Necklace Starfish

We just learned about the Antarctic Sun Starfish.

Another type of starfish is the Necklace Starfish, also called the Fromia Monilis or Tiled Starfish.

This starfish lives in the Indian or Pacific oceans, near Australia and Japan.
They can grow to be around 12 inches wide, they have a red circle in the middle, their arm tips are red, and the rest of their arms are white.

These starfish are sometimes used in aquariums, but they have to actually keep them dirty for the starfish to eat the algea or the starfish will starve to death.
In the wild they can eat on other things like sponges or very small sea creatures.


(from: wikipedia - fromia monilis)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: White Faced Saki

Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep

We just learned about the Circadian Clock.

Another part of sleep is Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep.

We learned before about Rapid Eye Movement Sleep that happens when you are in deep sleep.
Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep is also called NREM, or quiescent sleep, and this is the part where you are falling asleep but aren't in deep sleep yet.


(from: wikipedia - non-rapid eye movement sleep)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Organ of Corti

Shanghai, China

We just learned about the Chinese city of Chongqing.

Let's learn a little about the city of Shanghai!

This city is in China.
It is about 6,341 square kilometers, and about 24 million people live there.
The people in this city speak Shanghainese, or Mandarin.


(from: wikipedia - shanghai)

Shanghai has a lot of sports teams, like the soccer teams Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai Port, basketball team Shanghai Sharks, and baseball team Shanghai Golden Eagles.

(from: wikipedia - shanghai sports)

To eat in this city you might have xiaolongbao which are steamed buns or dumplings.

(from: wikipedia - xialongbao)

Visiting this city you might go see the city of Lujiazui, which has a beautiful group of huge skyscrapers.

(from: wikipedia - Lujiazui)

Another interesting place is the Yu Garden, built first in 1559 AD.
This garden has six large areas with ponds, statues, bridges and plants, and each area is separated by a "dragon wall"


(from: wikipedia - yu garden)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Yemen

Tower of Babel

We just learned about Noah's Ark.

In chapter 11 of Genesis, it tells the story of the Tower of Babel.

This story talks about a tall building called the Tower of Babel that people built.
God was not super happy because he had told people to go all over the world and believe in him.

So because they were just believing in themselves and not trusting in God, he made it so people couldn't talk to each other, and changed all their languages.


(from: wikipedia - tower of babel)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: O Holy Night

Van Gogh - Garden of the Hospital in Arles

We just learned about Van Gogh's painting of Sunflowers.

Another of Van Gogh's famous paintings is the Garden of the Hospital in Arles.

In 1888, Van Gogh had a breakdown and cut off his ear.

He went to the hospital, and while he was there he made this famous painting.


(from: wikipedia - hospital in arles)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Michelangelo

Arabic - Hello and Goodbye

We've now learned a whole year of Hindi!
Wow!

Let's try another language now, how about Arabic?

This is the language spoken by hundreds of millions of people acros the world, mostly in Africa and Asia.

Arabic uses a different alphabet than English, called abjad.
It has 28 letters, and the vowels are just the consonants with small marks called diacritics above them.
Probably the biggest difference between Arabic and English is that it is written from right to left instead of left to right!

Let's learn how to say hello and goodbye in Arabic!

To say hello in Arabic you would say mrhaban, sounds like mah-dr-hah-ben 文A

In the Arabic letters it looks like this: مرحبًا

To say goodbye you say mae alsalamati, sounds like mah-ah-l-sah-lah-mah-ti 文A

In the Arabic letters it looks like this: مع السلامة!



(from: wikipedia - lebanese academy of sciences)

Hindi: नमस्ते (Namaste), अलविदा (Alavida)

Swahili: Jambo, Hujambo, Habari, Mambo, Shikamoo

Russian: Привет (privet), Здравствуй (Zdravstvuy), Пока (poka), до свидания (do svidaniya)

Norwegian: Hei, Hallo, Ha det, Ha det brah

Greek: Γειά σου (Geiá sou), Χαίρετε (Chairete), Αντίο (Antío)

ASL: Hello and Goodbye

Italian: Ciao, arrivederci

German: Hallo, Auf Wiedersehen

Spanish: Hola! Adiós!

French: Bonjour! Au Revoir!

Alpha Flag

We just learned about the International Maritime Signal Flags.

There are flags for every letter of the alphabet, like the Alpha Flag, used for the letter A.

People can just use these flags to spell things, and each letter flag has special meanings too.
All by itself this flag eans "I have a diver down; keep well clear at slow speed."

The shape of this flag is called a swallowtail, and the colors are "argent and azure" which means white and blue.


(from: wikipedia - international maritime signal flags)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pixel

Antarctic Sun Starfish

We just learned about the Astropecten Aranciacus.

Another type of starfish is the Antarctic Sun Starfish, also called the wolftrap starfish or labidiaster annulatus.

This type of starfish comes from the very cold waters around Antarctica.

Most starfish usually have five arms, but this type of starfish can have over 40 arms!
They grow to be about 24 inches wide.


(from: wikipedia - labidiaster annulatus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bald Uakari

Circadian Clock

We just learned about Rapid Eye Movement.

Another part of sleep is the Circadian Clock.

The word circadian comes from the latin words Circa meaning about, and Dia meaning day. So circadian means about a day.
The circadian clock is like an clock inside the body that helps your body sleep at night and be awake during the day.

It is in the part of the body called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN.
This is a big bunch of nerves in the brain, that are hooked up to the eyeballs to sense daylight to know when it is night and day.

If your circadian clock gets out of order from too much TV at night, it can mess up your body's inside clock that helps you sleep.


(from: wikipedia - suprachiasmatic nucleus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ear Hair Cells

Chongqing China

We just learned about the Country of Uruguay and many other countries in South America

Let's learn a little about the city of Chongching!

This city is in China.
It is about 82,000 square kilometers, and about 32 million people live there.
The people in this city speak Mandarin Chinese.


(from: wikipedia - chongqing)

There was a soccer team in Chongqing, but after 2021 the team closed up.

(from: wikipedia - chongqing liangjiang athletic f.c.)

To eat in this city you might have a Chongqing hot pot. This is a cooked pot of different meats with sesame oil to dip into.

(from: wikipedia - chongqing hot pot)

Visiting this city you might go see the Chongqing art musuem.

(from: wikipedia - chongqing art museum)

Along the Yangtze River, there are some areas with very high mountain sides. In Chongqing this gorge is called the Qutang Gorge.

(from: wikipedia - qutang gorge)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Vietnam

Noah's Ark

We just learned about Cain and Abel in Genesis chapter 4.

In chapters 5 through 10 of Genesis, it tells the story of Noah's Ark.

Noah was the descendant of the family of Adam many years after Adam.
God felt that Noah was a good man, and told him to go on an ark with animals while the world was flooded.

Later Noah had many children, and many years later a descendant of Noah was Abram.


(from: wikipedia - noah)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hark the Herald Angel's Sing

Sunflowers - Van Gogh

We just learned about the group of Van Gogh paintings called the Saintes-Maries.

Another bunch of paintings that Van Gogh made was of some Sunflowers.

Around 1888 he made four different sunflower paintings, each one just a little different.





(from: wikipedia - vincent van gogh)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Anatomical Drawings - Leonardo Da Vinci

Hindi - Vegetables

We just learned how to say some fruits to eat in Hindi.

Let's learn how to say some vegetables.

carrot गाजर (gaajar) - sounds like gah-jer - 文A

corn मक्का (makka) - sounds like mah-kah - 文A

pea मटर (matar) - sounds like mah-ter - 文A



(from: wikipedia - devanagari)

Swahili: carrot karoti (kah-roh-tee), mahindi (mah-hee-n-dee), pea njegere (n-jay-gay-ray)


Russian: морковь (morkov'), кукуруза (kukuruza), горох (gorokh)

Norwegian: gulrot, mais, erter

Greek: καρότο (karóto), καλαμπόκι (kalampóki), μπιζέλι (bizéli)

ASL: carrot, corn, pea

Italian: carote, mais, piselli

German: Karotte, Mais, Erbse

Spanish: zanahoria, maíz, guisante

French: carotte, maïs, pois

International maritime signal flags

We just learned about ethylene, and we've learned a lot about where we get oil and what we use it for.

Let's learn a little about flags!

Sometimes boats will hang up special flags to send a message to other boats.

These are called International maritime signal flags.

There is a flag for each letter of the alphabet A-Z and each of the numbers 0-9.
Sailors can use them to spell out messages, but also each flag has a special meaning too.

Ships use these flags to tell other people they are in trouble and need help, to warn people of danger, or even during sailing races to give messages to the boats sailing.


(from: wikipedia - international maritime signal flags)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Computer Monitor

Astropecten Aranciacus

We just learned about the American Hog-Nosed Skunk, and a lot of other animals in that same family.

Let's learn about some different kinds of starfish!

One type of starfish is the Astropecten Aranciacus.

This starfish lives in the east part of the Atlantic ocean, and also in the Mediterranean Sea.
It lives right by the coast, and when the water goes out for low tide it buries itself into the sand.

The top of this animal is reddish orange with some yellow, and the bottom is all white.
It has two sets of spiney pokey parts on the outside of its legs called inferomarginal spines and superomarginal spines.

For food these starfish eat molluscs by crawling over them and then using their mouth on the bottom to eat them.


(from: wikipedia - astropecten aranciacus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Azaras Night Monkey

Rapid Eye Movement

We just learned about the Unconsciousness.

Another part of sleep is called Rapid Eye Movement.

Sometimes when you are sleeping and your eyelids are closed, your eyeballs will move around like they are wiggling.
During this time the brain is active and the eyes are moving, but you are sound asleep.
Because the eyes are moving quickly, they call it REM for Rapid Eye Movement.

During other times of sleep the eyes don't move as much.


(from: wikipedia - rapid eye movement sleep)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cochlea

Uruguay

We just learned about the country of Suriname

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

This country is in South America, and borders Argentina, Brazil, and the Atlantic Ocean.
It is about 181,000 square kilometers, and about 3.4 million people live there.
The people in this country speak Spanish.


(from: wikipedia - uruguay)

The flag of Uruguay has sideways stripes of blue and white for the people who first founded the country, and a sun in the middle that is the Sun of May.
The Sun of May is for the freedom of the country, and also from the mythical Incan god named Inti.


(from: wikipedia - flag of uruguay)

To eat in this country you might have chivito, which is a sandwich with steak, mozzarella cheese, ham, tomatoes, mayonnaise, and olives.


(from: wikipedia - chivito (sandwich))

Visiting this country you might go see Casapueblo, which was once the home of a famous artist named Carlos Páez Vilaró before being turned into a museum.

(from: wikipedia - casapueblo)

There is a sculpture in the town of Punta del Este called La Mano which means the Hand. It was made by artist Mario Irarrázabal, and was supposed to look like a hand that was almost under water, as a warning to people that swimming can be dangerous.


(from: wikipedia - la mano de punta del este)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Turkmenistan

Cain and Abel

We just learned about the Bible story of The Fall.

Another story from the Bible is Cain and Abel.

In Genesis chapter 4, Adam and Eve had two sons named Cain and Abel.
Cain was jealous of how much God liked Abel so he killed Abel, and then God sent Cain away.
Adam and Eve had another son named Seth.


(from: wikipedia - cain and abel)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Away in a Manger

Saintes-Maries - Van Gogh

We just learned about the Van Gogh paintings Langlois Bridge at Arles.

Another group of Van Gogh paintings is called Saintes-Maries.

In 1888 when Van Gogh was in France, he went on a trip to a town called Saintes-Maries that is on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
He made many paintings and drawings while he was there because he really liked the way the sea was so many colors like blue, pink, gray, green or purple.



(from: wikipedia - saintes-maries (van gogh series))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Leonardo's Robot

Hindi - Fruits

We just learned how to say some things to drink in Hindi.

Let's learn how to say some fruits.

apple सेब (seb) - sounds like say-b - 文A

orange नारंगी (naarangee) - sounds like nah-rah-n-gee - 文A

banana केला (kela) - sounds like kay-lah - 文A



(from: wikipedia - devanagari)

Swahili: tufaha, machungwa, ndizi

Russian: яблоко (yabloko), апельсин (apel'sin), банан (banan)

Norwegian: eple, appelsin, banan

Greek: μήλο (mílo), πορτοκάλι (portokáli), μπανάνα (banána)

ASL: apple, orange, banana

Italian: mela, orange, banana

German: Apfel, Orange, Banane

Spanish: manzana, naranja, banana

French: pomme, orange, banane

Ethylene

We just learned about the Paraffin Wax.

Another part of the science of oil is Ethylene.

Ethylene is one of the things that can be made with oil, and ethylene is used to make things like plastics.


(from: wikipedia - ethylene)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Computers

American Hog-Nosed Skunk

We just learned about the Striped Skunk.

Another animal in the same family is the American Hog-Nosed Skunk, or the conepatus leuconotus.

This is one of the biggest skunks in the world, growing over 80 centimeters long.
Sometimes this skunk is called the rooter skunk, because it likes to overturn rocks and look under things, which is sometimes called rooting.

These skunks have a big white back and totally white tail. It's not just a stripe on their back, the whole top of their back is white.

Just like other skunks these animals can spray a smelly liquid at someone if they are scared.
Even though they are skunks they are a lot like badgers and are really good at clawing and digging things.


(from: wikipedia - american hog-nosed skunk)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Grey Bellied Night Monkey

Unconsciousness

We just learned about Consciousness.

Another part of sleep is Unconsciousness.

When a person is asleep they are usually not moving, with their eyes closed, and they can't talk or do things.
Sometimes a person gets hurt or passes out, and they look like they are asleep, but it's not really the same as being asleep because they can't just be woken up.
If someone is like this and they are still breathing and healthy but they seem asleep that is called being unconscious.

Sleep isn't the same thing as being unconscious because your body and brain are able to wake up if you need to.


(from: wikipedia - unconsciousness)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Semicircular Canals

Suriname

We just learned about the country of Peru

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

This country is in South America, and borders the Atlantic Ocean, French Guiana, Guyana, and Brazil.
It is about 64,000 square kilometers, and about 600,000 people live there.
The people in this country mostly speak either Dutch or creole.


(from: wikipedia - suriname)

The flag of Suriname is stripes of green, white and red with a yellow star in the middle.
Green is for the land, white is for freedom, red is for hope, and the star is for the future of the country.


(from: wikipedia - flag of suriname)

To eat in this country you might have broodje bakkeljauw, which is a sandwich with spiced fish and chili paste with peppers.


(from: wikipedia - culture of suriname)

Visiting this country you might go to the Central Suriname Nature Reserve.
This is a nature reserve with over 16,000 square kilometers of rainforest.


(from: wikipedia - central suriname nature reserve)

The Brokopondo Reservoir in Suriname is a big reservoir of water, with about 1,500 square kilometers of water, one of the largest reservoirs in the world.


(from: wikipedia - brokopondo reservoir)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Turkmenistan