Friday, January 31, 2020

Russian - I am happy


Last time we learned that the Russian words for horse, sheep and duck are лошадь (loshad'), овца (ovsta), and утка (utka).

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

We can break it up into a few words.

In Russian you don't say "I am happy", you really just say "I happy".

I - Я (ya) - sounds like yah 文A

happy - счастлив (schastliv) - sounds like shah-ss-t-lih-v 文A

Together Я счастлив (ya shastliv) sounds like yah shah-ss-t-lih-v


russian language
(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: jeg er glad

Greek: Είμαι (Eímai) χαρούμενος (charoúmenos)

ASL: I am happy

Italian: Sono felice

German: Ich bin glücklich

Spanish: Estoy feliz

French: Je suis heureux

Thursday, January 30, 2020

Valve Types


We just learned about the Poppet Valve, and we learned about the Ball Valve before that.

There are lots of different Valve Types out there that are made for different reasons.

A Globe Valve has a body that is shaped sort of like a globe, and has a disc that goes up and down to plug the hole and stop the flow of liquid or gas.

(from: wikipedia - globe valve)

A Butterfly Valve has a circle shaped disc in the middle that spins to open or close.


(from: wikipedia - butterfly valve)

A Gate Valve has a gate that goes up and down to open or close the hole.


(from: wikipedia - gate valve)

A Check Valve is a type of valve that stays closed unless the liquid or gas pushes hard enough to open it, and then it will close again using something like a spring.


(from: wikipedia - check valve)

A Control Valve is a valve that is controlled by a computer to tell it to open a little or a lot, so that it can control the amount of liquid or gas that is coming through.


(from: wikipedia - control valve)

Valves can have have a lot more than just two holes or ports also.
Many valves have three or four ports, and some have even more!


(from: wikipedia - four way valve)

There are a lot more types of valves out there. Pretty much any way you can think of to open or close a pipe, someone has made a valve for it.

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: V-2 Rocket

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Tigers


We just learned about Lions.

Another big cat is the Tiger.

The tiger is the largest of the wild cats in the group of animals called "Felidae".

Tigers mostly live by themselves, except for the mothers when they are raising tiger cubs for about 2 years.

There are a lot of different types of tigers from different places.
Some have darker or longer fur, some are a little bigger, and some have stripes that look a little different.
Just like lions, there are also white tigers!
All the different tigers are in a group called "Panthera".

Tigers have stripes so that they can hide in the tall grass when they are hunting for other animals.
They have yellow irises in their eyes, and circle shaped pupils.

Boy tigers can grow to be 12 feet long, and weigh 675 pounds! Girl tigers are smaller, only growing to 9 feet and 360 pounds.
Their tails can be 2 to 4 feet long!

Tigers used to live all the way from the country of Turkey in the west to Japan in the east.
Now it mostly only lives in parts of India and China and a few other countries.
Tigers usually live in forest areas where there is water and other animals for them to hunt.

Even though we think about cats not liking water, tigers have no problem swimming, and can swim 18 miles in one day!






(from: wikipedia - tiger)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Crown Jellyfish

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Field of View


We just learned about the Central Retinal Vein.

Another part of the eyes is the Field of View.

When we are looking forward with our eyes, we see the things in front of us, but not behind us.
We also can only see part of what is up, down, left or right without moving our head to see it all.

Some of this is because parts of our head that get in the way like cheekbones or eyebrows.
Part of it is because our eyeballs are pointed forward.
Some animals like a rabbit or a deer have eyes on the sides of their heads, so they can see almost all the way in front and in back of their bodies.

The whole space of things that you can see with your eyes without moving them is called your Field of View, or FoV.



(from: wikipedia - peripheral vision)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lingual Papillae

Monday, January 27, 2020

Weddel Sea


We just learned about the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf.

Another part of Antarctica is the Weddel Sea.

This is the water just to the East of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Some scientists believe this to be the clearest sea water in the whole world, and people have been able to see things down in the water over 250 feet deep.

The sea is about 1,200 miles across, and some sailors have said that it was the most dangerous sea on earth.
As people have taken their boats into this sea, sometimes the ice will flash freeze, and then melt again, and sometimes the ice will crush or tip over ships.

There are many animals who live in this sea, like the Weddell seal, killer whales, humpback whales, minke whales, leopard seals and crabeater seals.

There are also some penguins that live on the land in this area and swim in the sea.



(from: wikipedia - weddel sea)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Conwy Castle

Sunday, January 26, 2020

King Charlemagne


We just learned about the Icons.

Another part of early Christianity is the rule of King Charlemagne, also known as Charles I or Charles the Great.

Around 770 AD a person named Charlemagne was the king over a lot of parts of Europe, like France, Germany and Italy.

There were a lot of people in those times fighting over who should be king or emperor, so Pope Leo III who was the head of the church in Rome told everyone to follow Charlemagne and that he should be the ruler over everyone else.

Charles loved reading, writing and music, so he helped make schools for people to learn and read the books of the Bible.
He also sent people to Rome to learn how to sing and they came back to the schools to teach people how to sing the Psalms of the Bible.

A lot of the writings of the Bible were in Latin or Greek, so Charles told people to make copies of them in other languages.
This made it so that everyone could read the Bible and learn about God and Jesus themselves.


(from: wikipedia - charlemagne)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tetramorph

Saturday, January 25, 2020

The Woman of Samaria (Rebecca at the Well) - William Henry Rinehart


We just learned about the sculpture Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument by Randolph Rogers.

Another famous American sculpture is The Woman of Samaria (Rebecca at the Well) made by William Henry Rinehart in 1861 in Washington, D.C.

Rinehart was born in Maryland, and gre up as a farmer working for his father.
He got a job as a stone cutter, and then started learning how to be a sculptor.

When he was 30 years old he moved to Italy to learn from some of the best sculptors in the world.
He made many marble statues and sent them back to America, mostly to Washington D.C. to be put around the nation's capital.


(from: wikipedia - william henry rinehart)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ellora - Buddhist Caves

Friday, January 24, 2020

Russian - Horse, sheep, duck


We know that in Russian, dog is собака (sobaka)and cat is кошка (koshka),
cow is корова (korova), chicken is курица (kuritsa), and pig is свинья (svin'ya).

Let's learn more animals!

horse - лошадь (loshad') - sounds like loh-sh-ad 文A

sheep - овца (ovtsa) - sounds like ah-v-ts-ah 文A

duck - утка (utka) - sounds like oo-t-kah 文A


Also in Russia horses say И-го-го (ee-go-go), sheep say Б-е-е-е (beh), and ducks say Кря-кря (kr-yah).


russian language
(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: hest, sau, and

Greek: άλογο, πρόβατα, πάπια

ASL: horse, sheep, duck

German: Pferd, Schaf, Ente

Spanish:caballo, oveja, pato

French:French - cheval, mouton, canard

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Poppet Valve


We just learned about the Ball Valve.

Another type of valve is the Poppet Valve.

This is a valve that is usually used to open and close for gas to come through.

In a car's engine there are valves used to help the fuel come in, and after it makes a big explosion there are valves to let the burnt up air out.



(from: wikipedia - poppet valve)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bell X-1

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Lion


We just learned about Cats.

The big cat known as the king of the jungle is the Lion.

Lions mostly live in Africa, but there are also some in the Middle East and Europe.

Lions are big cats that are part of the "Felidae" family.
The male lions have a big mane, and all lions have a hairy fluff of fur at the end of their tails.
They are usually 6 or 7 feet long, and they can weigh over 300 pounds!

Lions live together in a family that is called a "pride".
A pride is usually a few grown up males, then some females and little lion cubs.
When the little lion cubs are about 3 years old, the boy lions are sent off to live on their own, and the girl lions stay with the pride.
When boy lions are out by themselves, sometimes they will group together with a few other boy lions until they find a home where they join a new pride as a grown up male lion.

Lions can make a lot of sounds like purring and meowing, but they are best known for the lion's roar.
It is so loud that it can be heard up to 5 miles away.

There is one type of lion called a white lion, that has white or very light colored fur.







(from: wikipedia - lion)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Purple Striped Jelly

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Central Retinal Vein


We just learned about the Central Retinal Artery.

Another part of the eye is the Central Retinal Vein.

The artery brings blood to the eye, and this vein in the back of the eye then takes that deoxygenated used up blood and brings it back to the heart.

(from: wikipedia - central retinal vein)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Specialized Mucosa

Monday, January 20, 2020

Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf


We just learned about the Ross Ice Shelf.

Another part of Antarctica is the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf.

This shelf is about 430,000 square kilometers, which is bigger than the state of California.
It is about 600 meters deep, and below the shelf the water goes down another 1,400 meters.

In 1998 an iceberg named A38 split off from the ice shelf that was over 22,000 square kilometers.



(from: wikipedia - filchner-ronne ice shelf)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Château de Chambord

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Icons


We just learned about the Muslim Conflict.

Another part of early Christianity is Icons.

In the old times of the church, people thought it was bad to use pictures of crosses, or even pictures of Jesus, Mary or any of the old leaders of the church.

The paintings were known as icons.

Because God said not to worship any idols, they felt that putting up artwork of something Christian was like worshipping an idol.

Later on people argued that having these paintings around was good because it helped people think about God and Jesus.


(from: wikipedia - byzantine iconoclasm)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Biblican Canon

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument - Randolph Rogers


We just learned about the sculpture The Willing Captive - Chauncey Ives.

Another famous work of American sculpture is the Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument by Randolph Rogers in Detroit Michigan, 1867.

Rogers was born in New York, but grew up in Ann Arbor Michigan.
He started off doing most of his sculpture in wood, and then later worked with marble.

When he was about 40 years old he moved to New York City and then Florence Italy to study sculpture.
He didn't really like working with marble, so he would always make his statues out of something else like wood, and then have other marble sculptors make a copy of it in marble for him.

His civil war monument in Detroit is octagon shaped.
On top is a sculpture of a heroic woman called Michigania, or Victory holding a sword and shield.
There are four male sculptures for the Navy, Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery of the Civil War.
Four female sculptures are for Victory, History, Emancipation and Union.
By the bottom are eagles with raised wings, and four plaques with Union generals Lincoln, Grant, Sherman and Farragut.


(from: wikipedia - michigan soldiers' and sailors' monument)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sanchi Capital of Ashoka

Friday, January 17, 2020

Russian - Cow, Chicken, Pig

We just learned that black white brown and gray in Russian is черный (chernyy), белый (belyy), коричневый (korichnevyy), серый (seryy).

We already know that in Russian, dog is собака (sobaka) and cat is кошка (koshka).

Now let's learn about some farm animals!

cow - корова (korova) - sounds like kah-droh-vah 文A

chicken - курица (kuritsa) - sounds like koo-dree-t-sah 文A

pig - свинья (svin'ya) - sounds like s-vee-n-yah 文A

Also in Russian cows say Му-у-у (mooo), chickens say Ко-ко-ко (ko-ko-ko) and pigs say Хрю-хрю (khryoo-khryoo)!



russian language
(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: ku, kylling, gris

Greek: αγελάδα, κοτόπουλο, χοίρο

ASL: cow, chicken, pig

Italian: mucca, pollo, maiale

German: Kuh, Huhn, Schwein

Spanish: vaca, pollo, cerdo

French: vache, poulet, porc

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Ball Valve


We just learned about the Valve Trim.

There are a lot of different kinds of valves.
One type of valve that is used a lot is the Ball Valve.

It's called a ball valve because inside the valve there is a ball.
The ball has a hole in the middle of it, and the valve handle turns the ball.
When the ball is turned one way, the water or gas can go through the hole in the ball.
When the ball is turned the other way, the ball blocks the water or gas, and keeps the valve closed.



(from: wikipedia - ball valve)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: World War II Rocket Weapons

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Cats


We just learned about Jellyfish Ephyra, and a whole lot of other things about Jellyfish!

Let's learn a little about Cats, like the big tigers, lions and cheetahs.

The big cats in the world all belong from the same family of animals called "Felidae"
All of the Felidae cats have retractile claws, which means they can pull their claws back into their paws or push them out to attack.

They all have whiskers on their cheeks and above their eyes.
Their tongues are all rough with little sharp spikes on them, so they can brush their fur with their tongue.
They can all meow, hiss, snarl, growl and of course purr. Even big tigers and lions!



(from: wikipedia - felidae)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jellyfish

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Central Retinal Artery


We just learned about the Optic Disc.

Another part of the eye is the Central Retinal Artery.

This is in the back of the eye at the retina, where the fresh oxygenated blood is brought to the eye for it to use.

(from: wikipedia - central retinal artery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lining Mucosa

Monday, January 13, 2020

Ross Ice Shelf


We just learned about the Larsen Ice Shelf.

Another ice shelf in Antarctica is the Ross Ice Shelf.

This is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica.
It is about 500 miles wide, and 600 miles long, almost as big as the country of France.

It sticks up above the water up to 160 feet high, but most of the shelf is actually underwater.
In some parts it os over 2,000 feet thick, which is about half a mile.

Just like the Larsen Ice Shelf, this shelf sometimes has icebergs break off.
In the year 2000, the largest iceberg ever measured in the world broke off from the Ross Ice Shelf.
It was called Iceberg B-15, and it was about 183 miles long and 23 miles wide, about the size of the island of Jamaica.



(from: wikipedia - ross ice shelf)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Royal Palace of Madrid

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Muslim Conflict


We just learned about the Church of the East in China.

Another part of early Christianity was the Muslim Conflict.

Around 610 AD, a man named Muhammad started a new religion called Islam, and the followers of Islam are called Muslims.

Christianity and Islam were both spreading around Europe, the Middle East and Africa all through the years 600 AD and 700 AD, and people fought over which one was true.

Most of the countries in the Middle East, northern Africa, and even Spain and Portugal became mostly Muslim.

Christianity was still spreading into Western Europe, but many countries that used to be Christian switched to Islam for hundreds of years.


(from: wikipedia - spread of islam)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Quartodecimanism

Saturday, January 11, 2020

The Willing Captive - Chauncey Ives


We just learned about the Clasped Hands of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning by Harriet Hosmer.

Another The Willing Captive by Chauncey Ives in 1886.

Ives was born in Connecticut, and when he was a teenager he started learning how be a sculptor.
After a few jobs he moved to Italy to learn from other masters there.

In 1886 he made a sculpture of a young woman who was captured by Native Americans. After staying with the Natives for a while, her mother came to take her back, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to stay with the Natives or go back to her mother.

There are true stories like these where Natives would capture young girls and raise them as their own, and sometimes the girls would decide to stay with the Natives instead of going back home.


(from: wikipedia - chauncey ives)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Indus Valley Civilization

Friday, January 10, 2020

Russian - Black, white, brown, gray

We just learned that in Russian, red, orange and yellow are красный (krasnyy), оранжевый (oranzhevyy), желтый (zheltyy),
and green, blue, purple, pink are зеленый (zelenyy), синий (siniy), фиолетовый (fioletovyy), розовый (rozovyy).

Let's learn some more colors!

black - черный (chernyy) - sounds like choh-r-nee 文A

white - белый (belyy) - sounds like bee-ah-lee 文A

brown - коричневый (korichnevyy) - sounds like kah-dree-ch-nee-yeh-vee 文A

gray - серый (seryy) - sounds like see-ah-dree 文A


russian language
(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: svart, hvit, brun, grå

Greek: μαύρο, λευκό, καφέ, γκρι

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 9, 2020

Valve Trim


We just learned about the Valve Spring.

Another part of the valve is the Valve Trim.

The valve stem, seat, disc and any parts that are inside the valve are all together called the Valve Trim.


(from: wikipedia - valve)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: The Rocket into Planetary Space - Hermann Oberth

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Jellyfish Ephyra


We just learned about the Jellyfish Polyps.

Another part of a jellyfish is the Ephyra.

After the polyps grow for a little while, they start to grow parts that look more like a jellyfish.
It starts to get a bell shape, grow some tentacles and even mouth parts.
Eventually it floats away and is like a mini-jellyfish, not quite grown yet.

This part of the jellyfish's life is known as the Ephyra.

Later on it grows up a little more and is called a Medusae, which is the science word for the jellyfish species.


(from: wikipedia - ephyra)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Radula

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Optic Disc


We just learned about the Opthalmic Artery.

Another part of the eye is the Optic Disc.

At the back of the eye there is a place where all the nerves come together and go out to the brain.
Because this spot has nerves, there are no rods or cones there, so it is like a blind spot in your sight.

There are some fun eye tests that you can do to actually show that you have a blind spot where things disappear from your sight!


(from: wikipedia - optic disc)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Masticatory Mucosa

Monday, January 6, 2020

Larsen Ice Shelf


We just learned about the Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Another part of Antarctica is the Larsen Ice Shelf.

This is the shelf of ice that's on the Antarctic Peninsula.
An ice shelf is a big piece of ice that goes out from the land and has water underneath it.

The Larsen Ice Shelf used to be about 33,000 square miles, but because of global warming it has gotten 7,000 square miles smaller and is now 26,000 square miles.

The ice shelf is split up into parts A, B, C, D, E, F and G.

Shelf A melted away in 1995 and is gone. It was about 500 square miles, twice the size of the city of Chicago.

Shelf B is almost gone, and in 2002 over 1,250 square miles broke off and floated away. That is about the size of the state of Rhode Island. This ice shelf had not melted for over 10,000 years.

Shelf C is melting and breaking away also. It is 17,000 square miles. In 2017 a 2,200 square mile piece broke off and floated away. This iceberg was called A68, weighed more than a trillion tons, and was taller than a 70 story building.

Shelf D has not broken away so far and is about 8,000 square miles.




(from: wikipedia - larsen ice shelf)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Castillo de Coca

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Church of the East in China


We just learned about the Christian Nations in 600 AD.

Another part of early Christianity is the Church of the East in China.

People were going all over the world to tell others about God and Jesus, like Germany, England and Africa.

In the year 635 AD, a monk from Syria named Alopen went into a city in China called Chang'an, and met with Emperor Taizong.

The Emperor said it was ok for Alopen to go all over China and tell people about Christianity.
After this he traveled around and told people in China learn about God and Jesus.


(from: wikipedia - murals from the nestorian temple at qocho)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hildegard of Bingen

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Clasped Hands of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning - Hosmer


We just learned about the statue of Doctor John Witherspoon by American sculptor William Couper.

Another American sculpture is Clasped Hands of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning made by Harriet Hosmer in 1853 in Washington D.C.

Harriet Hosmer was known as the first professional female sculptor.
During her time women were not allowed to go to art school, so she had to get private lessons to learn.
After she grew up she moved to Italy where she met a lot of other famous artists.

Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning were both very famous poets back in the 1800s, and they lived in Rome Italy.
Harriet Hosmer met them and saw how they were in love with each other, so she made a sculpture of their hands together.

Harriet had to work very hard to be good at art because many people did not think women could or should be artists.

After she was successful, she told people: "I honor every woman who has strength enough to step outside the beaten path when she feels that her walk lies in another; strength enough to stand up and be laughed at, if necessary.".


(from: wikipedia - )


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: George Washington - Horatio Greenough

Friday, January 3, 2020

Russian - Green, Blue, Purple, Pink

We just learned that in Russian, red, orange and yellow are красный krasnyy, оранжевый (oranzhevyy), желтый (zheltyy).

Let's learn more colors!

green - зеленый (zelenyy) - sounds like zeh-lee-oh-nee 文A

blue - синий (siniy) - sounds like see-nee 文A

purple - фиолетовый (fioletovyy) - sounds like fee-yah-lee-yet-oh-vee 文A

pink - розовый (rozovyy) - sounds like droh-zuh-vah-ee 文A


russian language
(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: grønn, blå, lilla, rosa

Greek: πράσινο, μπλε, μοβ, ροζ

ASL: green, blue, purple, pink

Italian: verde, blu, viola, rosa

German: grün, blau, lila, rosa

Spanish: verde, azul, morado, rosa

French: vert, bleu, violet, rose