Saturday, December 7, 2013

Lunar Domes


We've learned about the moon's highlands, maria and rille.

What about volcanoes on the moon?

There are no active volcanoes there, but there are some old ones that we call lunar domes.

The lava from the volcanoes is what made the rilles that we already learned about,
and the dark maria areas are from when lava flowed long ago.

The lunar domes look like circle shaped lumps or holes on the moon.
lunar domes
(from: wikipedia - geology of the moon)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Explorer - 1

Friday, December 6, 2013

Spanish - Dog, Cat


To say dog in Spanish, you say perro and it sounds like ped-oh. /?/

To say cat in Spanish, you say gato and it sounds like gah-toe. /?/

association of spanish language academies
(from: wikipedia - Association of Spanish Language Academies)

Do you remember how to say it in French?
chien, chat

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Stratovolcano


We just learned about Pillow Lava underwater.

Volcanoes come in different shapes and sizes.

If a volcano is tall and shaped like a cone, it is usually made up of hardened tephra, lava and ash.

We call that type a stratovolcano.
mayon stratovolcano
(from: wikipedia - stratovolcano)



Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Speed of Sound

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Electric eel


We just learned a little about the Octopus.

There is an animal in the water called the electric eel that can shock you with real electricity!

Their shock is five times stronger than if you got electrocuted from a plug in your house!
electric eel
(from: wikipedia - eletric eel)

Even though it's called an electric eel, it's really a type of fish called a knifefish and not actually a type of eel.

Electric eels have sodium and potassium chemicals in their body that store up electricity, almost like a battery, or like a static shock before you zap someone.
When they are ready to zap their enemy, they mix up another chemical in their body that causes the electricity to zap whoever is close enough or touching them.


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cheetah

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Tongue


We just learned about the Plantar Foot Muscles.

Your tongue is also a muscle!

There are eight different muscles in your tongue, with big long names:
genioglossus, hyoglossus, styloglossus, palatoglossus, superior longitudinal, inferior longitudinal, verticalis and transversus.

Your tongue is the most flexible parts of your body, all because of so many muscles.

You can move your tongue up, down, left and right. Stick it out or pull it in.
Some people can curl it back on top or bottom, fold it in half, turn it sideways, or even make it round or flat!

It's such an important muscle that we use every day!
tongue
(from: wikipedia - tongue)



Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hand Bones - Metacarpals

Monday, December 2, 2013

Israel


Israel is a small country in Asia.
It is right on the border of the continent of Africa, and it is the only country in Asia that touches Africa where it borders against the country of Egypt.
So if you wanted to drive from Asia to Africa, you'd have to drive through Israel!
israel
(from: wikipedia - israel)

For lunch in Israel, you might have a felafel pita, kind of like a sandwich.
felafel
(from: wikipedia - israeli cuisine)

A very famous city in Israel is Jerusalem, which is very old and has a lot of history in the Bible.
jerusalem
(from: wikipedia - tourism in israel)

Natalie Portman is a famous actress from Israel.
She played Queen Amidala in the Star Wars movies.
natalie portman, queen amidala
(from: wikipedia - queen amidala)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Africa Continent

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Jesus' Apostles - Matthew


We've learned about 6 apostles so far:
Fishermen Andrew and Simon Peter
Fishermen James and John who were brothers and sons of Zebedee.
Philip and Bartholomew who were from the same town as the others.

In another town, Jesus called a man named Matthew who was a tax collector.
In Jesus days tax collectors were usually not very good people, they cheated and stole from people when they collected taxes.
So when Jesus called on Matthew a lot of people were upset because they thought he was bad.
Jesus told them that he didn't come to help the people who were perfect, he came to help out the sinners.
calling of st. matthew
(from: wikipedia - calling of matthew)



Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tenth Commandment