Table of contents for September 2020 in K-Zone

GET INTO 5th Be Late For Something Day 6th Fight Procrastination Day 6th Read a Book Day 8th International Literacy Day 10th Swap Ideas Day 13th Positive Thinking Day 15th Make a Hat Day 16th Collect Rocks Day 19th International Talk Like A Pirate Day 21st World Gratitude Day 22nd Elephant Appreciation Day 22nd Hobbit Day SPORT 3rd Broncos vs Panthers in NRL 6th 2020 Italian Grand Prix 27th Warriors vs Sea Eagles in NRL HAPPY BIRTHDAY 1st Zendaya, AKA MJ 6th Asher Angel, AKA Billy Batson 10th K-Zoner Connor 15th Ben Schwartz, AKA Sonic 23rd Anthony Mackie, AKA Sam Wilson 25th Mark Hamill, AKA Luke Skywalker 26th Serena Williams 29th Zachary Levi, AKA Shazam SCHOOL 18th Last day of school in Qld and Vic 25th Last day of school…

As the founder of DeadlyScience, Corey Tutt loves sharing cool science facts. He’s also the 2020 NSW Young Australian of the Year. Wow! DeadlyScience provides science books and equipment to remote schools in Australia. For more information, you can visit www.deadlyscience.icu! INTRODUCING THE SPIDER WASP The spider wasp (Pompilidae) actively hunts spiders and is the only known predator of redback spiders. The spider wasp injects unsuspecting spiders with a paralytic venom, leaving their prey defenceless. Using their super strength, the wasp carries the spider back to a hollow or nest. The wasp then lays eggs inside the spider’s brain, while the spider is still alive and motionless. Ewww! Once the eggs have hatched, the baby wasps devour the spider. Spider wasps are found all over mainland Australia and Tasmania. The…

I STARTED COLLECTING FUNKO ITEMS… After my brother gave me a Sheldon Cooper Pop! (my first Pop!) for my 14th birthday. I didn’t know much about Funko at the time. MY COLLECTION INCLUDES… Funko Pop! Vinyls, but I also have many other items, like Funko PEZ, Funko Sodas, Funko Vynls, Funko plush and Funko clothes. I also just purchased my 2000th Funko Pop! My entire collection is currently valued at $68,342 (USD $48,176), according to the Funko App. I LOVE FUNKO BECAUSE… There’s literally something for everyone. Like it says, ‘fun’ is in the name. You can casually collect certain lines, or go all in – like I did. Funko goes out of their way to make collecting fun for fans. It’s not like any other company! I STARTED FILMING…

K-Z: Hello Billie! What’s the best thing about being a WWE Superstar? B: I was always obsessed with, and fascinated by, WWE. I wanted to be a WWE Superstar since I was 10. Now I can say I’m living that dream. K-Z: What’s your career highlight so far? B: At last year’s Wrestle Mania, Peyton (my lovely tag partner) and I won the Women’s Tag Team Championship. It was our first Wrestle Mania as The II conics and we won a championship. Not many people can say they have done that at Wrestle Mania, so it’s definitely a highlight. K-Z: Were you a mega fan as a kid? B: My brother and his friends used to pack into our living room and watch all the pay-per-views. I would make signs…

Meet Dr Yanni Chin, a toxinologist and structural biologist who is currently a researcher at the University of Queensland (UQ). K-Z: Hi Yanni! What does a toxinologist and structural biologist do? Y: I study toxins; the natural molecules secreted by organisms that are toxic or injurious to other living organisms. I’m interested in knowing what toxins do and how they do it. I am specialised in the study of toxins derived from animal venoms, such as spiders, centipedes, sea anemones and scorpions. These animals use venoms to capture prey and for defense, so venoms are important for their survival. The better and more effective the toxins in venom can be, the better chance the animals have to survive. The ‘effectiveness’ of a toxin depends on its 3-dimensional structure. Many toxins…

Hi Game Ninja, In Luigi’s Mansion 3, I can’t find the Maid ghost. She is supposed to be in the bedroom, but I have looked everywhere and I can’t find her. Could you please help me? JOHNNY, VIA EMAIL The mysterious Maid ghost is on the fifth floor. After E. Gadd asks you to collect his briefcase, head to the fifth floor. The Maid ghost moves between rooms. First, she will be in room 508, and once she noms the briefcase, the Maid phases through the wall to room 507. Once you have managed to clean out the main room and bathroom of 508, head back to 507 to battle her. Hey Game Ninja, How do you get to the Mill in Ori and the Will of the Wisps? TRISTAN,…

Q What is the saltiest letter of the alphabet? A The ‘C’! Caden, NZ Q Why couldn’t the A dollar change? It had no cents! Xavier, Qld Q Why was the baseball batter sent to jail? A He was caught stealing bases! Miki, SA Q What do snakes and songs have in common? A Scales! Taj, NSW Q Where do hungry travelling ghosts stop for the night? A The roadside restaur-haunt! Holly, Vic I heard the tooth fairy has a special this week... Toof-for-two Tuesdays! Bradley, Tas Knock, knock! Who’s there? Boo! Boo who? You. Let us in! Kade, ACT Q Which room spends most of its time in darkness? A A mushroom! Isabella, Tas Q Why do Hawkeye and Green Arrow dislike each other? A They are archer enemies!…

JANUARY THE THINKER Mario Party: Star Rush FEBRUARY THE CREATOR Super Mario Maker 2 MARCH THE ARTIST Paper Mario: The Origami King APRIL THE FIXER Super Mario Bros. MAY THE PARTY PAL Super Mario Party JUNE THE EXPLORER Super Mario Galaxy JULY THE ADVENTURER Super Mario Odyssey AUGUST THE MAKER LEGO Super Mario SEPTEMBER THE FIGHTER Super Smash Bros. OCTOBER THE HEALER Dr. Mario World NOVEMBER THE SPEEDSTER Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DECEMBER THE SPORTS STAR Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games…

We Want YOU! Have you made something AMAZING on your computer, console, tablet or phone? To be in ScreenSpace, visit www.kzone.com.au and click on ‘Be in K-Zone’! Go to ‘ScreenSpace’ to submit your epic gaming screenshot, coding creation and digital artwork. Remember K-Zoners, it’s all about protecting your identity. Be a safe gamer and don’t talk to anyone online who you don’t know for real.…

GAMING NEWS An original sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. from 1985 holds the new record for highest selling videogame at an auction. The item sold for $162,000 at a Heritage Auctions’ Comics and Comic Art online event in July. The game was packaged in a box with a cardboard hang tab underneath the plastic, making it part of a limited production run and one of the first variants produced after Nintendo started using shrink-wrap to seal games. Wow! SPACE NEWS NASA, working with the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), has found a baby planet called ‘AU Mic b’! The planet is 32 light years from Earth, and was found orbiting the young star AU Microscopii (‘AU Mic’). AU Mic b orbits close to the star and is about 8%…

KOAL-ITY CARE Koalas rescued from Australia’s bushfires have been returning home, after recovering with the care of wildlife rehabilitation groups and volunteers. One of the first koalas to be treated at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital was a young koala called Anwen. The four-year-old female was found during bushfires in October 2019, in Lake Innes Nature Reserve. Anwen’s hands, feet, arms and fur were badly burned, and photos of her were shared around the world. After five months of care, Anwen’s burns healed and she was one of several koalas released into their habitat in April 2020. Many koalas and other wildlife were injured and affected by Australia’s recent bushfires, and organisations and volunteers continue to care for animals. Donations to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital help with the rescue…

HOW TO PLAY Players pretend the floor or ground is made of lava, and must avoid touching the ground. Why? Touching the ground would mean the player is out of the game – it’s extremely hot lava! The players can stay off the floor by standing on furniture, the architecture of a room, or other objects. Players can’t remain still, and need to move quickly from one point to the next. Experts believe this is because the furniture and other items will sink into the lava the longer you remain on it. Some players also use another rule, where certain items have time-limits for use. You can play with a group, or alone – either way, you need to survive! Start the game by shouting ‘The floor is lava’. Anyone…

GAMES BY THE NUMBERS 3 (or more) magical stones in Harry Potter: Puzzles and Spells need to be linked, to blast your way through stacks more than 9 and 3/4 stages. Unlock the magic on iOS and Android! 18 tunes from ARMS are now in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Min Min from ARMS is the punchy new brawler! She works best at keeping other fighters at range. 100 puzzle-packed levels await in Pokémon Café Mix for Switch, iOS and Android. Build up combos in this Poké-pairing pursuit of massive scores!…

WE BARE BEARS: THE MOVIE SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12 AT 8:45AM, 3:00PM AND 7:00PM ON CARTOON NETWORK When the bears’ love for food trucks and viral videos gets out of control, the trio catch the attention of National Wildlife Control. A menacing agent wants to separate Grizz, Panda and Ice Bear forever! After the bears are chased from their home, Grizz decides that they must all move to Canada. The journey will force the brothers to remember how they met, in order to remain together. WATCH OUT FOR: AGENT TROUT! AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER STREAMING NOW ON NETFLIX In a world where people can manipulate one element (air, water, earth or fire) through ‘bending’, only the Avatar can bend all four. When siblings Katara and Sokka free Aang (the Avatar and…

SPEEDY STAR Name: Conor Heroic feat: He is a speedcuber, and holds the National Single and Average record for the Skewb event! FAST FIVE WITH CONOR K-Z: Hi Conor! Why did you start speedcubing? C: I got a Rubik’s Cube for Christmas in 2016 and I was immediately fascinated by the challenge of solving the world’s most difficult puzzle. I found a tutorial online and could solve the cube in a couple of months. Soon my times started dropping and I learned to solve other puzzles, like the 2x2 and 4x4 cubes. From there I just fell down the rabbit hole. K-Z: When did you start competing? C: My first competition was on December 8-9 in Altona. I competed in 3x3, 4x4, 7x7, 3x3 Blindfolded and 3x3 One-handed. I went…

NAME: Kaelin LOCATION: NZ WHAT DID YOU PLAY? Monopoly Voice Banking! HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO THE ORIGINAL GAME? It is electronically advanced and a lot quicker. It’s just as fun as the original! WHAT DID YOU LIKE? You don’t have to use any notes, Chance cards or Community Chest cards, which means no more devastating spills! WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? It sometimes doesn’t pick up on your voice, but that’s nothing compared to how easy it is! RATING: 4.5 OUT OF 5 TOP HATS YOU GET IT! As the You Rate It! star this month, Kaelin has scored the Rubik’s Battle Card Game!…

THE FASTEST COMPLETION OF CRASH BANDICOOT: N. SANE TRILOGY (PC) US player ‘DepCow’ achieved a new record of 42 minutes and 10 seconds on March 19, 2020! FASTEST TIME TO BUILD A HOUSE IN MINECRAFT SURVIVAL MODE Christopher Rüsch in Germany achieved this record on June 4, 2018. The build took 3 minutes and 24 seconds! OLDEST GAMING YOUTUBER Hamako Mori, AKA the ‘Gamer Grandma’, is a 90-year-old gamer from Japan who shares her love for gaming on YouTube. She was officially verified as the record holder on November 25, 2019, at 89 years and 280 days old! YOUNGEST POKÉMON OCEANIA INTERNATIONAL VIDEO GAME JUNIOR DIVISION CHAMPION Simone Lim from Singapore is the 2020 Pokémon Oceania International Champion of the Video Game Junior Division. The 7-year-old won the Championship event…

EXTREME RISK Maleo birds in Indonesia bury their eggs in soil near volcanoes! Once the heat helps the eggs hatch, the chicks claw their way to the surface. EXTREME EATS Baby koalas, or ‘joeys’, eat the mother’s poo. After six months of milk, the mother produces a protein-rich substance called ‘pap’ to prepare the joey for digesting eucalyptus leaves.. EXTREME PRINTING The world’s biggest 3D printer produced a boat that was 7.6m long and over 2200kg. EXTREME STRETCH Ciela Villa, a fifth grader from New York City, nabbed the Guinness World Record for ‘longest distance to stretch home-made slime in 30 seconds’, at a whopping 2.22m long! EXTREME EXPLOSION The biggest cosmic explosion was around 390 million light years from Earth, in the Ophiuchus galaxy cluster. The event formed a…

AMAZING ATHLETES 40 INSPIRING ICONS JEAN-MICHEL BILLIOUD ILLUSTRATED BY GONOH The top Olympic athletes are responsible for smashing records, achieving incredible athletic feats, and winning medals. Each pair of pages presents an athlete, and highlights the key facts about their career, honours, stats and legendary performances, with an awesome illustration. TO BE AMAZED! AUSSIE KIDS MEET SAM AT THE MANGROVE RIVER PAUL SEDEN AND BRENTON MCKENNA Visit Sam in the Northern Territory! He has a new throw net, and he can’t wait to try it out with his cuz, Peter. Sam lives close to the beach, but it’s great to go fishing in the mangrove creek. The pair want to catch a big barramundi, but it’s almost high tide, and Peter packed bananas – which everyone knows is bad luck…

HUTTSGALOR HUNT Dive into the word find and spot the character names and species! WORD BANK AGGRO BURPLE CUTTER DAK FASTFIN FIRE FURY LEYLA RELENTLESS RAZORWING ROCKSPITTER SLINKWING SUMMER SWIFTWING WINGER SPECIES SCRAMBLE How well do you know your Dragons? Match the clues to the species! 1 Tracker Class We breathe the standard orange and yellow flames, have excellent eyesight and have a slicing tail! 2 Boulder Class We shoot objects from our mouth! Projectiles can be stored in our four stomachs for later use. 3 Stoker Class Our curled horns are a unique feature. Our fire type is normal, so we can breathe streams of fire or fireballs! 4 Tidal Class We don’t have claws, but we do breathe streams of water strong enough to move a heavy creature!…