August 2026: Travel Through Time

What if you could journey into the past, glimpse the future or watch one of history’s greatest inventions being created?

The August 2026 MiniMag takes you on an adventure through time, science and discovery. Along the way, you’ll meet daring explorers, investigate remarkable animals, uncover ideas that changed the world and discover how curiosity can help you shape the future.

Join Tadeo Jones on a magical adventure

Tadeo Jones and his friends return to the cover of MiniMag with activities inspired by Tadeo Jones 4: The Magical Lamp.

Get ready to travel through history, solve puzzles and join an adventure filled with ancient mysteries. Tadeo may dream of becoming a famous archaeologist, but his greatest strength is his determination to keep exploring—even when things do not go according to plan.

Could time travel really be possible?

Stories often show characters stepping into machines and travelling hundreds of years into the past or future. But could anything like that ever happen in the real world?

In this issue, you’ll investigate the science behind time travel and discover why time does not always pass at exactly the same speed for everyone.

Albert Einstein showed that speed and gravity can affect time. Astronauts orbiting Earth even experience time slightly differently from people on the ground. The difference is incredibly small, but it proves that time is stranger than it first appears.

Travelling backwards through time remains firmly in the world of science fiction—but travelling into the future may not be quite as impossible as it sounds.

The inventions that changed everything

Long before computers, engines or electricity, early humans made discoveries that transformed their lives.

Learning to control fire provided warmth, protection and a way to cook food. Stone tools helped people hunt and build. Later inventions such as the wheel and writing changed how people travelled, traded and shared knowledge.

You’ll also travel back to the world of ancient thinkers and discover how early civilisations used observation, mathematics and engineering to understand the world around them.

Every modern invention began with someone noticing a problem and wondering: “Could there be a better way?”

Meet the masters of the night

Owls are some of nature’s most impressive nighttime hunters.

Their enormous eyes gather light in dark conditions, while specially adapted feathers help them fly with very little noise. Some owls can even use differences in the height and position of their ears to pinpoint sounds hidden beneath leaves, grass or snow.

Discover how these remarkable birds see, hear and hunt—and why an owl can turn its head much farther than you can without twisting it all the way around.

When animals become scientific partners

Animals do more than inspire us. Some actively help scientists make discoveries and protect the natural world.

Dogs can use their astonishing sense of smell to locate wildlife, detect certain diseases and find species that are difficult for humans to track. Other animals help researchers understand migration, communication, behaviour and changing environments.

By carefully observing animals, scientists can uncover information that would otherwise remain hidden.

Brilliant ideas borrowed from nature

Nature has spent millions of years developing clever solutions to difficult problems.

This has inspired engineers and inventors to study plants and animals when creating new technology. The tiny hooks on burrs helped inspire Velcro. The streamlined beak of a kingfisher influenced the design of a faster and quieter bullet train. Even surfaces that stay clean can be inspired by the way water rolls from certain leaves.

This process is called biomimicry: solving human problems by learning from the natural world.

Little players with enormous dreams

Every August, talented young baseball players gather in Pennsylvania for the Little League Baseball World Series.

Reaching the tournament takes skill, teamwork and months of practice. Players must learn how to stay calm under pressure, recover from mistakes and support their teammates whether they win or lose.

You can explore the complete story in our expanded feature, Little League Baseball: Where Big Dreams Begin, and discover how three small teams formed in 1939 grew into an international youth sports movement.

What makes a game feel good?

Have you ever played a game where jumping, steering or swinging a sword simply felt right?

This is known as game feel. It comes from the way a game responds to your actions through movement, animation, sound, visual effects and even controller vibration.

In this month’s Game On feature, you’ll look behind the screen to discover how game developers transform simple button presses into actions that feel exciting, powerful and satisfying.

Discover the hidden maths inside maps

Maps help you explore unfamiliar places, plan journeys and understand enormous areas from a much smaller view.

But turning our round planet into a flat map is not easy. Cartographers—or map-makers—use measurements, scale, symbols and mathematics to represent the world clearly.

Join Gami to investigate the clever calculations behind maps and discover why every map tells a story about the place it represents.

Start your August adventure

The August 2026 MiniMag is packed with fascinating facts, colourful features, puzzles and activities created to make learning feel like an adventure.

Read the new issue through the MiniMag web reader or mobile app, and enjoy trusted educational content wherever you are.

For more than 30 years, MiniMag has been helping young readers explore, discover and learn. Now a new generation of curious minds can enjoy every issue through our growing digital library.

 

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