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BREAK MORE CODES!

ExplorerAcademy.com

30 NAT GEO KIDS^ • DECEMBER 2018 | JANUARY 2019 RYAN ETTER / IKON IMAGES / GETTY IMAGES (HEADER BACKGROUND)

Decode this Morse code message. ANSWER ON PAGE 35

TEXT AND PUZZLE BY GARETH MOORE

In the new book Explorer Academy: The Nebula Secret,

12-year-old Cruz Coronado breaks secret codes in order to

fight dangerous villains and solve mysteries. Test your own

skills by cracking the code on this page, then check out

more about the book at ExplorerAcademy.com.

Letters in Morse code are represented by a combination of dots and

dashes. Check out the written Morse code alphabet below.

The Morse code

for emergencies, SOS,

doesn’t stand for “Save Our

Ship.” Sailors picked the

letters because the code is

easy to remember: three

dots, three dashes,

three dots!

THE CODE:

MORSE CODE

Morse code was originally created to send messages using sound

(like from a telegraph) or light (like from a flashlight). Grab a friend

and a flashlight and try to send secret messages with light. For a dot,

use a quick flash; for a dash, use a longer one. Be sure to pause between

each letter so your friend knows when a new coded letter starts.

TRY

THIS!

CRACK

THIS

CODE!