Saturday, March 31, 2018

Tang Dynasty Tomb Figures of Liu Tingxun


We just learned about the Terracotta Army.

Another famous ancient Chinese work of art is Tang Dynasty Tomb Figures of Liu Tingxun made in 728 AD.

These are sculptures from the tomb of a Chinese general named Liu Ting, who died in 782 AD.
There are 13 figures, made using the sancai type of art, which means "three colors".
This kind of art used copper, iron and other metals to make different colors when cooked in ovens.

The sculptures are a pair of human like creatures with wings and hooves to scare off intruders.
After that are some guards and servants, and at the back are horses and camels.



(from: wikipedia - tang dynasty tomb figures of liu tingxun)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pulpit of San Andrea

Friday, March 30, 2018

Greek - Your food is hot


We just learned in Greek:
this chair is small is Η καρέκλα είναι μικρή (I karékla eínai mikrí),
and my drink is cold is Το ποτό μου είναι κρύο (To potó mou eínai krýo).

Let's learn about more things we see every day.

To say your food is hot you would say Το φαγητό είναι ζεστό (To fagitó eínai zestó).

We can break it up into four words:

Your - Το (To) - sounds like TOH

food - φαγητό (fagitó) - sounds like fah-gee-TOH

is - είναι (eínai) - Sounds like EE-nay

hot - ζεστό (zestó) - Sounds like zay-STOH



So all together Το φαγητό είναι ζεστό (To fagitó eínai zestó) sounds like TOH fah-gee-TOH EE-nay zay-STOH.

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


ASL: Your food is hot

Italian: Il vostro cibo è caldo

German: Ihr Essen ist heiß

Spanish: Tu comida está caliente

French: Votre nourriture est chaud

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Rocket Propellant


Let's learn a little more about Rockets!

One thing that all rockets need is something called propellant.

This is the fuel used to push a rocket through the air.
Propellants can be solid like gunpowder, liquid like water, gasoline or liquid oxygen, or they can be a gas, like compressed nitrogen, or just pressurized air.

When the rocket is started, the propellant shoots out of the rocket at a super fast speed, pushing it along.
So this could be just a long skinny water balloon that shoots out it's water, or it could be a fireworks bottle rocket that burns up it's powder and shoots fire out the back.

The propellant is the stuff inside the rocket that makes the rocket go.


(from: wikipedia - ammonium perchlorate composite propellant)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hobbing

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Firefly Squid


We just learned about the Cirroteuthis.

Another type of cephalopod is the Firefly Squid also known as watasenia scintillans.
They are usually about 3 inches long, and live in the Pacific Ocean.

This type of squid is bioluminescent.
That means parts of its body light up, kind of like a firefly.

There are tiny little dots all over the squid's body with organs called photophores.
The squid uses these photophores to light up, which makes small fish swim toward them, and they eat them up!

It also uses its body lights to make its top bright and bottom dark so it can hide from other predators.

When it is looking around for another firefly squid it will light up it's whole body as a signal.


(from: wikipedia - firefly squid)



Firefly squid / Shine blue beach in Toyama Bay - SuiTube5


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Goliath Frog

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Talocrural and ankle ligaments


We just learned about the Inferior Tibiofibular Joint connecting the tibia to the fibula.

Another set of ligaments are the Talocrural and ankle ligaments.
These connect the tibia and fibula of the lower leg to the talus, navicular and calcaneus bones of the foot.

There are a bunch of ligaments in this area to make sure your ankle works right, and all the bones are tied together.

They all have big names, but they make sense based on the two bones they are connecting:

tibiotalar (anterior/posterior) - connects the tibia (shin bone) to the talus (middle foot bone)
tibiocalcaneal - connects the tibia to the calcaneus (heel bone)
tibionavicular - connects the tibia to the navicular (foot bone)
talofibular (anterior/posterior) - connects the fibula (inside lower leg bone) to the talus
calcaneofibular - connects the fibula to the calcaneus


(from: wikipedia - calcaneofibular ligament)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Skin

Monday, March 26, 2018

Campeche


We just learned about the Mexico state of Nayarit.

Another Mexico state is Campeche.
This state is on the southeast part of Mexico, on the Gulf of Mexico.
It borders Belize and Guatemala to the south.


(from: wikipedia - campeche)

Campeche's coat of arms has pictures of castle towers for the strength of the Campecheans, and sailing ships for the people who were sailing on the ocean.


(from: wikipedia - campeche)

Just like many other states in Mexico, there are ancient pyramids in Campeche.


(from: wikipedia - calakmul)

There are many ancient places in this state where they have found sculptures from over a thousand years ago, like in a small island called Jaina Island.


(from: wikipedia - jaina island)

The Fort of San Miguel in San Francisco de Campeche was built hundreds of years ago to fight against pirates.


(from: wikipedia - campeche city)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Brooks Range

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Saint Stephen


We just learned about Ananias of Damascus, one of the Seventy Disciples.

Another of the seventy is Saint Stephen.

After Jesus died on the cross, Stephen was telling people about him and some of the leaders who did not like Jesus were getting angry.
They told some people to tell lies about Stephen, which made other people very angry.
Stephen was put on trial in front of everyone where he told the truth and talked about Jesus.
This made the leaders who did not like Jesus even more angry, and they threw stones at him and killed him.

Because he was killed for believing in Jesus, he is called the first martyr.
A martyr is someone who is killed because of something they believe in.


(from: wikipedia - saint stephen)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Elijah

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Terracotta Army


We just learned about the sculpture of The Buddha, flanked by Herakles and Tychee.

Another famous set of sculptures is the Terracotta Army made in China around 200 BC.

When the Emperor of China Qin Shi Huang died, he was put into a tomb with over 8,000 sculptures in it.
These were small sculptures of soldiers, chariots, horses, acrobats and musicians that were buried with him as they believed these soldiers would protect the Emperor in the afterlife.

These thousands of soldiers all had real weapons like spears, swords or arrows.
Many of these weapons have been stolen, but people believe there were over 40,000 weapons in the original sculpture.
The statues were all painted at first, but the paint has all worn off.

The place where these sculptures were buried with the emperor was part of a very large cemetery area that was about 38 square miles.
There were people that visited it long ago and wrote about it saying that there were miniature palaces, towers, 100 rivers of flowing mercury, and paintings on the ceiling of heaven.

Over the thousands of years, many things have been stolen or broken, but there are still thousands of sculptures there to see.


(from: wikipedia - terracotta army)



(from: wikipedia - terracotta army)



(from: wikipedia - terracotta army)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Fontana Maggiore

Friday, March 23, 2018

Greek - My drink is cold


We just learned that in Greek to say this chair is small you say Η καρέκλα είναι μικρή (I karékla eínai mikrí).

Let's learn about more things we see every day.

To say My drink is cold, we say Το ποτό μου είναι κρύο (To potó mou eínai krýo).

Some languages say words in a different order, so in Greek you're really saying "The drink mine is cold".

Here's how to say it:

The - To (Το) - sounds like TOH

drink - ποτό (potó) - sounds like poh-TOH

mine - μου (mou) - sounds like MOO

is - είναι (eínai) - sounds like EE-nay

cold - κρύο (krýo) - sounds like KREE-oh


So all together Το ποτό μου είναι κρύο (To potó mou eínai krýo) sounds like TOH poh-TOH MOO EE-nay KREE-oh.

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

ASL: My drink is cold

Italian: La mia bevanda è freddo

German: Mein Getränk ist kalt

Spanish: Mi bebida es fría

French: Ma boisson est froid

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Rockets


We've learned a whole lot about earthquakes.
Everything from tectonic plates, to faults, to aftershocks and the Richter scale!

Let's learn a little about rockets!

Usually when people are talking about rockets, they mean the ones that fly up into the air and go into outer space.
A rocket really just means something that uses fuel in an engine to push itself forward.
So this could be a rocket on the back of a car, a rocket pushing a train, or even a rocket jet backpack!
Even a water balloon filled with air or water that flies around when it is let go is a type of rocket.

Some people think the science of learning about rockets is so hard,
that there is a saying when you want to say something is easy:
"it's not rocket science!"


(from: wikipedia - rocket)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Milling Cutter

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Cirroteuthis Octopus


We just learned about the Grimpoteuthis - Dumbo Octopus.

Another type of cephalopod is Cirroteuthis.

This is an octopus that has webbing in between its arms holding them together.
It almost looks like an octopus wearing a dress!

It can grow to be almost five feet long, and is usually white or purple.
Just like the dumbo octopus, this octopus has fins on its head that it can flap.

They live in the deep sea in cold water, like the Arctic ocean or the south pacific near Antarctica.
Scientists have not been able to find a lot of these, because they live over 6,000 feet deep in the ocean, where there is almost no light.


(from: wikipedia - cirroteuthis)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Paedophryne Amauensis

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Inferior Tibiofibular Joint


We just learned about the Superior Tibiofibular Ligaments.

Another piece of connective tissue is the Inferior Tibiofibular Joint.

This is down by the ankle, connecting the tibia and fibula together at the bottom.
There are 3 ligaments in total. Anterior for the front side, posterior for the back side, and an interosseous membrane in the middle.

(from: wikipedia - inferior tibiofibular joint)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Integumentary System

Monday, March 19, 2018

Nayarit


We just learned about the Mexico state of Tlaxcala.

Another Mexico state is Nayarit.
It is a smaller state on the west coast of Mexico on the Pacific ocean, and includes the islands of Marías and Marietas.


(from: wikipedia - nayarit)

The coat of arms of Nayarit has a corn plant on the top left. This is for the capital city of Tepic, which comes from the Aztec word for corn, "tepictu".
The top right has a picture of a bow and arrow. The Cora people in this state believed in a mythical being called Nayarit, who their legends say invented the bow and arrow.
The bottom has white mountains, for the Sierra Madre Occidental montains.
The middle has the symbol of Mexico, an eagle eating a snake on a cactus.


(from: wikipedia - nayarit)

One of the islands named Marías has a prison on it, built in 1905 that is supposed to be "escape proof".


(from: wikipedia - islas marías)

On the island of Marietas, there is a hidden beach called "love beach" that is a place people go to visit.


(from: wikipedia - islas marietas national park)

There is a place named Ahuacatlan, that means "place where there is a lot of avocado".
In the Nahuatl language, the word ahua means avocado, and the word tlan means place.


(from: wikipedia - ahuacatlán)

Like many other states in Mexico, in Ixtlán del Río there are ancient ruins from people who used to live there thousands of years ago.

(from: wikipedia - ixtlán del rio (archaeological site))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Laramide Belt

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Ananias of Damascus


We just learned about Thaddeus, one of the Seventy Disciples.

Another of the seventy is Ananias of Damascus.

Ananias was one of the followers of Jesus after he died on the cross, and he was known in the Bible as the person who helped give Paul his sight back after he was blinded to help him believe in Jesus.


(from: wikipedia - ananias of damascus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Solomon

Saturday, March 17, 2018

The Buddha, flanked by Herakles and Tychee


We just learned about the Bharhat Stupa.

Another sculpture from ancient Asia is The Buddha, flanked by Herakles and Tychee.

When the Greeks came through Asia, many of their stories about Greek mythology were told to people in the area, so when someone made a statue of the wise man Buddha, they put sculptures of the Greek characters Herakles and Tychee.

(from: wikipedia - greco-buddhist art)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Siena Cathedral Pulpit

Friday, March 16, 2018

Greek - The chair is small


We just learned that in Greek to say this house is big you say Αυτό το σπίτι είναι μεγάλο (Aftó to spíti eínai megálo).

Let's learn about more things we see every day.

To say The chair is small, we say Η καρέκλα είναι μικρή (I karékla eínai mikrí)

We can break it up into four words:

The - Η (I) - sounds like EE

chair - καρέκλα (karékla) - sounds like kah-RAY-klah

is - είναι (eínai) - Sounds like EE-nay

small - μικρή (mikrí) - Sounds like mee-KREE


So all together Η καρέκλα είναι μικρή sounds like EE kah-RAY-klah EE-nay mee-KREE.

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

ASL: This chair is small

Italian: La sedia è piccolo

German: Der Stuhl ist klein

Spanish: La silla es pequeña

French: La chaise est petit

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Speleoseismite


We just learned about the seismite.

Another part of earthquake science is Speleoseismite.

In caves there are things called stalagmites that grow from the floor, and stalactites growing from the ceiling.
Sometimes during earthquakes these break, or sometimes cave ceilings collapse.

These broken or tilted rock growths are the speleoseismites, and they can be used to study earthquakes that happened a long time ago.


(from: wikipedia - speleoseismite)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Milling

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Grimpoteuthis - Dumbo Octopus


We just learned about the Blue Ringed Octopus.

Another cephalopod is the Grimpoteuthis, also known as the "Dumbo Octopus".

This octopus has fins on the side of it's head that look almost like ears, and it flaps these fins almost like dumbo the elephant flapping its ears to fly.
They swim along the ocean floor floating along, and then they jump on their prey and swallow it whole.

(from: wikipedia - grimpoteuthis)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mountain Chicken Frog

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Superior Tibiofibular Ligaments


We just learned about the Patellar Ligament.

Another set of connective tissue is the Superior Tibiofibular Ligaments.

These are the ligaments up by the knee that connect the tibia (shin bone) to the fibula, the smaller bone in the lower leg.

There are two ligaments that tie the tops of the tibia and fibula together.
They are called the anterior (front) of the head of the fibula, and the posterior (back) of the head of the fibula.
The two bones are right next to each other, and at the top there is some connective tissue almost glueing them together.


(from: wikipedia - superior tibiofibular joint)


(from: wikipedia - posterior ligament of the head of the fibula)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Axon Terminal

Monday, March 12, 2018

Tlaxcala


We just learned about the Mexican state of Aguascalientes.

Another state in Mexico is called Tlaxcala.

Not counting the federal district of Mexico City, Tlaxcala is the smallest state in Mexico.

The name Tlaxcala is either from an ancient word that meant crag, a steep cliff face.
Or it comes from the Nahuatl word meaning "place of corn tortillas".


(from: wikipedia - tlaxcala)

The Tlaxcala coat of arms has the letters I K F with crowns on the top.
This is for the kings and queens of Spain, Doña Juana I de Catilla, King Carlos I and King Felipe II.
The yellow castle is for the Castile in Spain, and the flag has an eagle on it because King Carlos was the head of the Holy Roman empire.
The skull and crossbones are for the people who died fighting for their freedom.


(from: wikipedia - tlaxcala)

There is a volcano called Malinche in Tlaxcala.


(from: wikipedia - malinche (volcano))

There is an ancient town about 3,000 years old called Xochitecatl, with some pyramids full of carvings and sculptures.


(from: wikipedia - xochitecatl)

Another ancient town was called Cacaxtla, which had some very old paintings in the Aztec style.


(from: wikipedia - cacaxtla)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Interior System of Canada