Massasauga

We just learned about the Schnauzer and a whole lot of other types of dogs!

Now let's learn about snakes!
They can be scary and look slimy, but snakes are very important in nature, just like spiders, sharks, alligators and other scary animals.
Snakes help by eating things like mice and rats that carry diseases and eat crops.
They are also food for other larger animals like hawks and eagles!

One type of snake is the Massasauga, which is a venomous rattle snake.

These snakes can grow to be about 2 feet long, and they are grey with dark brown or black spots on their body.

They are venomous, which means their teeth let out venom to kill their prey when they bite.
Even though the venom can hurt humans, it won't kill them as long as they go to the doctor after getting bitten.

These snakes are shy and try to stay away from humans.
They would only bite a human if they were stepped on or if someone tried to pick them up.

Mostly these snakes eat mice, rats, lizards, frogs, centipedes and even smaller snakes.
Since they do not have arms to hold their prey or big teeth to chew it up, they have to bite something like a lizard, wait for it to stop moving, and then swallow it whole!


(from: wikipedia - massasauga)

The rattle on the snake's tail is made up of a bunch of little hollow hard pieces of keratin that are hooked together. When the rattle snake is feeling threatened it will shake it's tail to make a rattling sound to warn people to stay away.
Every time that the rattle snake sheds it's skin, it grows another piece for it's rattle.


(from: wikipedia - rattlesnake)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Spider Sheet Webs

Heart Wall - Myocardium

We just learned about the first inside part of the heart wall called the endocardium.

The next part of heart wall is the Myocardium.

This part of the heart wall has the muscles in it that squeeze together to make the heart pump the blood through the body.


(from: wikipedia - cardiac muscle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dorsal Scapular Artery

Lake Balkhash

We just learned about Lake Ladoga.

The next biggest lake is Lake Balkhash in the country of Kazakhstan.

This lake has 43 islands, but the water level keeps getting lower, so there are more islands that are forming, and the other islands are getting bigger.

(from: wikipedia - lake balkhash)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Maine

Epiphany

We just learned about the 3 weeks of the Christmas season on the church calendar.

The third week of that season is known as Epiphany meaning Appearance, or Vision of God.

This is the week churches celebrate things like the wise men coming to visit Jesus in the manger.
Some people during this season make a cake called a king cake, which is a round cake that has a small doll of baby Jesus inside.
People each take a piece of cake, and whoever finds the small doll has to make the cake next year.

This was a way to remember the kings and wise men coming to find the baby Jesus.


(from: wikipedia - king cake)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus - Carrying his cross

Gundestrup Cauldron

We just learned about the sculpture Guennol Lioness.

Another sculpture is the Gundestrup Cauldron.

This is a large metal bowl that was made thousands of years ago, and has many carvings on the side of people and animals.

In order to make this bowl, they had to find some rocks that had silver in them, and put them in a hot fire where everything burned away except the silver.
This is called cupellation.

Then they took the silver bars and pounded them flat, then heated them up again so they could pound some shapes and pictures into the silver.
This is called annealing and repoussé.

Next they used some hard tools called punches and tracers to poked holes, make dents and lines on the metal for pictures.
They added some other metals on the outside like gold and silver to make it look nice.
This is called gilding.

Last they put some pieces of glass into the carvings on the bowl.
This is called inlay.


(from: wikipedia - gundestrup cauldron)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Campbell's Soup Cans

Italian - You are sad

We just learned that in Italian I am happy is sono felice.

Now let's learn how to say You are sad.

Sei triste

We can break it up into two words:
You are - Sei - sounds like say-ee /?/
sad - triste - Sounds like t-dee-stay /?/


So all together Sei trista sounds like say-ee t-dee-stay.


(from: wikipedia - accademia della crusca)

In German:
Sie sind traurig

In Spanish:
Estas triste

In French:
Vous êtes triste

F1 Tornado

We just learned that the F0 Tornado on the Fujita Scale is light damage to trees and buildings.

The next level of damage is an F1 Tornado - Moderate damage.
This is when roofs can be peeled off of houses, mobile homes are overturned, cars are pushed off of roads, and some garages can be destroyed.


(from: wikipedia - fujita scale)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cirrostratus Cloud