Monday, November 30, 2020

Bosnia and Herzegovina


We just learned about the country of Belarus

Let's learn a little about the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, also called BiH, B&H, Bosnia–Herzegovina, or sometimes just Bosnia.

This country is bordered by Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, and the Adriatic Sea.
It is about 20,000 square miles, and about 3 million people live there.

(from: wikipedia - bosnia and herzegovina)

The flag for Bosnia and Herzegovina is blue, with a yellow triangle and white stars.
The colors are for neutrality, peace and for Bosnian culture and history.

The triangle is for the three different types of people living there, Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs.


(from: wikipedia - flag of bosnia and herzegovina)

To eat in BiH you might have ćevapi, which is grilled meat with fruit and spices in it, and usually some bread.

(from: wikipedia - ćevapi)

Stari Most is a very old bridge in the town of Mostar, that was built in the 1500s.

(from: wikipedia - stari most)

Sarajevo is the biggest city in BiH, and has many famous old buildings and neighborhoods.
One of the most famous moments in history was in this city when someone assassinated the Archduke Ferdinand, which many people say was what started World War I.


(from: wikipedia - sarajevo)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: West Antarctica

Sunday, November 29, 2020

Christianity in the New World


We just learned about the Spanish Inquisition.

Another part of early Christianity is Christianity in the New World.

After Christopher Columbus had gone across the Atlantic Ocean and discovered new lands, he came back to Europe to Spain.
The Pope Alexander VI told him to go back to the new world, and to bring priests with him to try and tell people in the new world about God and Jesus and see if they would be Christians.

On this trip Columbus brought 17 ships, and visited Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.


(from: wikipedia - christopher columbus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pope Gregory I

Saturday, November 28, 2020

Students Aspire - Elizabeth Catlett


We just learned about the sculpture of Booker T. Washington by Richmond Barthé.

Another famous American sculpture is Students Aspire by Elizabeth Catlett made in 1978 in Washington D.C.

This is a sculpture of an African American man and woman holding each other and raising their hands toward a circle with a picture of an equals sign in it. There are 4 other circles for some of the different types of science and engineering in the world, like gears for a mechanical engineer, a protractor for a civil engineer, a glass bottle for chemistry, and a circuit picture for electrical.
At the bottom is a tree trunk, and the two students are holding each other and reaching out like branches of the tree.

The sculptor Elizabeth Catlett was born in 1915 in Washington D.C.
Her grandparents had been slaves, so growing up she knew that life had been hard for African Americans.
She tried to go to college at one university, but they would not let her in because she was black.
So she ended up going to Howard University, which was a college where they let black people in.

She spent many years making art and teaching, and later moved to Mexico to be a teacher and artist.


(from: wikipedia - students aspire)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Benjamin Franklin - Hiram Powers

Friday, November 27, 2020

Swahili - Dog, Cat


We just learned that to ask if someone speaks Swahili you say Unazungumza kiswahili?.

To say dog in Swahili, you say mbwa and it sounds like mm-bwah 文A

To say cat in Swahili, you say paka and it sounds like pah-kah 文A

, Also in Swahili, cats say meow meow and dogs say bow wow

swahili
(from: wikipedia - swahili language)

Russian: собака (sobaka), кошка (koshka)

Norwegian: hund, katt

Greek: σκύλος (skýlos), γάτα (gáta)

ASL: dog, cat

Italian: cane, gatto

German: Hunt, Katze

Spanish: perro, gato

French: chien, chat

Thursday, November 26, 2020

Headlight


We just learned about the Chimney.

Another part of a locomotive is the Headlight or headlamp.

The headlight isn't really for the people driving the train, because they are going too fast to be able to stop if they saw something.
It's really meant to warn everyone to get off the tracks and to stay out of the way.
There are also workers at stations who need to know the train is coming, and they can see the light from very far away.


(from: wikipedia - steam locomotive components)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Valve Handle

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Bengal Cat


We just learned about the Savannah Cat.

Another type of cat is the Bengal Cat.

This cat came from the wild Leopard Cat mixed with a house cat that was more calm and would be a good pet.

They have golden fur, with dark spots on them just like a leopard.
Because they came from a wild cat, they have lots of energy and need a lot of attention.


(from: wikipedia - bengal cat)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Rhopalium

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Basophil


We just learned about the type of white blood cell called the Eosinophil.

Another type of white blood cell is the Basophil.

We've learned about 4 other types of white blood cells (WBC):
- lymphocytes - that help kill off bad diseases using T, B or NK cells.
- monocytes - that help fight off infections and clean up garbage in the body.
- neutrophils - most common WBC that is the first line of defense for fighting infections.
- eosinophils - that live in tissues and help fight off allergic responses

The Basophil is the 5th and last type of WBC.

This type of white blood cell is one of the things that makes your body react when it is allergic to something. So this could be swelling up or getting itchy spots on your body.
It does this by letting out something called "histamines".

The eosinophils puts out "antihistamines" so when your body is trying to calm down from being allergic to something, these antihistamines work against the histamines.

Basophils also let out a chemical called heparin, which keeps your blood a liquid.
When your blood dries up and turns to a clot it can cause problems, so the heparin makes sure it doesn't dry up.


(from: wikipedia - basophil)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Rod Cells

Monday, November 23, 2020

Belarus


We just learned about the country of Azerbaijan.

Let's learn about the country of Belarus

This country is in eastern Europe next to Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Latvia.
It's about 80,000 square miles, and about 10 million people live there.
The people there speak both the Belarusian and Russian languages.

(from: wikipedia - belarus)

The Belarusian flag has a large red stripe above a smaller green stripe, and on the left side there is a red and white pattern.
The red stripe is for freedom, the green stripe is for life, and the red-white pattern is one that is used a lot in Belarusian art and clothing.


(from: wikipedia - flag of belarus)

To eat in Belarus you might have Kalduny, which is dumplings made of dough, and filled with something like ham and mushrooms.

(from: wikipedia - kalduny)

Almost half of Belarus is a forest. Long ago most of Europe used to be a forest, but after people have made buildings and cities a lot of it is gone. The Białowieża Forest in Belarus is one of the last big forests left in Europe.
The forest is part of both Poland and Belarus.

(from: wikipedia - białowieża forest)

There is a big old castle in Belarus called the Mir Castle, made in 1568 AD.

(from: wikipedia - mir castle complex)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: East Antarctica

Sunday, November 22, 2020

Spanish Inquisition


We just learned about the Italian Renaissance.

Another part of early Christianity is the Spanish Inquisition.

We learned before about the Medieval Inquisition that the churches started to try and help make sure people were following the right laws from God.

During the Spanish Inquisition in 1478 AD, the rulers of Spain wanted everyone in Spain to be Catholic.

So they said if someone wasn't Catholic they had to either leave Spain or become Catholic.
And if they found out someone was not following the rules, they would put them in jail and ask them questions to try and make them prove they were good or bad.

Later on things got very bad and the inquisition would hurt or kill people if they thought they were not following the rules from the Bible or from the King.

The inquisition went on for hundreds of years and wasn't over until the year 1834 AD.


(from: wikipedia - spanish inquisition)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Anno Domini

Saturday, November 21, 2020

Booker T. Washington - Richmond Barthé


We just learned about the sculpture of Alice in Wonderland by Jose de Creeft.

Another famous American sculpture is Booker T. Washington made by Richmond Barthé in New York in 1946.

In America after the Civil War was over and slavery was made illegal, a lot of African American people who lived as slaves in the south moved to the north to find places to live and get jobs.

Many places in the south were still not very friendly toward African Americans, so they wanted to go to places in the north where they felt more free.

Barthé was born in Mississippi and grew up wanting to be an artist.
He tried to go to a college in the south but they would not let him because he was African American, so he went to art college in Pennsylvania.
Later on he moved to New York where a lot of African Americans were living and getting jobs, and he became a famous artist there.

Booker T. Washington was a famous African American who fought for the rights of freed slaves after the civil war.


(from: wikipedia - richmond barthé)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Water Nymph and Bitterna - William Rush

Friday, November 20, 2020

Swahili - Do you speak Swahili?


Remember that to say please, you're welcome in Swahili, you say tafadhali, karibu.

To ask if someone speaks Swahili, you say:
Unazungumza kiswahili? which sounds like tee oo-nah-zoo-n-goo-m-zah kee-swah-hee-lee - 文A


To say yes you would say ndio which sounds like n-dee-oh - 文A


or to say no you would say hapana which sounds like hah-pah-nah - 文A



swahili
(from: wikipedia - swahili language)

Russian: Ты говоришь по-русски? (Ty govorish' po russki), Вы говорите по русски (Vy govorishtay po russki)

Norwegian: Kan du norsk?

Greek: Μιλατε ελληνικα? (Milate ellinika?)

ASL: Do you speak ASL?

Italian: Parli italiano?

German: Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

Spanish: ¿Hablas español?

French: parlez-vous français?

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Chimney


We just learned about the Superheater.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Chimney.

The smoke from the boiler goes up the chimney pipe so the smoke goes up high and the engineer can still see down the tracks.


(from: wikipedia - chimney (locomotive))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Valve Port

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Savannah Cat


We just learned about the Sphynx Cat.

Another type of cat is the Savannah Cat.

This type of cat is a cross between a normal house cat and the wild Serval cat.
They usually weigh about 15 pounds, which is a lot smaller than the 40 pound serval cat.
On their ears they have the same markings, and their fur is spotted just like the serval.
Their legs are longer than a normal cats, but not super long like the wild serval.



(from: wikipedia - savannah cat)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lappet

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Eosinophil


We just learned about the Neutrophil.

Another type of white blood cell is the Eosinophil, pronounced like "ee-oh-sin-oh-fill".

We've learned about 3 other types of white blood cells (WBC):
- lymphocytes - that help kill off bad diseases using T, B or NK cells.
- monocytes - that help fight off infections and clean up garbage in the body.
- neutrophils - most common WBC that is the first line of defense for fighting infections.

Less than 3% of the WBCs in the body are eosinophils.
They help fight viruses, and they also help the body fight off allergic responses.

One big difference is that these eosinophils live in tissues, they are not floating around in the blood stream.
They hang out in places like the intestines and spleen, but they do not go into the lungs, skin or esophagus.


(from: wikipedia - eosinophil)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Zonule of Zinn

Monday, November 16, 2020

Azerbaijan


We just learned about the country of Armenia.

Let's learn a little about the country of Azerbaijan!

This country is in the area of Europe and Asia called Eurasia.
It is south of Russia, north of Iran, and east of Armenia.
On the east side of the country is the Caspian Sea.
It is about 33,000 square miles, and about 10 million people live there.


(from: wikipedia - azerbaijan)

The flag of Azerbaijan is blue, red, and green with a crescent moon and star in the middle.
The blue and the moon and star are for the Turkish people who live all over the world.
The red is for progress, and the green is for the religion of Islam.

(from: wikipedia - azerbaijan)

To eat in Azerbaijan you might have plov, which is rice with some other things added like meat or vegetables.


(from: wikipedia - pilaf)

There is a carpet museum in Azerbaijan, with over 10,000 things on display showing the history of weaving and carpets and how they were used through history.


(from: wikipedia - azerbaijan carpet museum)

There is an ancient building called the Maiden Tower that goes back to around 1100 AD.
It has many stories from history about legends and mysteries that happened here.


(from: wikipedia - maiden tower (baku))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Antarctica

Sunday, November 15, 2020

Italian Renaissance


We just learned about the Sistine Chapel.

Another part of early Christianity was the Italian Renaissance.

After the Pope moved back to Italy, there was a time that many rich and powerful people were working with the Pope to help make new works of art and very fancy churches.

This was during the time of Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello and they all were paid lots of money by the church to make Christian works of art like the Sistine Chapel or Michelangelo's Pieta.


(from: wikipedia - christianity in the 15th century)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hagia Sophia

Saturday, November 14, 2020

Alice in Wonderland - Jose de Creeft


We just learned about the American sculpture of Puma by William Zorach.

Another famous American sculpture is Alice in Wonderland by Jose de Creeft made in New York in 1959.

This is a bronze statue in Central Park in New York, and it is a favorite for little kids to climb on, so the bronze has become worn down and shiny all over it.

It has Alice sitting on a mushroom, the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter.
The sculpture was made to honor a famous rich person's wife who loved the stories of Alice in Wonderland.

The artist Jose de Creeft was born in 1884 in Spain, and grew up learning about art in different places in Europe.
In 1929 he moved to New York and set up a studio there and made many sculptures like this one.


(from: wikipedia - jose de creeft)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Chacmool

Friday, November 13, 2020

Swahili - Please, You're Welcome


Remember that to say thank you in Swahili, you say Asante.

To say please in Swahili is tafadhali - Sounds like tah-fah-d-hah-lee. - 文A

To say you're welcome, you say karibu - Sounds like kah-ree-boo. - 文A



swahili
(from: wikipedia - swahili language)

Russian: пожалуйста (pozhaluysta)

Norwegian: Vær så snill, Værsågod

Greek: Παρακαλώ (Parakaló)

ASL: Please, You're Welcome

German: bitte, bitte schön

Spanish: Por favor, de nada

French: s'il vous plait, de rien

Thursday, November 12, 2020

Superheater


We just learned about the steam locomotive Boiler.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Superheater.

When the water gets heated up by the fire and goes through the fire tube boiler, it gets really hot and leaves the boiler as steam.
To make it even hotter, that hot steam is sent back into some other pipes to get heated even more.
This is called a superheater.

Superheated steam is better because it is more of a dry steam.
The dry steam holds the heat better, and helps the inside of the engine not get wet and rusty.


(from: wikipedia - superheater)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bonnet

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Sphynx Cat


We just learned about the Persian Cat.

Another type of cat is the Sphynx Cat.

This is a type of cat with no fur.
One funny thing about their skin is that even though they don't have fur their skin can be different colors, and if fur did grow from that skin it would be the same color as that skin..

Because they don't have fur they cat get cold, and they can either wear clothes made for them or they will go try and find warm places to curl up.


(from: wikipedia - sphynx cat)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nerve Net

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Neutrophil


We just learned about the Monocyte.

Another type of white blood cell is a Neutrophil, also called a neutrocyte or heterophil.

We've learned about 2 other types of white blood cells:
- lymphocytes - that help kill off bad diseases using T, B or NK cells.
- monocytes - that help fight off infections and clean up garbage in the body.

The neutrophils are a lot like the monocytes, where their job is to go fight off bad germs and dirt that cause infections and make you sick.
These are the first line of defense for your body when there is an infection, they are like the emergency workers that rush to the scene to help out.


There are more neutrophils than any other type of white blood cell, and the human body makes about 100 billion neutrophils every day.

One of the only differences between monoctyes and neutrophils is that when a monocyte fights off an infection or disease they leave behind some clues about what kind of disease it might be.
These clues help the super powerful lymphocytes come in if there is a bad disease that needs to be killed off.


(from: wikipedia - neutrophil)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Uvea

Monday, November 9, 2020

Armenia


We just learned about the country of Andorra

Let's learn a little about the country of Armenia!

This is a small country in an area called Eurasia, meaning some people think of this area as Europe and others think of it as Asia.
It is east of Turkey, south of Georgia, north of Iran, and west of Azerbaijan.
The country is about 11,000 square miles and has about 3 million people living there.


(from: wikipedia - armenia)

The Armenian flag is 3 horizontal stripes.
Red - for the mountains, for freedom, for the Christian people, and for the Armenian Genocide
Blue - for the skies
Orange - for courage and hard work


(from: wikipedia - flag of armenia)

To eat in Armenia you might have kibbeh which is a type of spicy meat, served with yogurt

(from: wikipedia - armenian cuisine)

The Etchmiadzin Cathedral was built around 300 AD, and is the oldest cathedral in the world.

(from: wikipedia - etchmiadzin cathedral)

Armenia is home to the world's oldest leather shoe, and the world's oldest winery.
In 2007 scientists found a cave with these things they believe were made aound in 4000 BC.

(from: wikipedia - areni-1 winery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Half Tower

Sunday, November 8, 2020

Sistine Chapel


We just learned about the Gutenberg Bible.

Another part of early Christianity is the Sistine Chapel.

In 1473 AD the builder Baccio Pontelli tore down an old chapel that was falling over and built a new big chapel for the pope at the time called Pope Sixtus IV.
It was called the "Cappella Magna" or Great Chapel, it was the new home for the Pope and was full of many famous works of art by artists like Boticelli and Michelangelo.
The name was changed to the Sistine Chapel for the name of Pope Sixtus.

When the church is trying to choose a new pope, they put a chimney up on the roof.
If all of the church leaders agree on the pope then they throw all their ballots in the fireplace and it makes white smoke out of the top of the chimney, telling everyone that there is a new pope.
If they can not agree, then they put some other things in the fireplace to make black smoke come out of the chimney to tell everyone they have not made up their minds yet.


(from: wikipedia - sistine chapel)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pentarchy

Saturday, November 7, 2020

Puma - William Zorach


We just learned about the sculpture Dream Lady by Edward McCartan.

Another famous American sculpture is Puma by William Zorach made in 1954 in Philadelphia.

Zorach was born in Lithuania in 1889, and moved to America when he was 5.
He grew up learning how to be an artist in America.
While he was an artist, a lot of other artists in America were making things in the old classical style, but Zorach liked the cubism style.

He made many paintings and sculptures in America and was even a college art teacher for many years.


(from: wikipedia - william zorach)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Xicalcoliuhqui

Friday, November 6, 2020

Swahili - Very good thanks, and you?

We just learned to say How are you? in Swahili, Hujambo or Unakuwaje

and Very good thanks is Sijambo asante or Safi asante

To be polite you should also ask how the other person is doing.

You can really just say hujambo or unakuwaje to the person, or you can actually say "and you".

And you? - Na wewe? - sounds like nah way-way - 文A


swahili
(from: wikipedia - swahili language)

Russian: Спасибо Хорошо (Spasibo khorosho). А вы? (A vy?) / А ты? (A ty?)

Norwegian: Veldig bra takk. Og du?

Greek: Πολύ καλά, ευχαριστώ. εσύ? (Polý kalá, efcharistó)

ASL: Very Good Thanks, and You?

Italian: Molto bene, grazie.

German: Sehr gut, danke. Und Sie?

Spanish: Muy bien gracias. ¿Y tú?

French: Très bien, merci. Et vous?

Thursday, November 5, 2020

Boiler


We just learned about the Firebox on a locomotive.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Boiler.

We learned before about the Fire Tube Boiler that has a bunch of tubes full of water that are heated up by the burning coal in the Firebox.

The boiler is the long cylinder shaped part of the locomotive that has all of that fire burning and hot water heating inside of it.


(from: wikipedia - boiler)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Valve Body

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Persian Cat


We just learned about the Scottish Fold Cat.

Another type of cat is the Persian Cat.

This type of cat has long fur, and a flat face that makes it look grumpy.
The villan cat Mr. Tinkles from the movie Cats and Dogs was a Persian Cat.

Persian cats can have just about any type of fur color, from orange to grey to all white.


(from: wikipedia - persian cat)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jellyfish Stomach

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Monocyte


We just learned about the kind of white blood cell called a lymphocyte, and the kind of lymphocyte called the B Cell.

There are other kinds of white blood cells, like one called the Monocyte.

These white blood cells are bigger than their cousins the lymphocytes, and their job is to go around cleaning up dirty things like infections in the body.

When they see something like dirt or infection they turn into something else called a macrophage and they wrap themselves around the bad stuff, almost like they are eating it, and they destroy the unhealthy bad stuff.

They are different from the lymphocytes because lymphocytes are really for targeting specific diseases or viruses, and monocytes are really more like cleaning up all the dirty garbage and fighting off infections.

So if your skin gets cut and you don't wash it off and keep it clean, you can get dirt and germs in your body.
The monocytes help fight off the bad stuff that comes from the dirt and germs if it gets infected.


(from: wikipedia - monocyte)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Choroid

Monday, November 2, 2020

Andorra


We just learned about the country of Albania.
Let's learn a little about the country of Andorra!

This is a very small country right in between France and Spain.
It is only 180 square miles, and only about 77,000 people live there.

(from: wikipedia - andorra)

The flag of Andorra has vertical blue, yellow, red stripes, with the coat of arms of Andorra in the middle.
The coat of arms has four parts, made up from the banners of old royal families who first founded the country.

(from: wikipedia - flag of andorra)

There is a spa in Andorra called "Caldea" that is the largest spa in Europe, that is 18 floors and 6,000 square meters

(from: wikipedia - andorra)

A lot of the country of Andorra is mountains, so there is a big ski resort called Soldeu that has over a hundred miles of ski slopes.

(from: wikipedia - andorra)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Caltrop

Sunday, November 1, 2020

Gutenberg Bible


We just learned about the Devshirme.

Another part of early Christianity was the Gutenberg Bible.

Long ago when people wanted to make a copy of the Bible they had to write it out by hand.
It was not very easy to make paper, ink or pens, so it took a long time, and each copy looked very different depending on who was writing it and what the paper or pen looked like.

Around 1450 people were using something called a Printing Press that was like a big stamp with a roller of paper that could print a lot of copies quickly.

In Germany a man named Johannes Gutenberg used the printing press to make about 150 copies of the Bible, and send them around Germany.
This started a big change in the world of Christianity because a lot more people could read the actual words in the Bible and learn for themselves about God and Jesus.


(from: wikipedia - gutenberg bible)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Baptism of Clovis I