[ theme music plays ] >> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm veronique. here's this week's top story. for many of us, getting a mosquito bite means endless itching and a red bump that takes forever to go away. but there are places in this world where mosquito bites are more than an annoyance. they can be killers. emily reports on an american teen who's come up with an innovative way to fight back. ♪

>> officially called the united republic of tanzania, tanzania is located on the east coast of africa. famous for its immense and open plains, tanzania is home to elephants, lions, and rhinos, but it's also home to a tiny and deadly insect, the anopheles mosquito. actually, it's not the mosquito that kills, but the disease the mosquito carries -- malaria. in fact, more than 600,000 people in tanzania die each year from malaria. that's equal to losing every man, woman, and child living in the city of baltimore, maryland. to high school student thomas forman, this was unacceptable. captain of his new jersey football squad, he worked with his parents and teammates to kick off a unique fundraiser. they call it tackles4tanzania. hi, thomas. welcome to "teen kids news." >> hi. thanks for having me on today. >> so, what inspired you to take

on fighting malaria in tanzania? >> well, actually, it's a funny story. i was on a plane ride home from china, and next to me was a canadian businessman. i struck up a conversation with this man, and he told me all about malaria. i was vaguely familiar with the disease, but he told me all about it -- who it killed, how it worked, and regions where it was most prevalent. a few days later, i went down to the jersey shore with my family. on this day, there was a breeze coming off the bay, which caused mosquito nets to get riled up, and my ankles were attacked by mosquito bites. football pre-season was only like a couple of days away, and i knew i had to do something with this newfound information. everything kind of just clicked. i talked to my parents, talked to my coaches, talked to the administrators, and tackles4tanzania was born. it was a really simple idea, and i got to work. >> so, how exactly does tackles4tanzania work? >> well, actually, it's a really simple process. individuals pledge a certain amount of money -- it can be as low as a penny; it can be as much as a dollar -- for every solo tackle the football team makes during the season. at the end of the season, tackles are counted, and

notifications are sent to participants. once all the money is collected, we send a check to nothing but nets, who distributes the nets in tanzania. we chose to partner with nothing but nets because they're really well respected and had a great reputation, and they had a distribution system already set up in tanzania. >> why are nets so needed in tanzania? why don't people just buy their own nets? are they very expensive? >> no, they're not expensive. they just don't have the resources available. they're only about $10, but unfortunately, with the extreme poverty in tanzania, it's hard for them to get access to nets. >> did you find that people were eager to donate? or was it a little hard at first? >> well, at first, it was a little hard. i mean, people -- we had to get clearance with the state. we had to get clearance with the school. but after all those obstacles were overcome, people were very excited and enthusiastic to donate. once they heard about how many people were ravaged by this disease, people lined up to donate. it was really great, and we've raised over $7,000 in our first two years. >> so, $7,000 at about $10 a net, does that mean you bought about 700 nets?

>> yep, we bought about 700 nets that were distributed to tanzania, and we saved countless lives. >> so, what have you personally learned from this experience? >> well, i learned that to follow your dreams and to make something a reality, it really does pay off. i mean, i combined my two passions -- football and giving back -- and i created something that helped save lives. anybody can do it. i'm just a teenager from new jersey. so, if i can do it, anyone can do it. >> thomas, you're heading off to college soon. will you continue to stay involved with tackles4tanzania? >> oh, yeah, definitely. we've already expanded from my high school, pingry, to include three other independent schools in the area, and we're looking to grow even more. we're looking to go from a state thing to a regional to a national foundation. at william and mary, i'm trying to get the football team involved there, and we'll see where it goes. >> william and mary being the school you're going to? >> yes, i'm attending william and mary. >> terrific. best of luck to you. >> thank you. i appreciate it. for more information, please visit www.tackles4tanzania.org to get involved. >> nothing but nets is an

international effort to fight malaria. they welcome motivated teens who are willing to come up with ideas for fundraising. so, if you're looking for a good service project, reach out to them at nothingbutnets.net. remember, every net can save a life. for "teen kids news," i'm emily. >> here's a pop quiz. what's meant by "pop culture"? i'll pop back with the answer when "teen kids news" continues.

[ theme music plays ] >> not far from where the baltimore orioles play ball, there is a museum dedicated to all kinds of play. geppi's entertainment museum is dedicated to pop culture. ♪ >> pop culture is popular culture. it's movies, radio, television, books, comics, the gamut of all the things we enjoy. ♪

>> games and toys are part of pop culture, too. this amazing array of artifacts all belong to a man named stephen geppi. >> his collection got to the point where he looked at it and said, "i like this stuff. and i hear from a lot of people that they like this stuff. so why don't i put it out so everybody can enjoy it?" >> so, what are the top five things that teens shouldn't miss when they come here? >> well, scott, let me show you. come on. ♪ as you can see on the walls of our museum, we have several pictures spanning the eras of each room -- 1928 leading into 1945 over here. >> because the exhibits are organized by date, you can see how our culture changed through the years, like the dawn of the television era in the 1950s. >> also, over here we have the '60s revolution -- a lot of fun stuff going on in there. and 1971 to 1990 is where the first surprise is. [ fanfare plays ]

>> the number-5 artifact is what's called a one-sheet, the kind of movie poster displayed in a movie theater. if you're a "star wars" fan, you'll see there's something strange going on here -- a poster for a movie before its title changed. >> the original title of "return of the jedi" was supposed to be "revenge of the jedi." and before they had a chance to make this decision, they had already promoted the movie as "revenge of the jedi" for a short period of time. >> i wouldn't have known one of my favorite movies had a different title before. >> oh, when i was a child, that was commonplace on the playground to talk about why "revenge" got turned to "return." people said that a jedi would never, ever want to have revenge. it was too hostile a force for the buddha-esque jedis. [ fanfare plays ] in our next room, "revolution: 1961 to 1970," we have a very special, very fun, very hands-on number 4 --

rock 'em sock 'em robots. >> hey! i remember this game. but i didn't know it's been around since the '60s. >> not only has this game continued to be replicated into the present day, but at the time, "you knocked my block off" became a classic saying. you knocked my block off. ♪ >> attraction number 3 is for kids who ask, "how can i be strong like a superhero?" >> the answer is... [ fanfare plays ] the superman golden muscle building set. >> wow. >> 1954. peter puppet playthings, a wonderful muscle-building kit that not only has everything you need to become big and strong but also shows that superman will personally fly into your house and show you how to use his superman muscle building set. >> well, i can quit my gym membership. [ rim shot ] don't go away. we'll be right back with the top

two attractions at geppi's entertainment museum. ♪

[ theme music plays ] >> we're at geppi's entertainment museum, also known as the museum of pop culture. andy is the museum's assistant curator. we've been counting down the top five attractions that teens shouldn't miss when coming to visit. number 5 was the "star wars" poster with the discarded movie title. number 4, the battling rock 'em sock 'em robots. number 3 helped kids in the 1950s spring into action with superman's muscle building kit. [ fanfare plays ] >> for our next piece, number 2, one of the great sci-fi toys. this was actually one of the first toys that tied in directly to a newspaper comic strip. >> the toy gun is 80 years old.

to protect the metal, andy wears gloves. when this item was introduced at macy's, they expected it would be popular, but they didn't expect 5,000 people would line up to get it. >> this is the buck rogers xz-31 rocket gun from daisy manufacturing. 1934. [ zaps ] >> the geppi's entertainment museum got its start with a collection of comic books, and that's where we end our tour -- a case full of comics, each introducing a famous character for the very first time. [ fanfare plays ] >> for our number one... >> number one... >> ...a story in four colors. our comic room. our number one is number ones -- action comics' number one, debut of superman, walt disney's comics and stories' number one, the start of an illustrious comic career for donald duck and

detective comics' number 27, the number-one appearance of batman. >> rare-edition comic books like these have sold for millions of dollars. [ cash register dings ] the pop culture museum is fascinating. you'll not only get a kick out of it. so will your mom and your pop. [ chuckles ] at the geppi entertainment museum in baltimore... [ dramatic music plays ] ...i'm scott for "teen kids news." >> while the first cy young award was given out in 1956, the first reliever to ever win the cy young award wasn't until 1974 when mike marshall won it for the los angeles dodgers. that year, he posted a record of 15-12 with 21 saves, a 2.42 e.r.a., and 143 strikeouts. the next relief pitcher to win the cy young award and the first american league pitcher to do so

was sparkey lyle of the new york yankees in 1977. that year, he won 13 games, saved 26 games, had an e.r.a. of 2.17, and struck out 68 batters. i'm matt for "teen kids news." >> this message is brought to you by the national road safety foundation. they want you to keep your hands on the wheel, your eyes on the road, and your mind on driving. [ pencil scribbling on paper ] [ car door closes ] [ engine starts ] ♪ [ seatbelt clicks ]

>> oh, no! >> [gasps] oh! [ seatbelt clicks ] [ chuckles ] [ horn honks ] ♪ >> don't go anywhere. there's lots more to tell you about on "teen kids news." ♪

>> it's one of the scariest places we'll ever experience, and most of us will spend three or four years there. i'm talking about high school. that's the subject of this week's video from the website hooplaha. [ boing, boing ] >> hooplaha! >> high school is hard. it's so important for us to have that approval at that age from our peers. if school could be the place where they came to and they got support, that would be a gift. ♪ >> good morning! >> good morning! >> all right. we just want to officially welcome you to challenge day. maybe some of you have someone here you don't like very much. maybe you used to be really close, something crazy happened, and now you don't even talk to each other anymore. today we're gonna ask you to set all that stuff aside. [ cheers and applause ] today, students get an

opportunity to let go of all of their labels, the stereotypes, break out of that for a second, and get to see each other as human beings. >> students feel safe enough just to be themselves and to express themselves and share things that they typically wouldn't share otherwise. and throughout that process, they start to realize that we're way more alike than different. >> when they walk in, a lot of them think, "what i'm holding, what i'm going through in my life, the feelings i have, i'm the only one that feels this way, and people don't understand me." when they go through these activities, they realize that is no longer true. so, here's how this activity works. it's called "cross the line." crossing this line, it's gonna tell a story about your life. all right, everyone, just take a deep breath, please. in silence, please cross the line if you have ever been hurt or judged because of the color of your skin or your cultural background. in silence, please. >> as people cross the line, you can feel lights going off, like "oh, wow. i realize i'm not alone." >> i've seen miracles.

i've had a few students go to our school board, and one of them last year stated, you know, "if it wasn't for challenge day, i wouldn't be alive." challenge day just gave her an opportunity to, for the first time, to talk about what she's going through, what she's dealing with. >> when someone is willing to share something, you feel something else within you that makes you feel comfortable. like "i can talk about this. it's okay. it's okay to feel this. it's okay to cry and show things that in society aren't really looked upon as okay." >> they talk about lowering the water line and being 100% of who you are. they talk -- well, your image is the 10%, so people only see your 10%, so in order to keep challenge day alive, we have to lower it down and be 100% all the time, but i think in doing that, you're gonna change the world. >> teenagers, in my opinion, are the freethinkers of our world, and if we can remind them of their power at this age, we have no idea what those students will end up doing with their lives as adults. and if we can just remind them, i believe that they will step into that power. ♪

[ upbeat music plays ] >> "speak of the week" is when we get to hear what you have to say. here's this week's question. ♪ >> nasa recently sent a space probe to take photos of pluto. it cost almost a billion dollars to do that. so, what do you think? should the government spend money on missions like this? or would the money be better spent on education and wiping out poverty? >> probably getting rid of poverty and all of those other things because i think that that's, like, more important for us right now. >> i think the government should give the funds to education. >> it might actually help us in the long run, and it might improve upon education. we don't know until we try. [ chuckles ] >> i think that they should

spend this money because they should -- to explore the new planets and try to figure out what's -- if there's life on there or if there's water or anything like that, so, yeah. >> saving the earth right now is a better idea. >> of course, the government will be quick to point out that many of today's must-have products come from the space program -- for example, paint that protects against rust, eyeglass lenses that are scratch proof, the insulin pump used by millions of people with diabetes, solar-power devices, highly efficient filters that protect our municipal water supplies, and even the personal computer. guess you could say that that list is literally out of this world. with "speak of the week," i'm eden. >> want to spice up your lemonade? i'll show you how when "teen kids news" continues. we'll be right back.

>> we've got another easy recipe to impress your family and friends with courtesy of the culinary institute of america.

>> ice-cold lemonade can certainly quench your thirst, and this one has a twist with mint and honey. it makes it just a little bit more special. i'll show you how to make it. first thing you're gonna do is boil one cup of water. and you're gonna steep 2 tablespoons of honey into the water just like that. okay. and you're gonna throw in some mint leaves in there as well. let this sit for about 5 to 10 minutes until all the flavors are combined. and we'll just give this a stir. okay. great. next, we're gonna make our mint ice cubes. they're really easy to make. i've filled up a tray with water, and all i have to do is put a couple little pieces of mint in each of the ice cubes. so, when they melt in the lemonade, it gives it a bit more of flavor. okay, just like that. just press them right in there.

great. this is really refreshing on a nice cool day -- a nice hot day, not a cool day. and the mint makes it really nice and bright with the lemon. now we're gonna cut some wheels just for the garnish -- with parents' permission. make sure you can do that. use a knife, and you slowly cut little wheels. just like that. watch your fingers. great. and here i have 3 cups of water. i'm gonna add my mint ice cubes that i already have made. oh! ice cubes everywhere. okay. just like that. and you're gonna add the juice of 5 lemons.

perfect. some lemon wheels. you're gonna give that a stir. mmm. this smells really good. okay. and add some more mint leaves for some color. okay. now you're gonna take your hot water that's been mixed with the honey and pour that right in. be very careful. it's gonna be hot. okay. and give it one last stir. okay. now all i have to do is just grab a glass and pour it right in. and enjoy. mmm. that's super good.

at the culinary institute of america, for "teen kids news," i'm nicole. >> that looks really good. we'll see you again next week with another edition of "teen kids news." see you. ♪ >> write to us at info@teenkidsnews.com.

>> jack hanna's "into the wild." brought to you by nationwide insurance and the columbus zoo. partners in conservation for over 30 years. >> hi, everybody. i'm jack hanna from my home here at the columbus zoo. today i'm taking you to southeast asia to meet the largest tree-climbing mammal, the orangutan. they called him the oldest -- in the fors. big or small, they are always unpredictable. >> who is going to believe this, sue? >> check it out next, as we go "into the wild."