The Beijing National Stadium began its construction in September of 2007, and opened to the public on June 28, 2008. The stadium was built for the use for 2008 Olympics and Paralympics, and it was designed by Herzog & de Meuron, ArupSport, and China Architectural Design & Research Group. The stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, costed 2.9 billion Chinese Yuan (US $428 million) to
build, and has a capacity to hold up to 91,000 people.
In order to improve the sight lines, the eastern and western stands of
the Bird's Nest are higher than the northern and southern stands.
The stadium will be used for the opening and
closing ceremonies of 2022 Winter Olympics. Read more
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,300 kilometres (1,400 mi) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 sq mi).
The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia. It can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms.
This reef structure is composed of and built by
billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps.
Since the number of reefs has been cut in half in the last 30 years thanks to climate change, pollution, and predatory species, coral reefs are procreating like there's no tomorrow. Unfortunately,
for many reefs, there might not be a tomorrow,
which is why, in an effort to save the foundation of the ocean’s ecosystem, scientists are crashing the breeding party.