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

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

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

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

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

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.


(from: wikipedia - center for the greek language)

ASL: horse, sheep, duck

German: Pferd, Schaf, Ente

Spanish:caballo, oveja, pato

French:French - cheval, mouton, canard

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

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

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

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

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