Children talk about their favourite books

To celebrate Children's Book Week, the charity Booktrust has compiled a list of 100 books that they say every child should read by the age of 14.

But what makes a great book and why?

BBC News asked some children about their own favourite books.

Psychedelic science

Swiss artist and photographer Fabian Oefner is on a mission to make eye-catching art from everyday science. In this charming talk, he shows off some recent psychedelic images, including photographs of crystals as they interact with soundwaves. And, in a live demo, he shows what really happens when you mix paint with magnetic liquid--or when you set fire to whiskey.

The Swarmbots Have Arrived

MIT scientist John Romanishin has done what some said couldn't be done: He has created a mini-cube robot that has no external moving parts yet can move, climb, leap, and -- most importantly -- work together with its fellows to create larger shapes.

 MIT robotics professor Daniela Rus says that unlike fixed-architecture robots -- which are usually meant to perform a single task -- the cubes can be assembled and reassembled into different shapes that can perform a variety of tasks. Currently they receive commands from a computer via a radio, but eventually the team plans to build algorithms into the cubes themselves so that, according to post-doc Kyle Gilpin, a swarm of cubes can figure out on their own the best way to complete a task given to them. This could allow such swarms to temporarily repair large structures during an emergency, or enter dangerous environments to identify problems and help provide solutions.

Map of the World's Most Popular Websites

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Alan Turing

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The Curiosity Machine

The Curiosity Machine

The Curiosity Machine is a web based STEM learning portal that introduces young students to scientists and their work. There are videos of scientists talking about their research, along with instructions for associated experiments for kids to partake in. Even better: there’s an interactive portion, where the students can upload videos of their experiment for the scientists to give feedback on.