Soma

We just learned about the Neuron in the nervous system that sends messages in the body.

One part of the neuron is called the Soma.

The soma is the big part of one end of the neuron that has smaller parts inside of it.
It comes from the Greek word meaning "body", so the soma is the main body of the neuron.


(from: wikipedia - soma (biology))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mitral Valve

Calapooya Mountains

We just learned about the Oregon Coast Range.

Another mountain range in the Pacific Coast Belt of the North American Cordillera is the Calapooya Mountains in Oregon.

These mountains have a lot of forests, and long ago they acted like a wall that people had trouble getting around, so they built the Applegate Trail to help travelers get to the gold mines that were in Northern California.


(from: wikipedia - calapooya mountains)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lake Erie

Aaron

We just learned about Moses.

Another person from the Bible is Aaron.

Aaron was the brother of Moses, and helped Moses lead the Isrealites.
Moses was nervous speaking to people, so when Moses had to go talk to Pharaoh, he had Aaron do the talking.
He also helped Moses lead the people through the desert.
Because Aaron was such a good speaker, he was made as the first High Priest.


(from: wikipedia - aaron)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Acts

Bernward Doors

We just learned about the Baptismal Font at St. Bartholomew's Church, Liège.

Another Romanesque sculpture is the Bernward Doors made in 1015 for the Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany.

These metal doors were made mostly of copper, and have 16 different pieces, each one made with it's own picture.
Each picture is a relief, meaning the sculpture stands out above the background.
The 8 pictures on the left are from the book of Genesis, telling the story of Adam and Even and Cain and Abel.
The 8 pictures on the right are from the Gospel, telling the story of Jesus from the angels visiting Mary to going up to heaven.


(from: wikipedia - bernward doors)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Metz & Co showroom - van der Leck

ASL - Black, White, Brown, Gray

We just learned in ASL how to sign red, yellow, orange and green, blue, purple, pink.

Let's learn some more colors!


black - Hold up just your right pointer finger pointing to the left at your forehead, almost like a salute. Pull your arm backwards like it is drawing a black line on your forehead.

white - With your open hand, put your fingertips on your chest, and then close your fingers together with your fingers still all straight, and pull your hand out away from your chest.

brown - Using the hand shape for the letter B, put your hand up next to your face with your palm facing outward and your fingertips pointed up. Move your hand downward, keeping the pointer finger by your face.

gray - With both hands open, arms out and your palms facing toward your chest and your thumbs pointed up, move your hands back and forth, alternating either hand. So when your right hand is going forward, your left hand is going backward.

Here is a helpful video showing these signs:

Colors - Mrs. Rodriguez's ASL Classes




(from: wikipedia - american sign language)

Italian: nero, bianco, marrone, grigio

German: schwarz, weiß, braun, grau

Spanish: negro, blanco, marrón, gris

French: noir, blanc, brun, gris

Flux

We just learned about Gangue.

Another part of smelting is something called flux.

When blacksmith has iron ore, they want to turn it into iron, and get rid of the gangue and turn it into slag.

Sometimes the only way to get rid of the gangue ore is to use another chemical called a flux.
There are a few different types of fluxes, but one that was used a lot is limestone.

When the iron ore is heated up in the blast furnace, the limestone melts and sticks to the gangue, and it all melts off and turns into slag, just leaving the iron behind.



(from: wikipedia - limestone)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tornado Family

Snake - Venom

We just learned about the Snake Fangs.

Another part of the snake is the venom.

The saliva or spit in our mouth is what snakes use in their mouth for venom.

There are different types of venom that can do different things to the body.

Neurotoxins attack the nervous system, and can cause hallucinations (seeing things that aren't real), muscle spasms (muscles move without control), muscle paralysis (can't move), and numbness (can't feel anything).

Cytotoxins attack the cells in the body, and can eat away at skin, fat, muscles, blood or bodily organs.

When the snake bites their prey, they squirt the venom into the prey's body.
The blood in the prey's body then carries that venom all over the body and the snake can eat their prey.


(from: wikipedia - snake venom)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jack Russell Terrier