Saturday, February 28, 2015

Relativity - M.C. Escher


We just learned about the painting The Night Watch by Rembrandt.

Another famous painting was called Relativity by Dutch painter Maurits Cornelis Escher, also known as M. C. Escher, painted in 1953.
Escher was known for making his paintings very detailed and sometimes using math ideas to make his pictures interesting.

In his Relativity painting, there are many stairways that connect in strange ways, and people that look like they must be standing on the ceiling or on the walls.


(from: wikipedia - m. c. escher)

The way he made his painting was using something called a lithograph on limestone.

For a lithograph, first the artists take a large slab of limestone, and scrape it clean so there a nice flat surface to draw on.
Then they use something like a greasy oily crayon to draw the painting.
When the painting is done, they pour a type of acid and gooey sticky thing called gum arabic on the painting and spread it around and let it dry.
The acid and gum arabic sticks only to the parts that don't have oily crayon, and works like a clear cover for those areas.
After it is dry, they use something called a solvent, which washes away the oils from the crayon.
Then they pour liquid ink onto the limestone and rub it in, and that ink sticks only to where the oily crayon was.
They wash the limestone with water, and that washes off the liquid ink from the areas that didn't have crayon, because they are protected by that clear cover from the acid and gum arabic.
After all of that, the stone has oily ink only on the parts where the drawing is. They lay a sheet of paper on top of it, and press it down onto the stone, and when they remove the paper it has a copy of the painting the artist did.
They can make many copies from the same lithograph limestone, kind of like a copy machine before the copy machines were invented.



(from: wikipedia - lithography)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lunar Eclipse

Friday, February 27, 2015

German - They are excited


We just learned that I am happy in German is Ich bin glücklich, you are sad is Sie traurig sind,
and he is angry is er ist wütend.

Let's learn how to say they are excited.
Sie sind aufgeregt

We can break it up into three words:
They - Sie - sounds like Zee /?/
are - sind - sounds like zint /?/
excited - aufgeregt - Sounds like ow-f-guh-ray-kt /?/


So all together Sie sind aufgeregt sounds like Zee zint ow-f-guh-raykt.

Goethe Institute
(from: wikipedia - Goethe Institute)

Do you remember how to say it in Spanish?
Ellos estan emocionados

Do you remember how to say it in French?
Ils sont excité

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Cirrocumulus cloud


We've now learned that cirrus clouds are thin wispy stringy clouds way up high in the sky,
cumulus clouds are big and puffy, almost like cotton balls,
cumulonimbus clouds are tall mushroom shaped clouds that are seen during storms,
stratus clouds are flat hazy foggy clouds that sometimes have light rain,
nimbostratus clouds are big, hazy and dark and are a sign of rain,
cirrostratus clouds are very high up in the sky and flat and hazy,
and altostratus clouds are flat and hazy and in the middle of the sky.

Another type of cloud is called a cirrocumulus cloud.
Just like cirrus clouds they are up high and spread out, and like cumulus clouds they are puffy looking, but a lot smaller cotton balls spread apart.


(from: wikipedia - cirrocumulus cloud)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sandstone

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Australian Cattle Dog


We just learned about Spider Sheet Webs.

We've learned a lot about spiders, now let's learn about dogs!

There are many different types of dogs in the world, and each one of them is a little different.
Each dog has a different type of job and is good at a different type of thing!
The Australian Cattle Dog is a very smart, very strong with lots of energy.

This dog's job was to help herd cattle over long distances and rough land.
When it herds cattle, it nips at their heels to get them to go the right way.

The dog's colors can be red or blue. The blue color comes from the black and brown hairs mixing with gray hairs.

They have what looks like a mask over their face, with dark coloring over their eyes.


(from: wikipedia - australian cattle dog)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bongo

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Axillary artery


We know that the subclavian artery brings oxygenated blood from the heart toward the arm, and splits into some other arteries like the vertebral artery, internal thoracic artery and the dorsal scapular artery.

After those other arteries split off from the subclavian artery, it keeps going and turns into the axillary artery.
This brings blood to parts of the chest, the armpit and the upper arm.


(from: wikipedia - axillary artery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Trachea

Monday, February 23, 2015

Maryland


We just learned about the US State of Maine.

Maryland is a state on the east coast of the US, right on the Atlantic Ocean.
It was named after Henrietta Maria of France who was the wife of King Charles I of England.

It's nicknames are: Old Line State, Free State, Little America and America in Miniature.
It's mottos are: Fatti maschii, parole femine which means strong deeds gentle words.


(from: wikipedia - maryland)

The flag of Maryland is from the flag of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore.
He was from England and had come to America to live in Maryland.

He was 1st Baron Baltimore, which meant he was like the mayor of some land in Ireland called Baltimore, which meant town of the big house.

(from: wikipedia - flag of maryland)

The seal of Maryland is different than many other states because it has two sides, like a coin.
One side of the seal shows Lord Baltimore in armor carrying a sword and riding a horse.
The other side shows a farmer and a fisherman standing next to the state flag.



(from: wikipedia - seal of maryland)

One of the most famous athletes of all time was Babe Ruth who was born in Maryland.

(from: wikipedia - babe ruth)

The city of Baltimore has a very busy port where ships come and go all day.

(from: wikipedia - port of baltimore)

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is a large river that connects between Maryland and Delaware, that many ships pass through for business.

(from: wikipedia - chesapeake and delaware canal)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Iraq

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Jesus Crucifixion - Calvary


We learned that Jesus had to carry the wooden cross to the place he would be crucified.
The hill where he was crucified was a place called Gol'Gotha, also known as Calvary.
Sometimes the cross Jesus was nailed to is called the Cross of Calvary, because of the name of the hill.

(from: wikipedia - crucifixion of jesus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus' Miracles - Healing a deaf and mute person

Saturday, February 21, 2015

The Night Watch - Rembrandt


We just learned about the famous work of art Campbell's Soup Cans by artist Andy Warhol.

Another famous work of art was called The Night Watch by Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn.

It is also called Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, or The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch.

This painting is very big, at almst 15 feet wide and 12 feet high!

After many years the painting had faded and become so dark that people thought it was a picture of soldiers marching at night.
When some people went to fix up the painting and help make it look like it did when it was first painted, they saw that it was a painting during the daytime, the people are just coming out of a dark place into the sunlight.

Rembrandt was very good at painting people in a way that made them look like they were in the middle of moving, and not just standing still.

(from: wikipedia - the night watch)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Blue Moon

Friday, February 20, 2015

German - He is angry


We just learned that I am happy in German is Ich bin glücklich, and I am sad is Sie traurig sind.

Now let's learn how to say He is angry.

Er ist wütend

We can break it up into three words:
He - Er - sounds like Err /?/
is - ist - sounds like ih-st /?/
angry - wütend - Sounds like voo-tent /?/


So all together Er ist wütend sounds like err ih-st voo-tent.

Goethe Institute
(from: wikipedia - Goethe Institute)

Do you remember how to say it in Spanish?
Él está enojado

Do you remember how to say it in French?
Il est en colère

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Altostratus cloud


We've now learned that cirrus clouds are thin wispy stringy clouds way up high in the sky,
cumulus clouds are big and puffy, almost like cotton balls,
cumulonimbus clouds are tall mushroom shaped clouds that are seen during storms,
stratus clouds are flat hazy foggy clouds that sometimes have light rain,
nimbostratus clouds are big, hazy and dark and are a sign of rain,
and cirrostratus clouds are very high up in the sky and flat and hazy.

Another type of cloud is called an altostratus cloud.
Just like stratus clouds they are flat and hazy, but they are not as high as cirrostratus clouds and not as low as stratus clouds.
They are in the middle of where stratus and cirrostratus clouds are.

(from: wikipedia - altostratus cloud)

Sometimes altostratus clouds have something called virga which is like rain or snow that never reaches the ground.
It leaves the cloud like rain, but evaporates or sublimates back to water vapor before it gets to the ground.


(from: wikipedia - virga)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Metamorphic Rock

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Spider Sheet Webs


We've now learned that orb weaver spiders that build big spiral webs,
some spiders build cobwebs or tangle webs,
some build funnel webs, and others build tubular webs.

Another type of web is called a sheet web.

Sheet webs are large webs that can cover very large areas, up to a meter wide!


(from: wikipedia - linyphiidae)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Oryx

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Dorsal Scapular Artery


We've learned about the oxygenated blood in the Subclavian Artery,
and how it branches into the Vertebral Artery to give blood to your brain,
and the Internal Thoracic Artery to give blood to your chest.

Another branch of the subclavian artery is called the Dorsal Scapular Artery.
This artery brings blood to the muscles in your back.


(from: wikipedia - dorsal scapular artery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lungs

Monday, February 16, 2015

Maine


We just learned about the state of Louisiana.

Maine is a state in the north east part of the US, with the Atlantic Ocean on it's east side, and Canada to the north.

It's nicknames are: The Pine Tree State and Vacationland because it has so many nice forests and natural beauty.

It's motto is: Dirigo, which means I lead.

(from: wikipedia - maine)

The flag of Maine has the state seal on it, which shows a farmer, a sailor, a moose, a pine tree, the ocean and the north star.

(from: wikipedia - flag of maine)

Maine is famous for the lobsters that people catch in the ocean.

(from: wikipedia - american lobster)

Maine has close to 70 lighthouses because it is on the coast of the Atlantic and has so many ships coming and going.

(from: wikipedia - burnt island light)

Most of Maine is covered in forests. Of the 35,000 square miles in the state, about 30,000 is forests!

(from: wikipedia - acadian forests)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Saudi Arabia

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Campbell's Soup Cans - Andy Warhol


We just learned about the famous work of art Guernica by artist Pablo Picasso.

Another famous work of art was called Campbell's Soup Cans by artist Andy Warhol.

Andy Warhol started off working in advertising where he would use something called silk screening.
Silk screening is like using a stencil to fill in colors, and the open parts of the stencil have a screen over them with holes in it, just like a screen you might find in a window.
Using this silk screening it was easy to make the same picture over and over again.

Warhol made paintings of 32 different Campbell's soup cans.
When he showed them to people at an art gallery, some people were very upset and didn't think he was a good artist.
Other people thought it was very interesting, showing art using something you'd find at a grocery store.

Warhol was very famous for something called Pop Art.
This type of art was of famous people or things you might see in TV commercials.
Pop was short for popular, so anything that was really popular might end up in a painting.


(from: wikipedia - campbell's soup cans)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lunar Phase

Friday, February 13, 2015

German - You are sad


We just learned that I am happy in German is Ich bin glücklich.

Now let's learn how to say You are sad.

Sie sind traurig

We can break it up into three words:
You - Sie - sounds like zee /?/
are - sind - sounds like zin /?/
sad - traurig - Sounds like tuh-ow-uh-ee-hh /?/


So all together Sie sind traurig sounds like zee zin tuh-ow-uh-ee-hh.

Goethe Institute
(from: wikipedia - Goethe Institute)

Do you remember how to say it in Spanish?
Estas triste

Do you remember how to say it in French?
Vous êtes triste

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Cirrostratus cloud


We've now learned that cirrus clouds are thin wispy stringy clouds way up high in the sky,
cumulus clouds are big and puffy, almost like cotton balls,
cumulonimbus clouds are tall mushroom shaped clouds that are seen during storms,
stratus clouds are flat hazy foggy clouds that sometimes have light rain,
and nimbostratus clouds are big, hazy and dark and are a sign of rain.

Another type of cloud is called a cirrostratus cloud.
Just like cirrus clouds, they are very high up in the sky, and just like stratus clouds they are flat and hazy.

Since they are so high up in the sky they are usually made up of tiny ice crystals, and because of this sometimes at night they can make a halo around the moon in the night sky.

(from: wikipedia - cirrostratus cloud)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sedimentary Rock

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Spider Tubular Webs


We've now learned that orb weaver spiders that build big spiral webs,
other spiders build cobwebs or tangle webs,
and others build funnel webs.

Another type of web is called a tubular web.

These types of webs are built in cracks in walls, or trees.
The spiders put their web out from the cracks so they can feel when an insect walks over it,
and when they feel their web move they jump out and bite their prey.


(from: wikipedia - segestria florentina)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Wildebeest

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Internal Thoracic Artery


We've learned about the oxygenated blood in the subclavian artery,
and how it branches into the vertebral artery in your neck to give blood to your brain.

Another branch of the subclavian artery is called the internal thoracic artery.

This artery brings blood to your chest.

(from: wikipedia - internal thoracic artery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Respiratory System

Monday, February 9, 2015

Louisiana


We just learned about the state of Kentucky.

Louisiana is a state on the southern part of the USA. It has many nicknames:
Bayou State - because there are many slow marshy rivers and swamps called bayous in Louisiana.
Child of the Mississippi - because the Mississippi river ends in Louisiana and goes out into the Atlantic Ocean.
Creole State - because people who lived in Louisiana before it was part of the US were called creoles.
Pelican State - because the pelican is the symbol on the state seal.
Sportsman's Paradise - because there is so much fishing in Louisiana.
Sugar State - because sugar was a very important crop.

The state motto is: Union, Justice, Confidence.

(from: wikipedia - louisiana)

The flag of Louisiana has the state motto on it, and also a picture of a mother pelican poking herself in the chest, making herself bleed so she can feed her babies.

This might seem strange, but it is based on an old legend about a pelican whose children were starving and she did not have enough food to feed them so she cut herself so her babies could live.

This story is used in Christianity to be a symbol like Jesus who died on the cross so his followers could live eternally.


(from: wikipedia - flag of louisiana)

Louisiana catches more crayfish than anywhere else in the world, and the US eats more crayfish than any other country!
Crayfish are sometimes called crawfish, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, or mudbugs.

(from: wikipedia - procambarus clarkii)

Louisiana is the birth place of jazz music, as many of the most famous jazz musicians are from Louisiana, like Louis Armstrong.

(from: wikipedia - louis armstrong)

New Orleans is a very famous city in Louisiana, right on the Mississippi.
Many people go there to visit the old buildings, listen to music and eat many different types of food.
Cajun food was a type of food invented by people who used to be from Canada, but were kicked out and went to live in New Orleans.

(from: wikipedia - new orleans)

There are many swamps in Louisiana, with lots of alligators, snakes and turtles.

(from: wikipedia - honey island swamp)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Afghanistan

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Jesus Trial - Crown of Thorns


After Pontius Pilate sent Jesus to be crucified,
the crowd of people made fun of him, put a robe on him and gave him a crown made of sharp thorns to wear to pretend like he was a king since he said he was the king of the Jews.

Even though Jesus was very powerful, he did not fight back because he knew it was all part of God's plan for him to die on the cross.


(from: wikipedia - crown of thorns)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus' Miracles - Healing on the Sabbath

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Guernica - Picasso


We just learned about the famous work of art A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by artist Georges Seurat.

Another famous work of art is the painting Guernica by Pablo Picasso.

This painting was about a war that was going on in Spain, and Picasso wanted to make a painting that would make people realize that war was bad.
Picasso was famous for painting in a style known as cubism, which was a very different way to paint pictures of things.
The artist would think about all of the sides of something that they wanted to paint, like the left, front, right and back sides, and then in the painting would show more than just one side.
Usually in a painting you only see one side of a person, like their front or left side.
But with cubism things could be painted to show more sides, and it usually looked very strange.

In the painting Guernica there are many pictures of things that you can find if you look closely.
A bull, a woman holding a baby, a horse, a light bulb, and faces of different people who are scared, surprised or sad.

Because the cubism style of painting is so strange looking, some people have looked and found other types of hidden pictures like a skull or a bull, or even other people.


(from: wikipedia - guernica (painting))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Solar Eclipse

Friday, February 6, 2015

German - I am happy


Last time we learned that the German words for horse, sheep and duck are Pferd, Schaf and Ente.

Let's learn how to say I am happy in German!

In German when you see the letters ch together, it means to make a sound like a cat hissing.

We can break it up into three words:
I - Ich - sounds like ichh /?/
am - bin - sounds like ben /?/
happy - glücklich - Sounds like gloo-k-leechh /?/

Together Ich bin glücklich sounds like ich ben gloo-k-leech

Goethe Institute
(from: wikipedia - Goethe Institute)

Do you remember how to say it in Spanish?
Estoy feliz

Do you remember how to say it in French?
Je suis heureux

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Nimbostratus Cloud


We've now learned that cirrus clouds are thin wispy stringy clouds way up high in the sky,
cumulus clouds are big and puffy, almost like cotton balls,
cumulonimbus clouds are tall mushroom shaped clouds that are seen during storms,
and stratus clouds are flat hazy foggy clouds that sometimes have light rain.

Another type of cloud is called a nimbostratus cloud.
Just like a stratus cloud, it is big and hazy and not puffy like a cumulus cloud,
but like the cumulonimbus cloud it is dark and is a sign of rain.

Usually nimbostratus clouds mean it is going to be steady rain for a while, but not thunderstorms or tornadoes.

(from: wikipedia - nimbostratus cloud)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lava Lake

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Spider Funnel Webs


We've now learned about orb weaver spiders that build big spiral webs,
and other spiders that build cobwebs or tangle webs.

Another type of web out there is called a funnel web.

Many times funnel webs are built on the ground. They are large flat webs with a funnel hole in the middle where the spider hides.
When an insect comes along they get stuck on some of the small tangles on the web, and the spider comes running quickly out to give them a venom filled bite.


(from: wikipedia - agelenidae)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Impala

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Vertebral Artery


We've learned that the oxygenated blood leaves the heart at the aorta, goes to the aortic arch, and then to the subclavian artery.

The subclavian artery then splits into some other arteries, and one of them is called the vertebral artery.

The vertebral artery goes right into your spine and then goes up your neck to help give more blood to your brain, along with the internal carotid artery.


(from: wikipedia - vertebral artery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Chewing Muscles

Monday, February 2, 2015

Kentucky


We just learned about the US state of Kansas.

Kentucky is a state in the southern midwest part of the US.

It's nickname is the Bluegrass state because there is a type of grass that grows there that looks a little bit blue.
It's motto is: United we stand, divided we fall and Deo gratiam habeamus (Let us be grateful to God).

(from: wikipedia - kentucky)

The flag of Kentucky is blue, with the state seal in the middle.
The state seal is two men shaking hands, one is a pioneer and the other is in a suit.
There are goldenrod flowers around the circle, and that is the state flower.

(from: wikipedia - flag of kentucky)

The biggest horse race in the USA is called the Kentucky Derby, held every year in Louisville, Kentucky.
food

(from: wikipedia - kentucky derby)

Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is the longest cave system in the world.
There are over 400 miles of passageways in the caves.

(from: wikipedia - mammoth cave national park)

The famous Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants were started by a man named Harland Sanders, who would later be known as Colonel Sanders.

(from: wikipedia - colonel sanders)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Uzbekistan

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Jesus Trial - Pontius Pilate


After Jesus was put on trial by the group called the sanhedrin, he was taken to the people in charge of the city he lived in to be put on trial.

The person's name was Pontius Pilate, and he was the ruler in the area of Judea that was part of the country called Rome.

The people who did not like Jesus brought him to Pontius Pilate and said that Jesus was telling everyone that he was the King of the Jews.
They said that it was against the law for him to say he was king, because the Roman Emperor was in charge of all the people and that would mean Jesus was better than him.

Pontius Pilate talked to Jesus but didn't think that he did anything wrong, so he wanted to have him set free.

The angry crowd said that they wanted Jesus to be guilty, so Pilate agreed to have Jesus crucified on a cross.


(from: wikipedia - pontius pilate)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus' Miracles - Healing Women