Caerlaverock Castle

We just learned about the Bodiam Castle.

Another famous castle is Caerlaverock Castle built in Scotland, in the late 1200s AD.

This castle is right on the border of England and Scotland, so it was part of many wars between the two countries for hundreds of years.

Because of it's high walls and towers, and moat protecting it, this castle was able to hold off entire armies with less than a hundred people inside defending it.




(from: wikipedia - caerlaverock castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Southern Appalachian Mountains

Bodiam Castle

We just learned about the Balmoral Castle.

Another famous castle is Bodiam Castle in Sussex England, built in 1385 AD.

In the old days of England, if you were the oldest son in the family, you were the one who got all the money and lands from your parents.
Second or third sons, or any daughters didn't really get anything, and had to work harder to make their own way.

Sir Edward Dalyngrigge was a son of a royal person, but not the first born son so he had to go get a job.
He spent some time as a knight, and he also worked as part of a "Free Company" which was a group of soldiers who would work for money. Sometimes these people are also called mercenaries.

After working as a soldier for a long time and saving up his money, he married a woman who owned a bunch of land, and together they built this big castle on the land surrounded by a big moat of water.

The castle towers are three stories tall, and they have a big courtyard in the middle.
There is only the one entrance on a bridge, and inside the castle there are places for guards to sit and shoot arrows out of little holes at anyone trying to attack the castle.




(from: wikipedia - bodiam castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Central Appalachain Mountains

Balmoral Castle

We just learned about the castle Alcazar of Segovia.

Another famous castle is Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire Scotland, built in 1856.

There were old castles in this spot going hundreds of years back, all the way to 1390, but they were all torn down over and over to build bigger and better castles.

In the 1800s, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert wanted to live there, so they had it built up to be bigger and fancier.
On one side of the castle is an 80 foot tower, the inside of the castle is about 480,000 square feet, and the castle grounds cover more than 50,000 acres.

When Prince Albert died, Queen Victoria had a pyramid built for him as a tomb to be laid in.

The granddaughter of Queen Victoria named Victoria Eugenie was born in this castle, and she would go on to be the queen of Spain in 1906.

There is also a picture of this castle on the back of £100 money from the Royal Bank of Scotland.





(from: wikipedia - balmoral castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Northern Appalachian Mountains

Alcázar of Segovia

We just learned about Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.

Another famous castle is Alcázar of Segovia.

This castle has been built and rebuilt in parts over hundreds of years by different people, from the Romans to the Spaniards.

It's been used as a fortress, a royal palace, a prison and military school.
Now it is a museum for people to come visit and look at.

In 1474, Queen Isabella I was crowned as queen in this castle.

In the room called the Hall of Kings, there are 52 sculptures of the different kings that ruled over the land for hundreds of years.






(from: wikipedia - alcázar of segovia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ozarks

Neuschwanstein Castle

We just learned about all 31 Mexico states and Mexico city!.

Let's learn about some of the awesome castles all over the world.

One of the most famous castles in the world is Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria Germany, built in the late 1800s.

This castle was started by the king of Bavaria named Ludwig II.
Ludwig was fascinated by art, music and buildings, and so he decided to build an amazing castle.

When Ludwig II was growing up, there were two castles next to each other with a river in between, but they had mostly fallen apart.
After he became king at age 18, he spent most of his money for about 20 years paying hundreds of workers to make this castle.
It is over 213 feet tall, and has over 65,000 square feet of space on the inside.

The Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland was made to look like the Neuschwanstein Castle.

During World War II, the Nazis had stolen a lot of famous artwork from other countries, and they were using this castle to store thousands of paintings, sculptures and other works of art.
Toward the end of the war when the Nazis were losing, the Nazis made a plan to blow up the whole castle and destroy all the artwork.
Luckily the Allied forces showed up before they were able to destroy it, and they saved the castle and all the artwork.





(from: wikipedia - neuschwanstein castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: U.S. Interior Highlands

Baja California Sur

We just learned about the Mexico state of Colima.

Another Mexico state is Baja California Sur.

This state is a peninsula, just south of the Mexico state of Baja California.
It has the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Gulf of California to the east.


(from: wikipedia - baja california sur)

The coat of arms of Baja California has four fish on the outside, and a seashell in the middle for the sea around the state.


(from: wikipedia - baja california sur)

The town of Cabo San Lucas is a very popular place to visit, and has a beautiful rock formation called the Arc at Land's End.


(from: wikipedia - cabo san lucas)

The most famous beach at Cabo San Lucas is Medano, where lots of tourists come to visit.


(from: wikipedia - cabo san lucas)

In the town of La Paz, there is a rock that looks like a tall mushroom now, because the water has washed away the bottom of it.
It is a popular place to take pictures, and some people climbed up on the rock for a picture and it broke and fell down.
Because it was such a famous rock, the town put it back up and fixed it with some cement.


(from: wikipedia - la paz, baja california sur)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sierra Madre Oriental

Colima

We just learned about the Mexico state of Campeche.

Another Mexico state is Colima.

This is one of the smallest states, and has the least number of people living in it of any Mexico state.
It is on the south west part of Mexico, right on the Pacific ocean, and it has four islands off its coast.


(from: wikipedia - colima)

The coat of arms of Colima is an arm for the strength of the elders who ruled the Mayan people.
There are jaguars, palm trees and volcanoes for the things in the area.
The words on the bottom are "El temple del brazo es vigor en la tierra" which means "The arm's steadiness is strength on the land".


(from: wikipedia - colima)

There are four islands off the coast of Colima, called the Revillagigedo Islands.
These are volcanic islands, with lots of marine life and natural beauty.
No one lives there, but sometimes people come to go scuba diving or learn about nature.


(from: wikipedia - revillagigedo islands)

One of the busiest cities in Colima is Manzanillo, where a lot of people go for fishing.
They call themselves the sailfish capital of the world.


(from: wikipedia - manzanillo, colima)

Tecomán is the capital city of Colima, and has many nice buildings like the Cathedral of Santiago Apostol.


(from: wikipedia - tecomán)

There are active volcanoes in Colima, like the Volcán de Colima which is one of the most active volcanoes in North America.
It has erupted more than 40 times since 1576.


(from: wikipedia - volcán de colima)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Rocky Mountains

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

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

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

Aguascalientes

We just learned about the Mexico state of Quintana Roo.

Another Mexico state is Aguascalientes.

This is a state in the middle of the country.
It's name means "hot waters" because of the hot springs in the area.


(from: wikipedia - aguascalientes)

The coat of arms has the Latin words "Bona Terra, Bona Gens, Aqua Clara, Clarum Coelum", which means "Good land, good people, clear water, clear sky".

The helmet on top of the crest is for Jauan de Montoro who started the village of Aguascalientes.
Under the helmet is a blue area that shows mother Mary held up by two cherubim, next to a water fountain for the hot springs and a gold chain and lips for freedom and independence.

The bottom left has a dam and some grapes for the farming and rivers.
The bottom right has a gear and a bee, for factories and hard working people.


(from: wikipedia - aguascalientes)

The INEGI is in Aguascalientes, where the government of Mexico works to keep track of how many people are in the country, how much money the country makes, and what kind of jobs everyone has.


(from: wikipedia - national institute of statistics and geography)

There is a large statue called El Cristo Rojo in the town of San José de Gracia.
The name means "The Broken Christ", and it is a 90 foot statue of Jesus on the cross.

(from: wikipedia - el cristo rojo)

The Museo Espacio of the MECA is a giant 86 hectare area filled with museums, a library, an auditorium, and old industrial buildings and sports facilities.


(from: wikipedia - aguascalientes)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nevadan Belt