 8-9) in What’s Up July 2024 to complete our latest crossword. If you liked our story, you will probably also enjoy the short video below. “Przewalski” is the European name for what Mongolians call the takhi horse.

JUNE 2024 ISSUE

Lunar Water Crossword 

Read “The quest for lunar water” (page 16–17) in What’s Up June 2024 to complete our latest crossword.

MAY 2024 ISSUE

Theme Parks Crossword 

Read “Theme parks: Clash of the Titans” (page 14–15) in What’s Up May 2024 to complete our latest crossword.

APRIL 2024 ISSUE

Olympics Countdown Crossword 

Read “River of Olympic dreams” (page 26) in What’s Up April 2024 to complete our latest crossword.

MARCH 2024 ISSUE

Growing Peace Crossword

Read “Words of war” (page 12-13) and the animal stories in What’s Up March 2024 to complete our latest crossword.

FEBRUARY 2024 ISSUE

Taste in Music crossword

Read “Why people have different tastes in music” (page 26, What’s Up February 2024) to complete our latest crossword.

Maria Hertogh crossword

Our special online section on Maria Hertogh is out this month. Read it, then try this crossword.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

We hope you love our February issue cover photo of a tired young polar bear resting on a little iceberg. It was a People’s Choice award winner in the annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition organised by the Natural History Museum in London. Below is the photo again, plus two more stunning People’s Choice winners. Our March issue will show you two other amazing wildlife photos from the competition.

A young male polar bear that was swimming in the freezing sea off Norway climbed on top of a small iceberg and used his strong paws to carve out a bed for himself before drifting off to sleep. – Photo by Nima Sarikhani.

Starlings are little birds that fly together in giant flocks. They make patterns in the sky that sometimes resemble familiar shapes. After observing them for many days, the photographer shot them forming the shape of a giant bird. — Photo by Daniel Dencescu.

Below, moon jellyfish floating in the sea in Norway. Above, the spectacular natural lights of the aurora borealis. On their own, each is beautiful. Together, they create a truly magical scene. — Photo by Audun Rikardsen.

JANUARY 2024 ISSUE

Fortress crossword

Read our story about fortresses on pages 12-13 to complete our latest crossword.

Prehistoric sea monster

On page 16, we report on the discovery of a pliosaur skull. Here, you can watch a five-minute New Scientist video about this amazing find, followed by a three-minute clip from a BBC documentary.

https://youtu.be/q4ecYTEPvGE?si=E7Hj2ia_0HzNAsTA

OCTOBER 2023 ISSUE

Debunking myths crossword

Read the truths about four big myths on pages 20 to 24 to complete our latest crossword.

SEPTEMBER 2023 ISSUE

OUR NEW PRESIDENT

Tharman Shanmugaratnam was elected President on 1 September 2023 to take over from Halimah Yacob. Our September issue tells you more about him and what he cares about. Here is a preview of our articles, in time for the new President’s swearing-in on 14 September.

Respect For All Crossword

After reading the stories about our new President, try this crossword.

JUNE 2023 ISSUE

Pages 2-3 and 27 have gone online here.

Women’s World Cup Crossword

Read our stories on the Women’s World Cup on pages 1 and 26 to complete our latest crossword.

Cycling in the sky

Our June 2023 issue has a story about this unbelievable stunt, on page 27.

MAY 2023 ISSUE

Sea Creatures Crossword

Read our World Ocean Day stories and poster on pages 13–17 of our May 2023 issue to complete this crossword.

How Wolbachia helps combat dengue

This short video explains the Wolbachia strategy, which we write about on page 8 of our May 2023 issue.

Kungfu Nuns

Here is a short video about Nepal’s “kungfu nuns”, whom we write about on page 25 of our May 2023 issue.

APRIL 2023 ISSUE

Justice Crossword

“Rule of law” means that laws should apply to everyone equally. In the April issue of What’s Up, you’ll find two examples of even famous leaders not being excused. Read “Police arrest Donald Trump for secretly paying money to cover up his bad behaviour” (pages 1 & 28), and “Russia’s President Putin is wanted for war crimes” (page 12–13) to complete this crossword.

Flood rescue in Indonesia

In our story, “Coping with Jakarta’s sinkingground and rising watersground and rising waters”, we tell you about a group that is using technology to help disaster victims. This film creatively describes the work of the organisation.

MARCH 2023 ISSUE

Big Balloon Crossword

Read “Balloons are not just for fun” (page 14–15) to complete this crossword.

SailGP

Our story on page 22-23 tells you about the exciting SailGP yacht races. In this short video, you can find out more about the boat and how its crew operate it.


FEBRUARY 2023 ISSUE

Migratory Birds Crossword

Read “Nature’s long-distance travellers” (page 22–23) to complete this month’s crossword.

The Empty Quarter

Our story on page 26-27 tells us about the Empty Quarter — a vast desert region in Arabia. Watch this video about three brave women who crossed it on foot.


JANUARY 2023 ISSUE

Nuclear Fusion Crossword

Read our stories on pages 1 and 6 to complete this month’s crossword.

What is nuclear fusion?

This short video explains how nuclear fusion works. (The video was made before the breakthrough achieved in December, which our January issue described.)

Underwater cures

Marine creatures produce chemicals that could be used to treat diseases. Sam Afoullouss tells us more in this TED Talk. You can read it in our January issue.


OCTOBER 2022 ISSUE

Spectacular Sports Crossword

Read our special section on football’s World Cup 2022 (pages 11–17) to complete this crossword.

We hope you like our new-look What’s Up! From this month, Singapore’s newspaper for students goes bigger and brighter!

Our main photo on the cover is an outstanding entry in the London Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Below are a selection of winning entries.

Above: A selection of winning photos from the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photgrapher of the Year 2022 competition.

1. Winner, Behaviour: Mammals

The great cliff chase by Anand Nambiar, India. Anand Nambiar captured an unusual perspective of a snow leopard charging a herd of Himalayan ibex towards a steep edge in the Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh, India. Snow leopards live in some of the most extreme habitats in the world. They are now classed as vulnerable. Threats include climate change, mining, and hunting of both the snow leopards and their prey.

2. Winner, 11-14 Years

Out of the fog by Ismael Domínguez Gutiérrez, Spain. Ospreys are winter visitors to the province of Andalucía. The many reservoirs offer these fish‑eating raptors shallow, open water that is clearer than many rivers and lakes. When Ismael arrived at the wetland in Embalse de Los Hurones, Cádiz, Spain, he was disappointed not to be able to see beyond a few metres. But as the fog began to lift, it revealed the opportunity for this striking composition.

3. Winner, 15-17 Years

The beauty of baleen by Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn, Thailand. Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn captured the contrasting colours and textures of a Bryde’s whale, which surfaced close to his tour boat in Upper Gulf of Thailand, Phetchaburi, Thailand. Bryde’s whales have up to 370 pairs of grey-coloured plates of baleen growing inside their upper jaws. The plates are made of keratin, a protein that also forms human hair and nails, and are used to filter small prey from the ocean.

4. Winner, 10 Years and Under

Battle stations by Ekaterina Bee, Italy. It was near the end of a spring day trip with her family in Pian della Mussa, Piedmont, Italy, that Ekaterina spotted this fight between two Alpine ibex. The two ibex clashed horns and continued to trade blows while standing on their hind legs like boxers in a ring. In the early 1800s, following centuries of hunting, fewer than 100 Alpine ibex survived in the mountains on the Italy-France border. Successful conservation measures mean that, today, there are more than 50,000. 

SEPTEMBER 2022 ISSUE

Extreme Weather Crossword

Read “Countries are struggling with extreme weather” (page 1) to complete this crossword.

AUGUST 2022 ISSUE

Water Solutions Crossword

Read “Water solutions” (page 8-9) to complete this crossword.  

Aquaponics in a Jar

Here is an activity you can try at home. Click the image to go to the full graphic guide.

JULY 2022 ISSUE

Migrant Work Crossword

Read “World Cup workers: Qatar aims to treat workers better” (pages 10-11) and then try our crossword.

Cambodia’s stolen treasures

On pages 14-25, we tell you about the detectives who are hunting for stolen treasures in order to return them to the countries from where they belong. In this short BBC video, find out about some precious statues that the Cambodian government wants back.

JUNE 2022 ISSUE

World News Crossword

“News from everywhere” (pages 2-3, What’s Up June 2022) gives us some highlights of what is happening in various parts of the world. After reading it, try our crossword.

Following in the footsteps of great female explorers

MAY 2022 ISSUE

Cross-World Crossword

Read our story about the family that crossed the world together (“A family road trip that lasted 22 years”, page 15) then try our crossword.

APRIL 2022 ISSUE

Endurance Crossword

“Lost ship discovered in icy Antarctic waters” (page 8) tells a dramatic story of long-ago explorers, and how their ship has just been found. Read the story and complete this crossword.

Inspiring architect

Architect Diébédo Francis Kéré was named the winner of the 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize. We write about him in our April issue. In this video, he explains why he loves architecture and what he hopes to achieve through it.

MARCH 2022 ISSUE

Buskers Crossword

Our story “Bringing entertainment to the streets” (page 22) is a glimpse into the world of local buskers. Read the story and complete this crossword.

Do you know “net zero”?

Watch this video to find out more about this very important idea. Read about it in our March 2022 issue.

EXTRA

A war in Ukraine

Everyone is talking about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Read our online story here.

FEBRUARY 2022 ISSUE

Wild & Wonderful Crossword

Inspired by the nature photos in our February 2022 issue? Explore a jungle of words in our latest crossword.

Ancient port of Quanzhou is now a World Heritage Site

Read our story about this city and its connection to Singapore in our February 2022 issue.

Refugees helping to green their camp

Read about how Rohingya refugees are looking after their surroundings in our February 2022 issue.

Preparing Artemis I for launch

In our February 2022 issue, we tell you about NASA’s next mission to the moon.

JANUARY 2022 ISSUE

Big News Crossword

Try our crossword based on the first three pages of the January 2022 issue.

OCTOBER 2021 ISSUE

Cave Lion Cub Crossword

Enjoyed our story about purring prehistoric predators? Next, try our crossword.

SEPTEMBER 2021 ISSUE

Kaeng Krachan Crossword

Read the story about a famous natural wonder in Thailand. Then try our crossword.

AUGUST 2021 ISSUE

Leopard Cat Crossword

Has our story made you a fan of leopard cats? Sink your claws into our crossword!

Refugees with disabilities

The Paralympic Games in Tokyo allows athletes with disabilities to impress with their extraordinary abilities. Far away in Jordan, meet these children whose determination is equally impressive.

JULY 2021 ISSUE

Wally Funk Crossword

Inspired by the new space heroine? Now, try our crossword.

How to use your eyes

Can you spot the hidden messages in this piece of art? Take a look.

JUNE 2021 ISSUE

Kampong Crossword

Try it out! Click here.

How to use your eyes

Our new series will make you smarter at understanding and appreciating art. Take a look.

The Great Green Wall

Our story on page 6 told you about this important environmental project in Africa. Watch the video to find out more.

MAY 2021 ISSUE

Because of home-based learning, our May issue has gone online. Enjoy our stories here.

APRIL 2021 ISSUE

Zero Waste Activity

Did you try the activity on page 23? If you are ready to check the answers, go here.

Ancient City Crossword

Read our page 1 story about the stunning archaeological discovery in Egypt. Then, try our crossword based on the story.

To help you understand the story better, here is a short video:

MARCH 2021 ISSUE

Myanmar Crossword

Read our page 1 story about the troubles in Myanmar. Then, try our crossword based on the story.

A dedicated teacher

Meet Ranjitsinh Disale, the winner of the Global Teacher Prize 2020. You can read about him in our March 2021 issue.

FEBRUARY 2021 ISSUE

Olympic events

We hope the Tokyo Olympics can be conducted safely this August. One of the most popular events is basketball. In this video, find out more about the Philippines’ passion for this sport.

Make stress your friend

Psychologist Kelly McGonigal says we can see stress as positive, and reaching out to others can help us cope. Read her speech in our February issue.

JANUARY 2021 ISSUE

Invasive Species Crossword

You have read make-belief stories about alien invasions. Now, read about real-life invasions by hairy crabs and other creatures in the story “Hairy crabs: meal or menace?” (page 21). Try completing this crossword to find out how much you have learnt. Visit the crossword page.

Pop star’s speech at the United Nations

Listen to this inspiring message from BTS. Read the story on page 6 of What’s Up.

Tips for better sleep

Champion skateboarder’s music video

GO HERE FOR OUR 2020 ARCHIVE