A tiny scaly-eyed gecko, Lepidoblepharis buschwaldii, will never grow much larger than this one. It is so small, it can perch on top of a pencil with room to spare.

But it was just one of several amazing species found on an expedition to the disappearing forests of Ecuador.

Scientists also discovered creatures including a blunt-snouted, slug-sucking snake.  The 12ft long bushmaster viper has been hunted almost to extinction in many parts of its range. The slug-sucking snake, which features a oversized head and red beady eyes, belongs to a small group of serpents that specialise in eating snails and slugs and its closest relative is found nearly 350 miles away in Peru.

30 species of rain frog.  Researchers revealed the frogs have an extraordinary life-cycle – laying eggs in trees rather than ponds which then hatch out into tiny versions of the adults barely larger than a pinhead.  This little guy is a glass frog whose heart can be seen beating through its transparent chest.

And three species of lungless salamanders, that breathe through their skin, were also logged.

The region studied in western Ecuador is already over 95 per cent deforested with land often cleared for cattle grazing.  Mountaintop cloud forests are also under threat from global warming which could dry the atmosphere.

Disney has selected eight scenes from Hannah Montana, and they want you to recreate them.

The winners will winthe chnace to spend a “day in the life of Hannah Montana”, including:

• an acting lesson
• an overnight stay in a London hotel, being chauffeured around in a limousine
• and the opportunity to walk the red carpet at a Disney premiere.

Enter by yourself or with a friend.

Find out more, and enter by clicking here

Makeovers can work miracles and can boost a mum’s self-esteem.  New ID Studios are the UK’s premier makeover and photoshoot experts.  New ID Studios have a unique partnership with the prestigious Burlingtons hair salons and have even created their own innovative make-up range – New CID Cosmetics.  With talented photographers, contemporary studios, lively atmosphere and beautifully hand-crafted, exclusive frame collections, New ID Studios will capture you mum’s character and uniqueness to treasure forever.

New ID Studios have studios across the country in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Cardiff, as well as local concessions that cater more for families, kids and babies in Wimbledon, Holloway and within the Mothercare stores Watford, Edmonton, Croydon and Cardiff St David’s Shopping Centre.

New ID Studios and Fun Kids are offering one lucky mum a VIP makeover photoshoot worth over £5,000 that includes the following:

Welcome & consultation
Meet your stylist and discuss what look and pictures you’d like to achieve. If you don’t know, New ID experts will guide you through your session making sure you look and feel fantastic

Wash, cut and blow-dry by a Burlingtons stylist
Cut and finished in the style that you desire

Professional make-up application and tailoring
Expert make-up artists will create a look just for you – whether it’s smoky eyes, natural beauty or a full-on glamourpuss look you desire – they can do it all!

Professional photoshoot
The studios are fully equipped with a variety of props and backgrounds so you can get creative – and don’t forget to bring your favourite outfits for up to four changes

Private viewing session
See the results of the photo session from start to finish and pick your favourite shots

Complimentary prints and CD
Ten A4 prints of your choice plus the entire photoshoot on a disc

New ID Studios are also offering family photoshoots for Fun Kids listeners for the whole week at only £10!  This includes a photoshoot for up to 4 people and a complimentary CD image!
Visit www.newidstudios.com for details or call booking office 7 days a week on 0844 800 8884 and quote ‘Fun Kids Live’.

To enter the competition, click here

Competition closes at 1pm on 12th March

But when a great forest fire threatens to engulf Pontypandy, the  people of Pontypandy need Sam more than ever. Will Fireman Sam leave  his beloved town and will this be the end of Pontypandy?

Find out in THE GREAT FIRE OF PONTYPANDY!

The Great Fire of Pontypandy is the new Fireman Sam DVD that is released and available at all good retailers from 5th April.

To celebrate the new DVD, we have linked up with HIT Entertainment and VUE Cinemas.  We have five copies of the DVD and five family tickets (2 adults and 2 children) to give away for special preview screenings of The Great Fire of Pontypandy at VUE cinemas on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 March.

Ask your local VUE cinema or visit www.myvue.com for more detail.

To enter the competition, click here

View a clip from the DVD below

Competition closes at 1pm on Friday 12 March

Vue cinemas can be found at:

Aberdeen
Acton
Basingstoke
Birmingham
Blackburn
Bolton
Bristol Cribbs Causeway
Bristol Longwell Green
Bury
Camberley
Cambridge
Carlisle
Cheshire Oaks
Cleveleys
Croydon Grants
Croydon Purley Way
Cwmbran
Dagenham
Doncaster
Dublin
Eastleigh
Edinburgh Ocean
Edinburgh Omni
Exeter
Finchley North
Finchley Road
Fulham
Greenwich 02
Hamilton
Harrow
Hartlepool
Hull
Inverness
Islington
Lancaster
Leeds Kirkstall
Leeds Light
Leicester
Livingston
Merthyr Tydfil
Newbury
Newcastle-u-Lyme
Northampton
Norwich
Oxford
Plymouth
Portsmouth
Preston
Reading
Romford
Scunthorpe
Sheffield
Shepherd’s Bush
Southport
Staines
Stirling
Swansea
Thanet
Thurrock
Watford
West End
Westfield
Wood Green
Worcester
York

The film is a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana, a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana.

To accompany the film, there is a great collection of songs featuring Anika Noni Rose, Ne-Yo and Randy Newman.

We’ve got four copies of the CD Soundtrack to give away. To enter, click here

Competition closes at 1 pm on 12th March

Blue Chameleon
by Emily Gravett

Blue Chameleon is, well, blue. He’s lonely and does everything to fit in to try to find a friend. He turns stripy with stripy sock, swirly with swirly snail, and green with the green grasshopper. Nothing seems to work. But just as he’s about to give up, he discovers a true friend. The beautiful artwork and humour gives this story as much appeal to adults as the young children they are sharing the story with. The illustrations are distinctive, clever and funny and also provide a wonderful introduction to colour.

Macmillan Children’s Books
£10.99 (hardback)
Buy now with Fun Kids

For older children

How to Train Your Dragon
by Cressida Cowell

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell is about to be released as an animated film, so you can encourage your children to read the book before they see the film. Not that they will need much persuasion to read this story, once they start. Cowell has produced a believable and heartfelt hero in Hiccup who many children will identify with, even if his lifestyle as the son of a Viking chieftan is not one they recognise. In this story, Hiccup has to first catch and then train a dragon to prove himself worthy of the name, Viking. The story is full of surprising twists, and very funny. Children aged 7+ will love it.

Hodder Children’s Books
£5.99 (paperback)
Buy now with Fun Kids

Our Books of the Week is in association with the ReadingZone

• The children’s books website www.ReadingZone.com aims to help families to support their children’s reading by suggesting the best books available.
• The website provides news about books and authors, competitions, author interviews and recommendations, and there are distinct areas for children themselves to explore new releases.

“Angelina Ballerina: Just Dance!”

In the new DVD, Angelina Ballerina has just moved house and is about to start at her new school – Camembert Academy.

With exciting new friends, new forms of dance to explore and lots of fun things to do, it’s a thrilling new adventure!

We have five copies of the DVD to give away.  To enter, answer this question, click here.

Competition closes at 1pm on 12th March

In the latest installment, Nanny McPhee appears at the door of a harried young mother, Mrs. Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who is trying to run the family farm while her husband is away at war. But once she’s arrived, Nanny McPhee discovers that Mrs. Green’s children are fighting a war of their own against two spoiled city cousins who have just moved in and refuse to leave.

Relying on everything from a flying motorcycle and a statue that comes to life to a tree-climbing piglet and a baby elephant who turns up in the oddest places, Nanny McPhee uses her magic to teach her mischievous charges five new lessons.

Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang is released in cinemas across the UK on March 26th but grab a clip of the film now

Click to visit the Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang website

A Universal Picture © 2010 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Hi, we’re Boots, Bex, Boxer, Skippy and Ping and we’re the 2009 Juice Crew! Welcome to our Fun Kids Fruit Shoot page!

Last year we were chosen to star in the Fruit Shoot TV ad to show off our special skills and now we’re looking for the next generation Juice Crew with some cool skills to star in this year’s Fruit Shoot ad.

No matter what skills you have, you can try to become part of our Crew.  All you have to do is get practising the skill that makes you special – it could be anything from gymnastics to juggling, break dancing to body popping or even magic tricks, puppetry or Ping Cup!

Read on to find out about the 2009 Juice Crew and how you could audition to be part of the 2010 Juice Crew!

Boxer
Hi I’m Boxer. My real name is Alvie and I’m 12.

I’ve been beat boxing for as long as I can remember but last year all my practice paid off when I was chosen to star in a TV ad for Fruit Shoot, which meant that I was seen on TV in front of millions of people.

Bex
Hi, I’m Bex.  My real name is Althea and I’m 11.

I’ve been playing football for quite a long time, but when I was eight, I was scouted by Manchester United and now play for their girls team. At the moment I’m their top goal scorer and the only player on the team to score from a free kick! I love playing sports, so if you have a skill you love, why don’t you come down to one of the 2010 auditions and show us your cool skills.

Boots
Hi. I’m Boots.  My real name is Josh and I’m 12.

I started to develop my keepy uppy skills after I went to a Brazillian soccer school two years ago. When I first started playing football I was no different to anyone else. Although I had to practise loads, I can now do 4,000 keepy uppy’s a day and I even get called the UK’s youngest freestyler!

Skippy
Hi, I’m Skippy.  My real name is Chloe and I’m 13.

I love skipping and it obviously showed because now I’m part of the British Skipping team and have even qualified to represent the UK in the World Youth Masters 2010. We’re not necessarily looking for the skipping stars of the future- if you’ve got any sort of skill at all then come and let us know. Being part of the Juice Crew  is great fun and it could be you taking part in interviews, photo shoots and making ads!

Ping
Hi, I’m Ping.  My real name is Malachi and I’m 11.

I play Ping Cup, which is where you have to bounce a ping pong ball off different surfaces and hope that it ends up in a cup! With a bit of practice, I was chosen as the Ping Cup king, which proves that practice really does pay off.

So why not show us why you should be part of the crew!
You can enter online from the 12th March at www.fruitshoot.com or head down to one of the regional auditions in the Easter holidays. Keep an eye on the Fruit Shoot website for more details.

Check out this cool video

The aim of The Times Spelling Bee Championship is to help make spelling fun and provides the chance for pupils to display their talents and mastery of spelling. The live spelling competitions are exciting and entertaining and families and parents of students in the school team will be welcome to come and watch.  With prizes for both the winning school team and their school.

The Championship

• Schools from across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are taking part in the second Times Spelling Bee Championship. Each team will include four members – three team players and one reserve.
• The Championship starts on March 8  when schools go head to head in live local knockout spelling heats.
• The winning teams will then progress to the Semi-Finals, which will take place in May. The climax will be the Grand Final, which will be held in London in June 2010. This will be a high-profile event featured in The Times newspaper and on Times Online.
• The Times is a committed supporter of standards of English and the aim of the Championship is to make spelling fun and to help teachers to raise the profile of spelling and develop the talents of their students. The Times Spelling Bee is supported by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
• The Championship provides the chance for students to display their mastery of spelling and to be part of a high-profile nationwide contest with other schools throughout the country.

James Harding, Editor of The Times - “Spelling is important, but learning to spell can be frustrating perplexing and bewildering. Our aim through The Times Spelling Bee is to help to make spelling fun. I’m very excited to be launching the 2010 championship and wish all the teams taking part the best of luck. I hope your school will take the opportunity to enter a team and fingers crossed that I might see you all at the 2010 championship Grand Final.”

Find out more at www.timesspellingbee.co.uk

Mini Bees

• Spelling Bee comes to primary schools!
• There are some games that are ideal preparation for 5-11-year-olds to become future Times Spelling Bee champions.
• The games are divided into three reading age groups – five to seven, seven to nine, and nine to eleven years old – and can be played in the classroom or at home.
• Each month there will be a special Mini Bees game with words on a particular theme, such as science, geography or nature.
• And, in the Mini Bees Extra area, the Times has joined forces with Microsoft to create even more themed activities for primary school children to enjoy.

www.timesspellingbee.co.uk/minibees

Personal Trainer

• To become a true spelling champion one needs to master those frustratingly tricky words which rear their ugly heads every few games or so. That’s what the Personal Trainer is for.
• It keeps a record of all the words a player misspells, and then allows them to play a set of their personal misspellings in one convenient game.
• Once a player finally spells a word correctly, it is removed from their misspellings pot. Spell it wrong again, and back in it goes!

www.timesspellingbee.co.uk/personaltrainer

Head-to-Head

• Existing Spelling Bee players may know that it is already possible to challenge another player to a game.
• We have been working hard to make the process of challenging an opponent easier and more streamlined. It is now possible to challenge an opponent in a couple of clicks.

www.timesspellingbee.co.uk/headtohead