Greetings intrepid interweb explorer, and welcome to AQUILA magazine’s extra special blog. Here you’ll find all kinds of facts, activities, competitions and general knowledge based nonsense. If you like what you see, you’ll definitely love our magazine.
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Make a Roman Dip Recipe
A POMPEII PARTY The ancient Romans loved their grub, and made the most of any opportunity to eat and drink together. Celebratory feasts were an
Graffiti in the age of the gladiators
Graffiti in the age of gladiators In Pompeii, in the first century CE, graffiti was everywhere. Over 11,000 examples have been found scrawled on the
Ancient Roman Feast
Roman Feasts When you sit at the table to eat a meal, are you expected to sit up properly, stop playing with your food and
Make a chocolate bar
MAKE A CHOCOLATE BAR Have a go at making this bonkers chocolate-y treat, it makes the perfect gift. You can tailor your bars to suit
Make a chocolate gift box
Make a chocolate gift box Is there someone in your life that deserves a box of chocolates? Sure, you COULD grab a box off the
Computer Chess – Man versus Machine
Man vs Machine – Computer Chess Computers are very clever machines. They follow sets of coded instructions called ‘programs’ to carry out lots of different
Do Animals Make Us Happy?
Do Animals Make Us Happy? If you’ve ever had a pet or struck up a friendship with someone else’s, you’ll probably already know the following
Plan your perfect day – activity
PLAN A DREAM DAY It feels good to do things for people we love and care about. How about planning a special day out for
Joyful activities – 29 days of joy
29 Days of Joy 2024 is a leap year, so to celebrate our Feel Good issue here are 29 joyful activities for you to have
Shark Quiz
Shark Quiz – Test your knowledge Sharks get such a bad rap. Films often depict them as dangerous predators ready to pounce as soon as
Zebra Sharks Baby Sharks
BABY SHARKS (do doo do do da doo) Have you seen one of these before? It’s a zebra shark (Stegostoma fasciatum). Actually I THINK you’ll
Write a Diary from the Deep – Inspired by Jacques Cousteau
WRITE A DIARY FROM THE DEEP Sacre bleu… It’s an underwater city! In AQUILA’s Undersea Explorer issue we found out all about the fascinating life
Working with Sharks
Jobs working with sharks Andre Hartmann, a South African diving guide can calm down a great white shark: ‘When the shark is next to the
What if the sun disappeared?
What if the Sun Disappeared? Don’t worry! The Sun’s not going anywhere. But hypothetically, we thought we’d explore what would happen to the Earth if
How to go stargazing
GUIDE TO STARGAZING Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered how to find the constellations? It might seem impossible at first,
Star facts for kids
SUPER STAR FACTS FOR KIDS! One way to make written information a little bit different is to use an acrostic. In an acrostic, the initial
Make Fabulous Festive Wrapping
MAKE FESTIVE WRAPPING PAPER Creating your own wrapping paper is lots of fun, saves money and can be better for the environment! Let’s use our
Make a Cosy Christmas Grotto and Pomanders
Make a cosy Christmas grotto! What could be more magical than creating your own Christmas nook to snuggle up in? Harvey wants you to be
Make Paper Star Decorations
MAKE PAPER STARS You might think Calculata and I don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but you’d be dead wrong! Actually we collaborate
Gingerbread Stars Recipe
Gingerbread stars YOU WILL NEED: ● 350 g plain flour ● 2 tsp ground ginger ● 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda ● 100 g butter
Mini Enterprise
You’re Hired! – Create a mini enterprise! Have you ever watched the TV show, Dragon’s Den? In it, budding entrepreneurs pitch their business plans on
Tulip Mania Money Bubble
Tulip Mania It’s easy to understand why people might get excited about some things: football, ‘Strictly’, ‘Dr Who’. But tulips? Surely no one could get
Make A Vendor’s Tray
MAKE AN INVITING VENDOR’S TRAY This eye-catching vendor’s tray is a really fun way to test out your newfound money-making skills. It can be used
Maths Hacks – Harry Potter Edition
Maths Hacks: Harry Potter Edition Do you have a kid who hates maths, but loves Harry Potter? Then these magical maths hacks are for you;
Maths Hacks – Gaming Edition
Maths Hacks: Gaming Edition We love finding maths in unexpected places – yes, even in gaming! Check out our top 5 maths hacks: Minecraft edition!
Maths Hacks – Football Edition
Maths Hacks: Football Edition Here at AQUILA HQ we’re passionate about learning being a lifelong pursuit and we truly believe that, however young or old
Maths Hacks – Music Edition
Maths Hacks: Music Edition Do you have a kid that ‘hates maths’ but loves music? Here’s one for the Swifty in your house! Let’s inspire
Maths Hacks – Baking Edition
Maths Hacks: Baking Edition Is your child a little afraid of maths? That’s understandable, lots of people are. There’s a lot to learn and sometimes
Charles Fraser-Smith
Charles Fraser-Smith, gadget-designing genius Have you ever looked at your hairbrush and thought: ‘I could definitely turn that into a hiding place for a map
Make A Secret Book Safe
MAKE A SECRET HOLLOW BOOK SAFE The main problem with living a life fraught with intrigue and mystery is that you’re always running out of
Super Sleuths Detective Fiction
Super Sleuths A Timeline of Detective Fiction – 1794 – William Godwin’s Things as They Are, or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams is often credited
Undercover Animals
UNDERCOVER ANIMALS If you’re on a secret mission a good disguise is important. The animal kingdom offers some of the best disguises out there. If
Make an Art Sculpture
Make a sculpture worthy of the Turner Prize! POLLY’S MISSION To celebrate this year’s Turner Prize exhibition (not to mention our brand new ART SHOW
History of Graffiti Art
The history of graffiti art On Tuesday 14 July 2020, the famous graffiti artist Banksy posted a video of his latest work on his Instagram
Make A Screen print
Super-duper screen printing Screen printing is a process used by artists and printers. By the 1600s it was a highly-developed art in China and Japan,
Recreate a Turner Masterpiece
Recreate a Turner Masterpiece Joseph Mallord (no, not like the duck) William Turner was born in London in 1775. His dad was a barber, but
What is Pop Art?
WHAT IS POP ART? Artists take inspiration from lots of different places and art comes in all kinds of shapes, sizes and styles. In the
Mythical Creatures Facts for Kids
Mythical creatures facts for kids Everyone loves a good mythical beast, don’t they? But do you know your harpy from your hippocampus? Stay tuned for
Magnificent Mermaid Facts for Kids
Magnificient Mermaid Facts for Kids Mermaids and mermen – aquatic creatures that are part-human and part-fish – feature in mythology from all over the world.
31 Days of Arty Summer Fun
31 Days of Arty Summer Fun Artists love to get up to ALL KINDS of shenanigans, and now it’s time for you to join in
Aquila magazine 30th Birthday
https://vimeo.com/847026372https://vimeo.com/847025047 30 YEARS OF AQUILA Unbelievably, AQUILA magazine is 30 years old this month! We’ve made around 360 issues and covered almost every topic, from
The Green Man Folklore
THE GREEN MAN You may not have noticed him, but the chances are you have already encountered the Green Man. He appears in lots of
Make Your Own Festival Mask
MAKE YOUR OWN MASK We have a trio of fabulous festival mask ideas for you to make at home – which one will you choose?
Make a Custom Jacket
Make a Custom Jacket Customising old and unwanted clothes can be a brilliant way to express your unique personality, save items from landfill AND spread
UK Fossil Hunting Guide
UK Fossil hunting guide Fossils are the remains of creatures and plants that died long ago and became preserved as stone. Many fossils were formed
Mary Anning: Dinosaur woman!
Mary Anning: Dinosaur woman! She sells seashells on the seashore. The shells she sells are seashells, I’m sure. So if she sells seashells on the
Make a Dinosaur Diorama Book Nook
Make a Dino Diorama Book Nook Have you ever loved a story so much that you wanted to disappear into it? Book nooks are mini
Dinosaur Fossil CSI
DINOSAUR DETECTIVES We can’t really clone dinosaurs, let alone create hybrids by combining the scariest bits of the nastiest beasts. Modern technology can, however, provide
Camping Calzone Cookalong
CAMPING CALZONE COOK-A-LONG Search Popular Keywords Categories No Record Found View All Results
Manga facts for kids
Manga facts for kids AQUILA’s May issue is all about Manga and frankly we are OBSESSED with discovering as much as we can about this
STEM Activity for Kids: Ramen Noodles Diffusion Detective
The history of instant noodles and the science of diffusion AQUILA Magazine is here with a blog all about instant noodles. A whole blog about
Make an Origami Fox
Make an Origami Fox Stuck on a train? In a traffic jam, or just whiling away the hours hanging out at home? Just beg, borrow
Japan and manga themed activities for kids
Six Japan and manga themed activities you HAVE to try Are you ready for SIX brand-spanking new Awesome Activities to accompany our Manga issue? This
How to Draw Manga Vol 1 – Create your own one-page comic!
How to Draw Manga – Vol 1 Manga are Japanese comics that lots of people love to read. Manga style was once defined as ‘brush
The Giants Causeway: Myth and Math
The Giant’s Causeway: Myth and Math The Giant’s Causeway, found on the north coast of Northern Ireland, is a jagged promontory of neatly-packed basalt rock
Giants of the Animal Kingdom
Giants of the Animal Kingdom Our planet is home to over eight million different species of animals and plants. Some grow to enormous sizes and can
Top 5 Biggest Small Animals
Top 5 Biggest Small Animals! What animals do you think of as typically small and cute? Butterflies? Frogs? For every tiny species, there’s got to
Blue Whale facts for kids
Big blue whale facts you won’t believe! In the Giants issue of AQUILA we took a look at the Antarctic blue whale’s unlikely comeback. Once
Giants in Mythology and Folklore
Giants in folklore, myth and legend Mythical giants are powerful, enormous humanoid beings. They appear in legends, myths and folklore from all over the world.
GIANT Themed Activities for Kids
Six giant themed activities you HAVE to try! Look what’s landed! It’s the Awesome Activities to complement AQUILA’s Giant issue, and they’re all MEGA –
Fun Activity for Kids: How to Make Giant Hands
Make GIANT Hands These gargantuan giant hands take a little bit of work to make but they’re so much fun to wear and play with
Bullet Trains
Bullet Trains Sometimes train travel is all about the journey. It’s a great opportunity to gaze out of a window and take in the scenery
Heath Robinson facts for kids
Meet Heath Robinson, original AQUILAnaut! Imagine for a moment that your name became so famous around the world that it actually entered the dictionary as
Beaver facts for kids
Brilliant Beaver Facts In the Ingenious Engineering issue of AQUILA Magazine we made a crafty camshaft-driven beaver automaton. But why did we choose a beaver?
Ingenious Engineering activities for kids
Busy Beavers, Building with Biscuits and Blowing Bubbles Here comes six brand-new Engineering Awesome Activities for our ingenious AQUILAnauts! We’ve got brilliant beavers, we’re building
AQUILA Mystery Mail Competition
AQUILA Mystery Mail Competition Now Closed To celebrate the launch of the AQUILA Blog we are giving one lucky family the chance to win our
Engineering facts for kids
Ingenious Engineering facts for kids Engineers are driven by a need to make things work better. They use creativity, maths and science to invent, build
Pancake Day and The Science of Pancakes
The Science of Pancakes Pancake day is here and we have the ultimate highly scientific AND delicious recipe for our hungry AQUILAnauts! Scroll down to
Fun Friendship activities for kids
Friendship Activities for Kids Our Friendship! issue is here and we’ve got a new bunch of Awesome Activities for you. These made everyone at AQUILA
Stem activity for kids: sticking and joining
Investigate the science of sticking and joining HARVEY’S MISSION There are lots of ways to join things together; you can glue, nail, stitch, paperclip, tape, tie
Wolf facts for kids
Wolf facts for kids Humans and dogs go so well together, don’t they? That is, unless you’re a cat person… we’ll save THAT discussion for
Make a salt dough medal
You can dough it! Now listen here, it simply isn’t fair that there are loads of trophies and medals you can win for things like
Make a wonderful colour wheel
Make a wonderful colour wheel POLLY’S MISSION Did you know that the idea of a colour wheel was first proposed by Sir Isaac Newton (yes,
Science of Colour activities for kids
Science of Colour activities for kids! Here’s the lowdown on another fresh batch of Awesome Activities for our eager AQUILAnauts! Come and join in the
Sensational Spring Festivals
Sensational Spring Festivals Christmas may be over for another year but don’t put away those party hats just yet! There is still plenty to celebrate.
Colour facts for Kids
Colour facts for Kids Hello, AQUILAnauts and Happy New Year! This month’s issue is all about the Science of Colour. So, are you ready to
Sweet Iced Houses
Iced sweet houses Why not have a go at making these no-cook sweet treats at home. They’re fun to make and even better to eat,
Make a Winter Woodland Diorama
Make a winter woodland diorama A diorama is a mobile theatre or three-dimensional model landscape. They were very popular in the 19th century, when they
Wintery Activities for Kids!
It’s December now and Christmas mode has been well and truly ACTIVATED. Accompanying our wonderful Winter Wild issue this month is a selection of new
Reindeer’s Route Finder
Santa’s made a friendly bet with his reindeers. If he solves this brainteaser, they promise to make him breakfast in bed for the whole of
Winter Wild – Facts for Kids
Winter Wild – Facts for Kids The month’s issue of AQUILA magazine is on the theme of Winter Wild! To get us thoroughly warmed up,
The Santa’s Sleigh Challenge
The Santa’s Sleigh Challenge Santa’s sleigh has seen better days. He’d love a new, modern, sleeker model. As the head of Santa’s specialised design team,
Taskmaster Education is coming to AQUILA magazine
Taskmaster Education is coming to AQUILA magazine Here at AQUILA HQ we’ve been holding on to some steaming hot news. ‘WHAT IS IT?’ I hear
Roll Up, Roll Up!
Our sensational Showstoppers issue was packed with fun – and there’s plenty more where that came from! An exciting array of Awesome Activities awaits our
Ten theatre facts for kids
This month’s Showstoppers issue of AQUILA is all about treading the boards. Let’s get our show on the road, with some thoroughly thespian theatrical facts.
Looking Book Competition
LOOKING BOOK COMP We had so many marvellous entries to our Looking Book competition that featured in the Time Travel issue (Jul/Aug 2022) of AQUILA.
Indigo Bing Competition NOW CLOSED
COMPETITION NOW CLOSED Announcing: Indigo Bing and the Missing Mind Disc Our brain-boggling postal escape room At last! Amazing news for AQUILAnauts and soon-to-be AQUILAnauts
Spooky Fun!
The leaves are falling, the nights are drawing in, and Halloween and bonfire night is just around the corner. It’s time to get cosy with
Make a lava lamp
Have you ever wanted to make your very own Lava Lamp?! Well now you can, in just 4 steps! Let’s go… See what effects you
Nine Spooky Facts For Kids
Fancy spicing up your Halloween with some sensational spooky facts for kids? Why not frighten, delight and discombobulate your mates with these absolute belters! 1.
How to Write a Creepy Ghost Story
Ghost stories have been around for thousands of years. The Assyrians wrote them down from around 3,000 BCE (that’s over 5,000 years ago) but spoken