Thursday, January 18, 2018

Volcano tectonic earthquakes


We just learned about the Earthquake Swarm, a lot of earthquakes happening in the same area.

Scientists spend a lot of time trying to figure out what causes earthquakes.

We already learned about the big tectonic plates on our planet that crash into each other at faults

Another cause of earthquakes is from Volcanoes and tectonic plates.

We learned a while back about the melted rock called magma that flows around like hot water under a volcano before it erupts.

Sometimes that hot magma flowing around underground can put a lot of pressure on the rocks above it, and cause it to crack, causing an earthquake.
You can think of it like water in a water balloon, when you squeeze the water balloon it will pop!


(from: wikipedia - volcanism)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Charcoal

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Cephalopods


We've learned a whole lot about frogs, now let's learn about Cephalopods!

There are over 800 different kinds of cephalopods living in the world, and around 11,000 kinds of cephalopods that have gone extinct and are no longer around.

Some cephalopods are really famous, like the octopus or squid, but some you may not have heard of like ammonoids or nautilus.

The super science name for an animal is split up into these parts: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, and sometimes Subclass.
Sometimes there are even more parts like Suborder, Infraorder, Family, Genus or Species.
Humans are:
Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Primates, Suborder: Haplorhini, Infraorder: Simiiformes, Family: Hominidae, Genus: Homo, Species: H. sapiens

Scientists use these words to come up with special names for every single animal on the planet from mice to elephants.

Cephalopods are:
Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Mollusca, Class: Cephalopoda

The "phylum: Mollusca" actually means that an animal like an octopus is sort of related to a snail!

There are lots of different types of cephalopods, we'll learn about some fun ones next time!


(from: wikipedia - cephalopod)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Frogs and Toads

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Carpal Ligaments


We just learned about the Radioulnar ligaments that connect the forearm bones.

Another set of ligaments is the Carpal Ligaments, that connect the radius and ulna to the carpal bones in the wrist.

There are six different ligaments, all named for where they are and what they connect.
The bones are the radius, ulna and carpals.
The places are "dorsal" back or top of the hand, "palmar" palm side of the hand, and "collateral" sides of the wrist.

Dorsal radiocarpal - Top of the hand, connects radius to carpal
Dorsal ulnocarpal - Top of the hand, connects ulna to carpal

Palmar radiocarpal - Palm side of the hand, connects radius to carpal
Palmar ulnocarpal - Palm side of the hand, connects ulna to carpal

Ulnar collateral - Side of the wrist, connects ulna to carpal
Radial collateral - Side of the wrist, connects radius to carpal


(from: wikipedia - radial collateral ligament of wrist joint)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Neuron

Monday, January 15, 2018

Tabasco


We just learned about the San Luis Potosí where they have many gold and silver mines.

Another Mexico state is Tabasco.

This state is on the south part of Mexico, right on the Gulf of Mexico which opens up to the Atlantic Ocean.


(from: wikipedia - tabasco)

The coat of arms of Tabasco has a picture of the Virgin Mary in the middle, for Catholic church.
The top left has four castles, for the Spanish kingdom of Castile.
The top right has a sword and shield for the power of the Spanish.
The bottom left has a native holding flowers for the farms.
The bottom right has a lion for the Spanish kingdom of León


(from: wikipedia - tabasco)

There are many ancient pyramids in Tabasco, like the one in the city of Comalcalco.


(from: wikipedia - tabasco)

There is a special dance in Tabasco called "Zapateo" which means "toe tapping" and is a type of tap dancing.


(from: wikipedia - tabasco)

Tabasco was the place where the Spanish people first landed over 500 years ago, and met the Native people who lived there.


(from: wikipedia - tabasco)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Calapooya Mountains

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Clare of Assisi


We just learned about the nun Hildegard of Bingen who studied and wrote many letters and books.

Another well known nun is Clare of Assisi, who lived in the 1200s AD.
Her brother Francis was very well known in the church, so when she wanted to give her life to worship God, he helped her out.

She started up a group called the "Order of Poor Ladies" and wrote up some rules for how women could live as Nuns and worship God.

There are still women who follow these rules, and call themselves the "Poor Clares".


(from: wikipedia - clare of assisi)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Aaron

Saturday, January 13, 2018

Benjamin Franklin - Hiram Powers


We just learned about the statue of George Washington by Horatio Greenough.

Another neoclassical sculpture is Benjamin Franklin by Hiram Powers in 1862 in the US.

Hiram was born in the US, and after making some famous sculptures he moved to Florence Italy, so he could get marble for sculpting easier.


(from: wikipedia - hiram powers)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bernward Doors

Friday, January 12, 2018

Greek - Black, white, brown, gray


We just learned that in Greek, red, orange and yellow are κόκκινο (kókkino), πορτοκαλί (portokalí), and κίτρινο (kítrino),
and green, blue, purple, pink are πράσινο (prásino), μπλε (ble), μοβ (mov), ροζ (roz).

Let's learn some more colors!

black - μαύρο (mávro) - sounds like MAH-v-doh

white - λευκό (lefkó) - sounds like leh-f-KOH

brown - καφέ (kafé) - sounds like kah-f-AY

gray - γκρι (nkri) - sounds like g-dee

center for the greek language
(from: wikipedia - center for the greek language)

ASL: black, white, brown, gray

Italian: nero, bianco, marrone, grigio

German: schwarz, weiß, braun, grau

Spanish: negro, blanco, marrón, gris

French: noir, blanc, brun, gris