''Aquila'' is a monthly UK-based educational children's

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

that offers an alternative to mainstream publications. It is for boys and girls of 8-13 and features puzzles, fun facts and activities. The magazine is advertisement-free. Each issue revolves mainly around a specific topic, for example

Captain Cook Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 1768 and 1779. He complet ...

, Science Special,

The Equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumference, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can al ...

and

Medieval Times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

- all covered in 2013. The "lively and informative" magazine is aimed at bright pre-teenagers interested in hobbies beyond pop music and soaps, who "need to be able to feel good about themselves" and to realise that "there are other children out there like them" according to D J Taylor's article in ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'' in 2003. ''Aquila'' was established in 1993 and is owned and run by New Leaf Publishing Ltd, a small independent publishing house situated in the coastal town of

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

in England. ATE Superweeks, a UK summer camp provider, works in association with ''Aquila'' magazine to run an annual summer camp. In 2012 the camp was called The Eco-Venture and had a focus on the environment.

Features

Aquila peers into the past.... :A history feature which spotlights many different topics and famous people. Past examples have included the invention of the

metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...

and

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

.Aquila Magazine, September 2017 (The Elizabethans) Just Think :Aquila also has a feature called "Just Think..." (later "Just Think About..."), which introduced basic philosophical concepts, which disappeared in September 2017 and made a comeback in February 2018 with new art. Science Scene :A topic–related page introducing scientific ideas and famous scientists, often including a practical experiment, for example clouds and static lightning. Examples have included a biography of

Alfred Nobel Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( ; ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, inventor, engineer, and businessman. He is known for inventing dynamite, as well as having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes. He also m ...

and a page explaining how carbon atoms work. Things to make :Arts and crafts page, with creative projects (for example a rooster kite), methods of painting, and sometimes includes biographies of famous artists. Astra's Guide To Space :This pages explores stars, planets and their moons, with up-to-date information of the latest

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

projects and findings. It has featured facts about the planets,

black hole A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...

s, dinosaurs, gravity, and the question " is there life on other planets?" Our World :Discusses important environmental issues, and themes such as evolution, how people live and their beliefs in countries worldwide,

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, wildlife projects, time etc. Brainfeeders :A monthly spread full of word and

logic puzzles A logic puzzle is a puzzle deriving from the mathematical field of deduction. History The logic puzzle was first produced by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who is better known under his pen name Lewis Carroll, the author of ''Alice's Adventures in ...

, general knowledge – all topic related. Answers appear at the inside back cover of the magazine. Book Club :Run by Wordworm, this section interviews authors of certain books, for example ''The Bone Sparrow'' by

Zana Fraillon Zana Fraillon (born 1981) is an Australian writer of fiction for children and young adults based in Melbourne, Australia. Fraillon is known for writing in fiction about human rights abuses and in 2017 she won an Amnesty CILIP Honour fo ...

. It is supported by Book Trust. Story :Every month a two-page story from new writers, often running to two monthly parts. Aquila News (previously Over To You) :A page where readers can send in letters, reviews, stories, or poems. Pen Friend Club :Readers who are looking for penfriends send in details of their name, age, interests and what sort of penfriend they are looking for. This item appears very occasionally, and has now disappeared due to the growing number of 'Aquilanauts' or readers of Aquila. Competitions :Each magazine features competitions. Every year, there is a "Finish the Story" challenge. Winners are always credited in later magazines and often their practical work will be reproduced.

Features that no longer exist

Wordworm :Once a feature related to English, in the earliest issues, Wordworm's pages regularly featured a list of words linked to the month's topic, with multiple choice definitions. The reader then had to identify the correct definition. Magic Maths (previously Fun with Maths) :A page usually featuring number puzzles, but also occasionally introducing mathematical concepts and explaining them in detail. Examples of factual pages have included a feature on prime numbers, and the

Golden Ratio In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their summation, sum to the larger of the two quantities. Expressed algebraically, for quantities and with , is in a golden ratio to if \fr ...

. Very occasionally, the page featured a biography of a famous mathematician. In later issues, it moved to the back of the magazine, and became half a page, and in September 2017, it was replaced by an activity to make a

pomander A pomander, from French language, French ''pomme d'ambre'', i.e., apple of amber, is a ball made for perfumes, such as ambergris (hence the name), musk, or civet (perfumery), civet. The pomander was worn or carried in a case as a protection agai ...

, and finally disappeared altogether to make more room for ''Aquila News''.Aquila Magazine, October 2017 (Forest Adventure) It's The Law :In older issues, "It's The Law" occasionally replaced ''Aquila peers into the past...'', and it explained the laws that may affect Aquila readers, and how laws are passed. On Track :An occasional feature which outlines the basic principles of many different sports from football to the less well known, or even invented games. In Tune :A music page called "In Tune" runs occasionally. It has covered famous composers, choir singing and making music. Paws for thought :The office terrier named Pepe has his own page where he has tips for pet owners, and articles about animals.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aquila (Children's Magazine) Children's magazines published in the United Kingdom Education magazines English-language magazines Magazines established in 1993 Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom