Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Chambered Nautilus


We just learned about the Common Octopus.

Another type of cephalopod is the Chambered Nautilus.

These cephalopods look sort of like snails, and they live in shells like a snail.
Inside their shells are chambers in a spiral shape where their body parts are squished into.

The top of their outside shell is dark on top and light on the bottom.
This helps them hide from predators, because looking down from above they blend in with the dark sea, and looking up from below they blend in with the sky above.

The nautilus grows from an egg, but they don't grow as a larvae like a lot of other cephalopods. They grow right from the start with a tiny shell, and the shell grows with them inside the egg until they hatch, about 1 inch long.

It is a meat eater, and it eats shellfish, but also eats garbage food floating around in the water or on the bottom of the sea.

They float up and down by changing how much water is in their shell.
If they want to go down, they suck in more water, and if they want to go up they spit some out.
You can think of it like a boat, that fills up with water and sinks, or empties the water and floats.


(from: wikipedia - chambered nautilus)


(from: wikipedia - chambered nautilus)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Panamanian Golden Frog

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Metacarpal Ligaments


We just learned about the Intercarpal Ligaments that hold your wrist bones together.

Another group of ligaments in your hand are the Metacarpal Ligaments.

These tie the bones together in your hand, right by your big knuckles, so your hand stays together.


(from: wikipedia - deep transverse metacarpal ligament)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nucleus

Monday, January 29, 2018

Querétaro


We just learned about the Mexico State of Yucatán..

Another Mexico state is Querétaro.

This state is in the south central part of Mexico, and has a lot of types of land like forests, deserts and rainforest.


(from: wikipedia - querétaro)

The coat of arms of Querétaro tells of a legend where there was a solar eclipse during a battle between the Spanish and the natives.
During the eclipse the saint of Spain and a holy cross showed up.
The bottom left shows the saint in battle, and the bottom right has wheat and grapes for the farming in the area.

(from: wikipedia - querétaro)

Just like other parts of Mexico, there are large pyramids in this state in the city of El Cerrito.


(from: wikipedia - querétaro)

Gustav Eiffel who made the Eiffel tower made a famous fountain in Zocalo.


(from: wikipedia - querétaro)

There is a large gorge in the Sierra Gorda called Sótano del Barro.


(from: wikipedia - querétaro)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Northern Coast Ranges

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Carmelite Nuns


We just learned about Rose of Lima and the Dominican Order.

Another group of nuns are the Carmelite Nuns, that started in the about a thousand years ago.
They focus on three things: prayer, community, and service


(from: wikipedia - carmelites)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Gideon

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Lion Capital of Ashoka


We just learned about the Woman of Samaria by William Henry Rinehart in Washington DC, in 1859.

Most of the art we've learned about has been from Europe, the Middle East, or Northern Africa.

Let's learn a little about some art from the continent of Asia.

One of the oldest sculptures is the Lion Capital of Ashoka.

This was made around 250 BC in India.
At that time there was an emperor named Ashoka who wanted to have symbols of his kingdom spread across the country, so he had artists make large pillars with sculptures on top and put them all over.
There are about 20 pillars left that have not been destroyed, and the Lion sculpture is the one that has survived the best of all of the sculptures.

It is a very important symbol in India. It has been put on the national emblem, and the lotus flower shaped bottom base of the sculpture is on the national flag.


(from: wikipedia - lion capital of ashoka)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lewis Chessmen

Friday, January 26, 2018

Greek - Horse, sheep, duck


We know that in Greek, dog is σκύλος (skýlos), cat is γάτα (gáta),
cow is αγελάδα (ageláda), chicken is κοτόπουλο (kotópoulo) and pig is χοίρο (choíro).

Let's learn more animals!

horse - άλογο (álogo) - sounds like AH-loh-go
sheep - πρόβατα (próvata) - sounds like PRO-bah-tah
duck - πάπια (pápia) - sounds like PAH-pee-ah

Also in Greek horses say hinnire, sheep say baa, and ducks say pa-pa-pah.

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

ASL: horse, sheep, duck

German: Pferd, Schaf, Ente

Spanish:caballo, oveja, pato

French:French - cheval, mouton, canard

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Induced Seismicity


We just learned about the Volcano tectonic earthquakes.

Another thing that causes earthquakes is induced seismicity, which means things that people do that cause earthquakes.
This can be drilling into the ground, building large lakes or mining.


(from: wikipedia - induced seismicity)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Fujita Scale

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Common Octopus


Let's learn about some cephalopods!.

One of the most famous ones is the Common Octopus.

Some funny things about the octopus are that while a lot of people say "octopi" for a group of them, the right word is actually "octopuses".

Also, people say that an octopus has tentacles, but they actually have arms.
The difference is that arms have suction cups all along them, and tentacles only have suction cups at the end.

There are about 300 different types of octopuses in the world!

These cephalopods can change color to hide, and they use their arms to grab their prey and use their beak to crack open any shells for animals they have to eat.


(from: wikipedia - octopus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: European Fire Bellied Toad

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Intercarpal Ligaments


We just learned about the Carpal Ligaments that connect the forearm bones to the carpal wrist bones.

Another group of ligaments are the Intercarpal Ligaments that connect the carpals to each other.

There are eight different carpal bones in the wrist, so these ligaments connect them all together.


(from: wikipedia - pisometacarpal ligament)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Soma

Monday, January 22, 2018

Yucatán


We just learned about the Mexican state of Tabasco where the Spanish first landed in Mexico.

Another state in Mexico is Yucatán.

This state is on north end of the bottom tail of Mexico, right on the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.


(from: wikipedia - yucatán)

Yucatán's coat of arms is green and yellow.
It shows a deer for the native Mayan people, jumping over an agave plant which grows in the area.
On the top and bottom are Mayan arches, and the left and right are Spanish towers, for the two different people that live there.


(from: wikipedia - yucatán)

There are ancient buildings in the city of Chichen Itza, like an ancient pyramid nicknamed "el castillo" which means "the castle"


(from: wikipedia - el castillo, chichen itza)

In Cuzuma and some other cities are some caves on the water that people can go tour.

(from: wikipedia - yucatán)

Another big pyramid on Yucatán is the Pyramid of the Magician in the town of Uxmal, which is over 13 stories tall.
The name of the pyramid comes from old legends that said a magician built it in one night.

(from: wikipedia - pyramid of the magician)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Klamath-Siskyou Mountains

Sunday, January 21, 2018

Rose of Lima


We just learned about the nun Clare of Assisi.

Another famous nun was Rose of Lima, who was born in the country of Peru, and spent her whole life helping to take care of sick and poor people.

She was a member of what is called the Dominican Order, which was a group started by a Spanish priest named Dominic around 1200 AD.


(from: wikipedia - rose of lima)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Joshua

Saturday, January 20, 2018

Woman of Samaria - Rinehart


We just learned about the statue of Benjamin Franklin by Hiram Powers in the US in 1862.

Another neoclassical sculpture is the Woman of Samaria, sculpted by William Henry Rinehart in Washington DC, in 1859.

William Henry Rinehart was born in Maryland, and grew up as a farmer. When he was about 20 years old he got another job as a helper to a stone-cutter, where he studied sculpture.

At 30, he moved to Italy to learn more about sculpture, and did some marble reliefs. He came back to the US a few years later and opened his own studio where he made a lot of marble and bronze sculptures for the US Capitol of Washington D.C.

Eventually he moved back to Italy and lived the rest of his life in Rome.

This famous sculpture of his is of the woman in the book of John in the Bible who came to the well to get water, and she met Jesus.
He asks her to get him some water, and then tells her he can give her eternal life.


(from: wikipedia - william henry rinehart)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cloister's Cross

Friday, January 19, 2018

Greek - Cow, Chicken, Pig


We already know that in Greek, dog is σκύλος (skýlos) and cat is γάτα (gáta).

Now let's learn about some farm animals!

cow - αγελάδα (ageláda) - sounds like ah-gay-LAH-dah

chicken - κοτόπουλο (kotópoulo) - sounds like koh-TOH-poh-oo-loh

pig - χοίρο (choíro) - sounds like xh-EE-doh

Also in Greek cows say mou mou, chickens say ko ko ko, and pigs say greelizee!


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

ASL: cow, chicken, pig

Italian: mucca, pollo, maiale

German: Kuh, Huhn, Schwein

Spanish: vaca, pollo, cerdo

French: vache, poulet, porc

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

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Earthquake Swarm


We just learned about the Tsunami Earthquake that isn't very big but can trigger a tsunami.

Another type of earthquake is an Earthquake Swarm.

This is when a lot of earthquakes happen in the same area, and are clearly not just aftershocks or foreshocks from one single earthquake.

These can be hundreds or even over a thousand earthquakes in one state, spreading out over a time of days, weeks or months.
One of the ones that happened not long ago was in Nevada, with 1,000 earthquakes between February and November 2008.


(from: wikipedia - earthquake swarm)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Flux

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Frog Teeth


We just learned about frogs eating their skin, and breathing through it.

When frogs eat, they don't chew up their food like other predators with big teeth.
They only have some teeth on their upper jaw, and they use it to hold on to their food and swallow it whole.


(from: wikipedia - frog)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Snake Venom

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Radioulnar Ligaments


We just learned about the Ulnar Collateral Ligament in the elbow.

The two bones in the forearm are connected together by a few ligaments that hold on to them, like strings strapping the two bones together.

The Proximal Radioulnar Articulation is by the elbow, and the Distal Radioulndar Articulation is by the wrist.



(from: wikipedia - annular ligament of radius)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Enteric Nervous System

Monday, January 8, 2018

San Luis Potosí


We just learned about the Mexico state Sonora, where they do the Deer Dance.

Another Mexico State is San Luis Potosí.
It was named after Louis IX of France, and because they found gold and silver in this state they compared it to the mines in Potosi, Bolivia.


(from: wikipedia - san luis potosí)

The coat of arms of San Luis Potosí shows Louis IX of France on a mining hill, with gold and silver bars on either side for the mining in the area. The blue and yellow backgrounds are for night and day.


(from: wikipedia - san luis potosí)

There are many old gold and silver mines in the area that are not used anymore.


(from: wikipedia - san luis potosí)

There are some beautiful waterfalls and natural swimming places in the town of Tamasopo.


(from: wikipedia - tamasopo)

In the Wirikuta mountains, the Huichol people celebrate their ancient traditions with art, song and food.


(from: wikipedia - huichol)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Oregon Coast Range