Antarctic Circumpolar Current

We just learned about the Nunatuk rock formations.

Another part of Antarctica is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, also called the ACC.

In the ocean around Antarctica the water flows around it in a clockwise loop.

This water flow called a current is the largest ocean current in the world, mostly because it flows around and around without hitting any other land.
Most other ocean currents eventually run into other continents.

The looping current goes around Antarctica and the south pole like a circle, which is why it's called "Circumpolar".
With the water going around and around, it helps keep the warmer ocean water from getting to Antarctica.
This helps keep the south pole cold and the glaciers from melting.


(from: wikipedia - antarctic circumpolar current)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Butter Churn Tower

Rosary

We just learned about the Franciscans.

Another part of early Christianity is the Rosary.

In 1214 AD, a Spanish priest named Saint Dominic said that he had a dream of Mary the mother of Jesus.
She told him to make a necklace with beads on it, and the beads would be used to help say prayers.

Most rosaries have 59 beads, and a cross. The beads are either "Our Father" beads or "Hail Mary" beads.

Four of the beads hang down from the circle necklace, with the cross.
The circle necklace is grouped in 5 sets of haily mary 10 beads called "decades" or "mysteries" and separated by 1 our father bead.

When praying, a person starts at the cross, then moves up the chain to the circle, then around the circle saying a prayer for each bead.
Many prayers have to be memorized in order to do the whole rosary: The Apostle's Creed, The Lord's Prayer, Glory Be, Hail Holy Queen.

So for a full rosary reading, you would say:
- (From the crucifix) - The Apostle's Creed, The Lord's Prayer, 3 x Hail Mary, Glory Be
- (Mystery 1) - The Lord's Prayer, 10 x Hail Mary, Glory Be
- (Mystery 2) - The Lord's Prayer, 10 x Hail Mary, Glory Be
- (Mystery 3) - The Lord's Prayer, 10 x Hail Mary, Glory Be
- (Mystery 4) - The Lord's Prayer, 10 x Hail Mary, Glory Be
- (Mystery 5) - The Lord's Prayer, 10 x Hail Mary, Glory Be
- Hail Holy Queen


(from: wikipedia - rosary)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Christianity in Armenia

Mount Rushmore

We just learned about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Maya Lin.

Another famous American sculpture is Mount Rushmore, made by Gutzon Borglum in 1941 in South Dakota.

This sculpture was made of 4 presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
Each of the heads is about 60 feet tall, and mountain is about 5,700 feet high.

The first idea for a sculpture on this mountain was to have some American West heroes like Lewis and Clark, Scagawea, and some famous Lakota Native Americans, but sculptor Borglum chose the presidents as he thought they would be a more popular tourist attraction.


(from: wikipedia - mount rushmore)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Obelisk of Axum

Russian - Counting to Twenty Nine

We counted to 20 in Russian, let's keep going!

21 двадцать один (dvadtsat' odin) - sounds like d-vah-t-sit ah-din 文A

22 двадцать два (dvadtsat' dva) - sounds like d-vah-t-sit d-vah 文A

23 двадцать три (dvadtsat' tri) - sounds like d-vah-t-sit t-dee 文A

24 двадцать четыре (dvadtsat' chetyre) - sounds like d-vah-t-sit cheh-tear-dee-ah 文A

25 двадцать пять (dvadtsat' pyat') - sounds like d-vah-t-sit pee-ah-t 文A

26 двадцать шесть (dvadtsat' shest') - sounds like d-vah-t-sit shay-st 文A

27 двадцать семь (dvadtsat' sem') - sounds like d-vah-t-sit say-m 文A

28 двадцать восемь (dvadtsat' vosem') - sounds like d-vah-t-sit voh-ee-seh-m 文A

29 двадцать девять (dvadtsat' devyat') - sounds like d-vah-t-sit day-vih-t 文A



(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: tjueen, tjueto, tjue-tre, tjuefire, tjuefem, tjueseks, tjuesju, tjue åtte, tjue ni

Greek: είκοσι ένα (eíkosi éna), είκοσι δύο (eíkosi dýo), είκοσι τρεις (eíkosi treis), είκοσι τέσσερις (eíkosi tésseris), είκοσι πέντε (eíkosi pénte), είκοσι έξι (eíkosi éxi), είκοσι επτά (eíkosi eptá), είκοσι οκτώ (eíkosi októ), είκοσι εννέα (eíkosi ennéa)

ASL: twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine

Italian: ventuno, ventidue, ventitré, ventiquattro, venticinque, ventisei, ventisette, ventotto, ventinove

German: einundzwanzig, zweiundzwanzig, dreiundzwanzig, vierundzwanzig, fünfundzwanzig, sechsundzwanzig, siebenundzwanzig, achtundzwanzig, neunundzwanzig

Spanish: veintiún, veintidós, veintitrés, veinticuatro, veinticinco, veintiséis, veintisiete, veintiocho, veintinueve

French: vingt et un, vingt-deux, vingt-trois, vingt-quatre, vingt-cinc, vingt-six, vingt-sept, vingt-huit, vingt-neuf

Tender

We just learned about the Fire-Tube Boiler.

Let's go step by step and learn all the parts of a working steam locomotive!

One part of the locomotive is the Tender, or coal car.

This is a big box that is pulled behind the engine that is full of the fuel that the locomotive needs to run.
It can be full of wood, coal or oil, and it also is full of water that is used for the steam.

Usually the water was on the bottom of the tender, in a place called the water compartment.
The coal or other fuel was on top in a place called the coal bunker.

The engines used a lot of water, which is why railroads came up with places to refill with water using big cranes when they stopped at train stations.



(from: wikipedia - tender (rail))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Gear

Rusty-Spotted Cat

We just learned about the Pallas's Cat.

Another Rusty-Spotted Cat, also called prionailurus rubiginosus.

This is one of the smallest cats around, only 19 inches long and weighing only 3.5 pounds.

They mostly live in the forests of India and Sri Lanka.

Their fur is short and a red grey color, with spots on its back.
It has black lines going up on its head and down its neck.




(from: wikipedia - rusty-spotted cat)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Portuguese Man o'War

Presbyopia

We just learned about the Astigmatism.

Another kind of refractive error is Presbyopia.

This is something that usually happens to older people, when the lens of the eye gets harder.
When that happens the eye focuses light behind the retina instead of right on it.

If someone has this presbyopia, they usually can't read small printed words, and a lot of times they have to hold things away from them to see them better.



(from: wikipedia - presbyopia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Parotid Gland

Nunatak

We just learned about the Onyx River.

Another part of Antarctica is a Nunatak.

This is a rocky part of a mountain that sticks up out of a glacier.

Nunataks are important because many times they are the only place that plants and animals can live in cold places like Antarctica.


(from: wikipedia - nunatak)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Outworks

Franciscans

We just learned about the Battle on the Ice.

Another part of early Christianity is the Franciscans.

Long ago a man named Francis of Assisi decided to go live by himself like a hermit.

A bunch of other people who also wanted to live away from other people to worship God together and called themselves Franciscans, because of Francis.

These groups of people became the monks that we know about today.


(from: wikipedia - franciscans)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: First Council of Nicea

Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Maya Lin

We just learned about the Marine Corps War Memorial - Felix de Weldon.

Another famous American monument is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial made by Maya Lin in Washington D.C. in 1981.

In 1981 there was a contest to see who could come up with the best sculpture for a new memorial for the people who died in the Vietnam War.

Maya Lin won the contest, and her idea was to have a big black wall made of granite, with the names of all of the people who died engraved on it.

The memorial is v-shaped when you look at it from above, and her idea was that it would look kind of like a wound that needed to heal for America.


(from: wikipedia - vietnam veterans memorial)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Akan Goldweights

Russian - Counting to Twenty

We counted to 15 in Russian, let's keep going!

16 шестнадцать (shestnadtsat') - sounds like sheh-st-nah-t-sit 文A

17 семнадцать (semnadtsat') - sounds like see-im-nah-t-sit 文A

18 восемнадцать (vosemnadtsat') - sounds like voy-see-im-st-nah-t-sit 文A

19 девятнадцать (devyatnadtsat') - sounds like dee-ay-vit-nah-t-sit 文A

20 двадцать (dvadtsat') - sounds like d-vah-t-sit 文A



(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: seksten, sytten, atten, nitten, tjue

Greek: δεκαέξι (dekaéxi), δεκαεπτά (dekaeptá), δεκαοχτώ (dekaochtó), δεκαεννέα (dekaennéa), είκοσι (eíkosi)

ASL: sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty

Italian: sedici, diciassette, diciotto, diciannove, venti

German: sechzehn, siebzehn, achtzehn, neunzehn, zwanzig

Spanish: dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve, veinte

French: seize, dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf, vingt

Fire-Tube Boiler

We just learned about the Locomotion No. 1.

Another part of how steam locomotives work is the Fire-Tube Boiler.

A boiler is a big tank of water that is heated up to where the water boils and turns to steam.
There are a lot of different kinds of boilers, and the one called a fire-tube boiler was the one most used by steam locomotives to run the engine.

It's called a fire-tube boiler because there are a bunch of metal tubes that take in heat from a fire and then the heated up tubes make the water hot.

The hot water then turns to steam that is used with a steam pump to drive the gears that turn the wheels of the train.



(from: wikipedia - fire-tube boiler)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Motor

Pallas's Cat

We just learned about the Caracal.

Another type of wild cat is the Pallas's Cat, also called the manul, or otocolubs manul.

This is a cat about the size of a house cat, 2 feet long and weighing about 10 pounds.
It has thick grey fur that makes it look short and fat, with a flat face.

It lives in the grasslands of Asia, mostly living in caves and hunting small animals.




(from: wikipedia - pallas's cat)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Blue Button

Astigmatism

We just learned about the Far Sightedness.

Another type of refractive error that makes the eye not see as well is Astigmatism.

This happens when the cornea at the front of the eye is not shaped right, causing light to get focused in the wrong place and not where it is supposed to go on the back of the retina.


(from: wikipedia - astigmatism)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Labial Commissure of Mouth

Onyx River

We just learned about the Subglacial Lakes.

Another part of Antarctica is the Onyx River.

This is the longest river in Antarctica, at 32 kilometers long and ends up at Lake Vanda.
The water for this river is from meltwater, and goes toward the middle of Antarctica away from the ocean, during the summer months.

Water levels change depending on the season, and the river can flow as fast as 20 cubic meters per second. There were even some researchers from New Zealand that rafted down the river one time!

There are no fish in the river, but there are some tiny animals like bacteria and algea living there, along with some gulls that fly around.

Most of the time the water is just barely higher than the 32 degrees F it needs to melt, so it is really ice cold water!



(from: wikipedia - onyx river)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Roundel

Battle on the Ice

We just learned about the Basilica of Saint-Denis.

Another part of early Christianity was the Battle on the Ice.

We learned before about some of the first groups of people fighting wars in the name of Christianity, called Crusades.
From the years 1200 through 1300 there were a lot more wars like this.

There were around a dozen different crusades through these years, and they fought all over Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Western Asia, and even Northern Africa.

There was even a crusade that went into Russia and was fought on a frozen lake.
The Western church from places like Germany and France was fighting against the Eastern church in places like Russia.
In the battle the Russians won by a lot and Lake Peipus became a famous place in Russia where the Eastern church won an important battle.


(from: wikipedia - battle on the ice)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: The Golden Legend

Marine Corps War Memorial - Felix de Weldon

We just learned about the George Washington as President - Alexander Stirling Calder.

Another famous American statue is the Marine Corps War Memorial, also called the Iwo Jima Memorial, in Virginia, made in 1954 by Felix de Weldon.

In 1945 during World War II, the US was in a battle with Japan on the island of Iwo Jima.
It was a very important battle for the war, and when the US finally took over the island they raised up a big flag that was 8 feet long by 4 feet tall so that all of the soldiers could see it on the island.

Someone took a picture of them while they were putting it up, and it became a very famous picture that was used to help give Americans hope for our soldiers to win the war.

Felix de Weldon was famous for making great memorial sculptures, so they asked him to make a sculpture to match the picture.
It is made of bronze and weighs over 200,000 pounds.
There were six men in the statue, and when he sculpted it he had some of the soldiers who were the ones who actually raised up the flag pose for him to make sure his sculpture matched what they looked like.

On the front of the statue are the words "Uncommon Valor Was A Common Virtue" – "Semper Fidelis"
and on the back are the words "In Honor And Memory Of The Men Of The United States Marine Corps Who Have Given Their Lives To Their Country Since 10 November 1775"

The sculptor Felix de Weldon was born in Austria in 1907.
When he was 30 years old he moved to the US, where he became a citizen of the US.
He served in the Navy during world war II, and was famous for making over a thousand memorials all over the world, even Antarctica!


(from: wikipedia - marine corps war memorial)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Burkina Faso Masks

Russian - Fifteen

We just learned about all the months of the year in Russian!

Let's learn about some more numbers.
We already counted to 10 in Russian, now let's learn some bigger numbers!

11 одиннадцать (odinnadtsat') - sounds like ah-din-nah-d-sit 文A

12 двенадцать (dvenadtsat') - sounds like d-vih-nah-d-sit 文A

13 тринадцать (trinadtsat') - sounds like t-dee-nah-d-sit 文A

14 четырнадцать (chetyrnadtsat') - sounds like ch-eh-tee-der-nah-d-sit 文A

15 пятнадцать (pyatnadtsat') - sounds like pee-ah-t-nah-d-sit 文A



(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: elleve, tolv, tretten, fjorten, femten

Greek: ένδεκα (éndeka), δώδεκα (dódeka), δεκατρία (dekatría), δεκατέσσερα (dekatéssera), δεκαπέντε (dekapénte)

ASL: eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen

Italian: undici, dodici, tredici, quattordici, quindici

German: elf, zwölf, dreizehn, vierzehn, fünfzehn

Spanish: once, doce, trese, catorce, quince

French: onze, douze, treize, quatorze, quinze

Locomotion No. 1

We just learned about the Salamanca steam locomotive.

Another famous steam locomotive was called Locomotion No. 1, made by George and Robert Stephenson in 1825 in England.

This was the first steam locomotive that was used to bring people along in passenger cars.

The first time this locomotive was put to the test it hauled 11 wagons of coal, and special passenger carriage, and then 20 more wagons that were filled with people.

The train could go about 12 miles per hour, and it took the people on a 10 mile trip from Shildon to Darlington.



(from: wikipedia - locomotion no. 1)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Machines

Caracal

We just learned about the Serval.

Another type of wild cat is the Caracal, also called the Persian Lynx.
The name caracal comes from the Turkish words for "Cat with black ears".

This type of cat lives in Africa and Asia.
It has long legs, and long ears with black tufts on the end of them.

Caracals can be almost 2 feet tall, almost 3 feet long, and weigh about 40 pounds.
Their fur can be either light brown or red brown.

These cats are great jumpers, and can jump over 12 feet high!
Sometimes when they are hunting, they can jump into the air and catch a bird as it is flying by.

Long ago in ancient Egypt people used to keep caracals for pets to help with hunting.




(from: wikipedia - caracal)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bathrocyroe Fosteri

Far Sightedness

We just learned about the Near Sightedness.

Another type of refractive error that people can have is called Far Sightedness, also called hypermetropia.

If someone is far-sighted that means they can see far away very well, but they can't see up close very well.
An easy way to remember that is that if you are "far-sighted" you are good at seeing far away.

A lot of people become far sighted when they get older, and they can not see up close as well as they used to.
This is one of the reasons that old people will hold something out in their hand with their arm stretched out as far as it can go, because they can see far but not up close.

Older people will also get what are called "reading glasses" meaning that they only wear them when they need to look at something up close like when reading a book.

If someone is young and far sighted then it usually means there is a problem with the shape of their eyeball, or their lens or cornea are not the right shape.
This makes the light coming into the eye not focus on the retina, but focus past it, so it doesn't send the right signals to the brain.

For old people it is because the eye muscles are weaker and can't focus the lens as well as they used to.


(from: wikipedia - far-sightedness)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Frenulum of Lower Lip

Subglacial Lakes

We just learned about the Meltwater.

Another part of Antarctica is the Subglacial Lakes.

We know that sometimes the ice and snow melts and turns into ponds, rivers or lakes.
And sometimes these lakes are way deep down underneath the ice.

Antarctica has hundreds of lakes deep down underneath the glaciers, called "subglacial lakes".

The biggest one that has been discovered is Lake Vostok.
This is down underneath Vostok Station, and the water is over 2 miles below the ice.
Lake Vostok is 160 miles long, 30 miles wide, and 3,000 feet deep.
It has as much water in it as Lake Michigan.



(from: wikipedia - lake vostok)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Palisade

Basilica of Saint-Denis

We just learned about the Notre-Dame de Paris.

Another part of early Christianity is the building of the Basilica of Saint-Denis, built in 1144 AD in France.

One of the church leaders in France named Abbot Suger was upset that the churches were not big enough to handle all of the people coming to worship, and he also believed that having a beautiful church filled with light and color was a way to show worship to God.

The church that he had people make was the first one that was later called "Gothic" style.
This type of building had 5 special things that made it gothic:

Pointed Arches - The ceilings, windows or roofs would have an arch shape that was pointy at the top.

Ribbed Vaults - The tall hallways in the churches had large supporting beams going back and forth along the ceiling that looked kind of like ribs.

Flying Buttresses - The outside supports that helped hold the building up are called buttresses. For these buildings, they had long buttresses that stuck way out from the church, so they called them flying buttresses.

Tracery - The windows or doors used stone or metal to make shapes.

Stained Glass Windows - Glass that was colored and then framed into windows for artwork and light.


(from: wikipedia - basilica of saint-denis)



(from: wikipedia - basilica of saint-denis)



(from: wikipedia - flying buttress)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Holy Tunic

George Washington as President - Alexander Stirling Calder

We just learned about the statue of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark made by Charles Keck.

Another famous statue is George Washington as President, Accompanied by Wisdom and Justice made in New York in 1918 by Alexander Stirling Calder.

Calder's father was a sculptor, and as he grew up he studied art and helped his father with some of his projects.
He went to school in Pennsylvania, and then went to Paris when he was 20 to learn more about sculpture.
After he came back to the United States he became well known for making statues of important people.

In New York City they wanted to make a large arch for the 100th anniversary of George Washington becoming president.
They made it like the other famous arches in Paris and Rome.
Calder was asked to make a marble statue for this arch of Washington as President, and another artist made Washington as Commander in Chief of the military.
Sometimes they call these two statues Washington at Peace and Washington at War.



(from: wikipedia - alexander stirling calder)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Gabon Mask

Russian - November, December

We already learned that January, February is Январь (Yanvar'), Февраль (Fevral'), March, April is Март (Mart), Апрель (Aprel'),
May, June is Май (May), Июнь (Iyun'),
July, August is Июль (Iyul'), Август (Avgust),
and September, October is Сентябрь (Sentyabr'), Октябрь (Oktyabr').

Let's keep going!

November - ноябрь (noyabr') - sounds like noh-yah-b-d 文A

December - декабрь (dekabr') - sounds like deh-kah-b-d 文A



(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)


Norwegian: November, December

Greek: Νοέμβριος (Noémvrios), Δεκέμβριος (Dekémvrios)

ASL: November, December

Italian: Novembre, Dicembre

German: November, Dezember

Spanish: Noviembre, Diciembre

French: Novembre, Décembre

Salamanca

We just learned about the Pen-y-Darren Locomotive.

Another part of the history of locomotives is the Salamanca steam locomotive, built in 1812 by Matthew Murray from England.

Even though people were figuring out how to make steam engines and hook them up to boats and wheels, it took a while for anyone to make one that worked really well on a train track.

Even before there were locomotives, people made metal tracks for carts that would be pulled by horses.
It wasn't until Murray made the Salamanca in 1812, that someone would make a locomotive that was actually used for people to haul big heavy loads around and do some work.

The Pen-y-Darren locomotive was built in 1802, so for 10 years people mostly just saw these steam engines as an interesting invention, but did not put the engines to work yet.

The Salamanca ran on a rack and pinion track, which means the wheels were gears that worked on a track with teeth that it would go along.


(from: wikipedia - salamanca (locomotive))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Fire Investigation

Serval

We just learned about the Bay Cat.

Another type of wild cat is the Serval.

The serval lives in Africa, mostly in the southern part of the continent.
It is about 2 feet tall, and can weigh up to 40 pounds.
This cat has a head that is smaller than some of its other cat cousins.

Serval's have big ears, and yellow fur with black spots and stripes, and a black tipped tail.
The ears of a serval are probably the thing that makes them stand out the most.
They have black ears, with a white stripe right across the middle.
When they move their ears they can spin them all the way around from front to back.
Some people think that the colored ears that can move so well are one of the ways that servals can talk to each other, like giving signals about whether they are happy, sad or mad.

These cats have very long legs compared to their bodies, and they use them for jumping when they hunt.
They can jump over 6 feet in the air, and then pounce onto their pray like a mouse.




(from: wikipedia - serval)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Warty Comb Jelly

Near-Sightedness

We just learned about the Refractive Error.

One of the types of refractive errors is Near-Sightedness, also called myopia.

If someone is near-sighted that means they can see up close very well, but they can't see far away very well.
An easy way to remember that is that if you are "near-sighted" you are good at seeing nearby.

Of all the types of eye problems, more people are near-sighted than any other problem, about 1.5 billion people!

When light comes into the eye, the lens is supposed to try and make it focus right on the retina.
The lens is like a magnifying glass, and if it doesn't focus just right then it won't get a clear enough picture.

If the lens is focusing all of the light into a point before the retina, then this causes near-sightedness.
An eye doctor can make glasses to change the direction of the light coming into the eye so that it focuses right on the retina and helps the eye see near and far.


(from: wikipedia - near-sightedness)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: White Roll

Meltwater

We just learned about the Melt Pond.

Another part of Antarctica is glacial Meltwater.

Sometimes the ice or snow in Antarctica will melt a little, and turn into what is called meltwater.
Meltwater is different than the ocean water around Antarctica because it is fresh water.
This means animals can drink it, and it also means it can mix with the ice and snow of the glaciers and melt and refreeze over and over.
The meltwater usually melts because of the warmer summer weather, from magma underground, or from volcanic eruptions.

If the water stays in one place on top of the snow or ice, that is the melt pond.
Other times the melted snow or ice will turn into a small river and flow across the snow and ice.
There are even times when the snow or ice will melt underneath the top part, and make a small lake underneath the snow or ice.

Sometimes the meltwater is underground and is between two glaciers.
When this happens the glaciers can move around as they are sliding on the water in between.

Scientists study meltwater because it can help them understand climate change and how glaciers move.


(from: wikipedia - meltwater)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ramparts

Notre-Dame de Paris

We just learned about the Decretum Gratiani.

Another part of early Christianity is the cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris.

In 1160 AD in Paris, the leader of the church there was Maurice de Sully.
He thought that they should build a really big nice church in a style called "Gothic style", and dedicate it to Jesus' mother Mary.

The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris became very famous in Paris, and it was made even more famous later in 1831 when someone wrote a story about a hunchback who rang the bells in the tower.


(from: wikipedia - notre-dame de paris)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Holy Nails

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark - Charles Keck

We just learned about the Black Hawk Statue - Lorado Taft.

Another famous American statue is Meriwether Lewis and William Clark made by Charles Keck in 1919.

Keck was born in 1875 in New York, and went to school to study art in America and also in Italy.

He became famous for making statues of famous people across America.

The statue which is also called "Their First View of the Pacific" is of the famous explorers Lewis and Clark, along with their Native American guide Sacagawea.

In 1803 America made a deal with France to buy a big piece of land in the middle of North America.
This land later became the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana.

Because the land was so big, they needed someone to go explore, so Lewis and Clark went off from Pennsylvania and traveled all the way to the west coast to the Pacific Ocean.
Along the way they met Sacagawea, a 16 year old Native American woman who stayed with them and helped guide them safely all the way.

At the bottom of the statue are the words: "Bold and farseeing pathfinders who carried the flag of the young republic to the western ocean and revealed an unknown empire to the uses of mankind."


(from: wikipedia - meriwether lewis and william clark (sculpture))



(from: wikipedia - lewis and clark expedition)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Chiwara

Russian - September, October

We already learned that January, February is Январь (Yanvar'), Февраль (Fevral'), March, April is Март (Mart), Апрель (Aprel'),
May, June is Май (May), Июнь (Iyun'),
and July, August is Июль (Iyul'), Август (Avgust).

Let's keep going!

September - Сентябрь (Sentyabr') - sounds like say-n-tee-ah-b-dyah 文A

October - Октябрь (Oktyabr') - sounds like ah-k-tah-b-d-yah 文A



(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: September, Oktober

Greek: Σεπτέμβριος (Septémvrios), Οκτώβριος (Októvrios)

ASL: September, October

Italian: Settembre, Ottobre

German: September, Oktober

Spanish: Septiembre, Octubre

French: Septembre, Octobre

Pen-y-Darren Locomotive

We just learned about the steam wagon Cugnot's - Fardier à vapeur.

Another early steam engine was the Pen-y-Darren Locomotive.

Just like the steam boat and steam car, people mostly wanted to use steam power to move very heavy things from one place to another.
The big difference between boats, cars and trains was that the train didn't need a steering wheel to make sure it was going the right way, it would just go along the rails carrying its big load.

In 1802 a man from England named Richard Trevithick built a steam engine to be put on metal rails and carry a lot of weight.
It had a steam cylinder hooked up to a rotative beam engine, using a sun and planet style gear to turn the wheels.

To test his locomotive, he had it carry ten tons of iron, which is about 20,000 pounds.
It went about 10 miles and went a little over 2 miles per hour.

This wasn't very fast, about as fast as someone walking.
But it was like someone walking carrying a few giant elephants on their shoulders, so people were very impressed!

His steam engine did not become very popular, but it did help other people in the future learn how to make steam engines that would become the locomotives we know about from history.


(from: wikipedia - richard trevithick)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tire Skid Marks