About NOVA News

What NOVA News is

NOVA News is an independent learning site made in Australia. It takes real news and big ideas from science, space, history, geography, maths, technology, the arts and money, and turns them into short stories that young people actually want to read.

Every story is matched to a subject and a year level of the Australian Curriculum, from Year 3 up. After reading, members answer quick comprehension questions, earn XP, and collect characters in a card game that rewards reading and thinking. The idea is simple: learning that doesn't feel like homework.

How it started

NOVA News was started by a school student who wanted a better way to keep up with the news: something that connected to what he was learning in class and was written for readers his age. It is a small, family-run project, with a parent helping to run the site and keep it safe.

Two parts: free and members-only

NOVA Learn is free for everyone. It is a growing library of explainers such as why kangaroos hop, each checked against trusted sources, with a real photo, a "Words to know" list, a hands-on activity and a quick quiz. It also has free NOVA Tools: a picture spelling game, a times tables trainer, a fraction wall, a clock trainer, a money counter, a Moon phase tool, a Solar System explorer, a typing trainer and a place value tool.

The member site is for approved members only. Each day it offers fresh stories matched to the member's year level and chosen subjects, quizzes, a reading tracker, a Lounge to chat with other members, and the NOVA card collection. New members sign up with their real name, and the Admin approves every account and checks people in person.

How our stories are made

• NOVA Learn explainers are written for young readers and checked against the sources listed at the end of each one: science agencies, museums, universities and libraries.
• Daily member stories are written with the help of AI from real news topics, then checked by our server against child-safety rules before anyone sees them. Each one is labelled as a NOVA AI summary and names the kind of outlet the topic came from. AI can make mistakes, so we encourage readers to check anything important with a trusted source.
• Photos come from Wikimedia Commons, the free media library, and each one is credited to its creator with its licence.

Keeping it safe

Members' real names and email addresses are seen only by the Admin. Chat is for approved members, messages are short, and NOVA Bot removes spam automatically. Ads, where they appear, are not personalised and are kept out of stories, quizzes and the Lounge. Read more on our Privacy & safety page.

Credits

The seasonal icons (pumpkins, snowflakes, eggs, hearts and friends) are Twemoji graphics by Twitter, Inc. and other contributors, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence.

Found a mistake?

We want every fact to be right. If you spot an error, please tell us through our Contact page and we will fix it.