Mars 2 - 6, Viking 1 & 2

We've learned about the space exploration of Mars and the spacecrafts that got near the planet.
There have also been space crafts that have landed on Mars and studied the planet.

The Russian space program had their Mars program:

Mars 2 was launched May 19, 1971, and crash landed on the planet.
Mars 3 was launched May 28, 1971, landed on the planet and sent back information for 14.5 seconds before it stopped working.
Mars 6 was launched August 5, 1973, and crash landed on the planet.

The US NASA space program had their Viking program:

The Viking 1 was launched August 20, 1975
The Viking 2 was launched September 9, 1975
Both of these spacecrafts had orbiters and landers. The orbiters circled the planet taking pictures, and then launched landers to the ground.
The landers then did scientific experiments on the ground to test the dirt and the air.


(from: wikipedia - viking program)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: White Dwarf

Spanish - Counting to fifty nine

We just learned how to count to 49 in Spanish, let's keep going!

50 cincuenta - sounds like see-n-koo-en-tah /?/
51 cincuenta y uno - sounds like see-n-koo-en-tah ee oo-n-oh /?/
52 cincuenta y dos - sounds like see-n-koo-en-tah ee doh-ss /?/
53 cincuenta y tres - sounds like see-n-koo-en-tah ee t-day-ss /?/
54 cincuenta y cuatro - sounds like see-n-koo-en-tah ee koo-ah-t-doh /?/
55 cincuenta y cinco - sounds like see-n-koo-en-tah ee see-n-koh /?/
56 cincuenta y seis - sounds like see-n-koo-en-tah ee say-ss /?/
57 cincuenta y siete - sounds like see-n-koo-en-tah ee see-ay-tay /?/
58 cincuenta y ocho - sounds like see-n-koo-en-tah ee oh-choh /?/
59 cincuenta y nueve - sounds like see-n-koo-en-tah ee noo-ay-vay /?/


(from: wikipedia - Association of Spanish Language Academies)

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - cinquante, cinquante et un, cinquante-deux, cinquante-trois, cinquante-quatre, cinquante-cinq, cinquante-six, cinquante-sept, cinquante-huit, cinquante-deux,

Potassium

We just learned about the type of rock Corundum.

Another chemical element is Potassium, called "K" for short (from the latin word kalium) on the Periodic Table.

Potassium is a type of metal that is very soft, and can easily be cut with a knife.

If you put potassium in a glass of water, it will make a big explosion!

When the potassium is in the water, it mixes up with hydrogen and oxygen.
As it is mixing together, the chemicals let off a lot of heat.
With all that heat, some of the hydrogen gas lights on fire, and then it goes kaboom!

We have potassium in our bodies, but it's not the same as the potassium metal that explodes.
It's sort of like what's left from the mixed up potassium after the big explosion, so it's safe.

(from: wikipedia - potassium)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Photons

Clownfish

We just learned a little about Starfish.

Clownfish are little orange and white fish that live in the ocean.
The fancy name for a clownfish is amphiprioninae.

They're very well known from the movie Finding Nemo!

Usually clownfish make their homes right in an anemone's tentacles.
The anemones have poison on their tentacles that they use to sting and kill other fish, but the clownfish don't get hurt!

Clownfish have a slimy coating called mucus that is different from other fish, so the sea anemones don't try and sting them.
Because clownfish have lived in anemones for so long, their bodies can survive after being stung by some of the anemone poision.

The clownfish and anemone have what is called a symbiotic relationship.
That means they are two animals that work together to help each other out.

When clownfish live in the anemone, they are protected from fish that would try to eat them up.
They also sometimes eat some of the food leftover from an anemone's meal.
The clownfish helps keep the anemone clean, and it might sound yucky but the anemone actually eats the pee and poop from the clownfish!


(from: wikipedia - amphiprioninae)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Porcupine

Small intestine

We've learned now that the duodenum connects to the jejunum, which connects to the ileum.

These tubes are all part of what is called the small intestine.

The small intestine is very long and winds around in your body in the area below your stomach.
If you measured your small intestine from the end where it starts, all the way around each winding turn to where it ends, it would be around 20 feet long.
That's 3 times taller than most people!


(from: wikipedia - small intestine)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Quadriceps

Zimbabwe

We just learned about the African country of Burkina Faso

Zimbabwe is a country in the southeast part of Africa.


(from: wikipedia - zimbabwe)

The flag of Zimbabwe has seven stripes of green, gold, red, black, red, gold, green.
It has a white triangle on the left side, and in the triangle is a red star with a yellow bird.

The yellow, black, green and red are part of the shared pan-African colors of other African countries.
The green is for the plants and land, the gold is for the minerals like gold or iron that come from the ground, the black is for independence and the red is for the fight for freedom.
The star is for the fight for freedom, and the bird is for the history of Zimbabwe.

(from: wikipedia - flag of zimbabwe)

To eat in Zimbabwe you might have some meat sausage called Boerewors.

(from: wikipedia - boerewors)

There is an ancient city in Zimbabwe called Great Zimbabwe, where people can go to see the ruins of a very old place.

(from: wikipedia - great zimbabwe)

Some of the people of Zimbabwe use the horns of the kudu as a musical instrument.

(from: wikipedia - zimbabwe)

The two people who first created the boy scouts met in Zimbabwe. They both agreed that there should be a group to teach boys things about scouting, and they came up with many great ideas of how to do it. They later returned to their homes in England and America and started the boy scouts.

(from: wikipedia - zimbabwe)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Romania

Parable of the Weeds

We just learned about one of Jesus' teaching stories called the Parable of the Sower

Another parable Jesus told was called the Parable of the Weeds.

He said that God's kingdom is like a field where the farmer planted wheat seeds, but when he was sleeping a bad person came and planted weeds right next to his wheat seeds.

The farmer's helpers asked if they should pull the weeds out, but the farmer said they couldn't because that would uproot the wheat too.

He said to wait until the wheat is grown. Then go pull the weeds out to be burned up and bring the wheat to the barn.

Jesus was really talking about people, and saying that the bad people of the world would not go to Heaven, they would be thrown out like the weeds. But the good people of the earth would be brought to Heaven to live with him forever.

(from: wikipedia - parable of the tares)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: New Testament