Smooth Pursuit

We just learned about the Saccade quick jumpy eye movements.

Another type of eye movement is called Smooth Pursuit.

This is where your eye can follow something that is moving along without losing sight of it.
So if someone throws a ball up in the air, your eyes can focus on the ball and watch it the whole time as it goes up and down.

Or if someone hits a baseball, your eyes can watch it go through the air and you can run to catch it.


(from: wikipedia - smooth pursuit)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Fungiform Papillae

Antarctic Territories

We just learned about the Marie Byrd Land.

Another part of Antarctica is the Antarctic Territories.

Whenever there is land to be discovered, someone always wants to plant their flag on it and call it their own.

Antarctica has 11 different territories that are claimed by different countries, like France, Argentinia, Australia, Britain, Chile, Norway, New Zealand, Brazil and Uruguay.

Most of the territories start at the south pole and go out like a triangle shape toward the edge of the water.
Australia has the biggest one called the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) that covers over 5 million square kilometers.

The only place that is not claimed is Marie Byrd Land.
Even though the land is claimed by a country, there might only be 200 or so people living in the whole area all year long.


(from: wikipedia - australian antarctic territory)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Castillo de Colomares

Glagolitic Script

We just learned about the Saint Ansgar.

Another part of early Christianity is the Glagolitic script.

When some people wanted to go to parts of Eastern Europe to tell people about Christianity, they had a problem.
The language called Old Slavic that the people spoke and wrote in was not something taught in schools, and there weren't books for how to read it or write it.

This was a problem because they wanted to give people Bibles and other writings to learn about Christianity, but nobody knew how to write in their language.

So some church workers named Cyril and Methodius worked to come up with an alphabet that they could put into books and then teach to people so they could read and write in this language.

The alphabet they came up with was called the Glagolitic Script.
The word really means something like "speaking letters" and it got it's name many years after the alphabet was made.
Because they worked so hard to make this Glagolitic script, they could go to Eastern Europe and teach people about God and Jesus.


(from: wikipedia - glagolitic script)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Decian Persecution

Abraham Lincoln - Vinnie Ream

We just learned about the Angel of the Waters by Emma Stebbins.

Another famous sculpture made by a woman from American history is the statue of Abraham Lincoln made by Lavinia "Vinnie" Ream in 1871.

Vinnie was born in Madison Wisconsin in 1847.

When she was 14 her family moved to Washington D.C. where she got a job at the post office, and as a singer at church.
When she was 16 she got a job as an apprentice for a sculptor, and then when she was 18 President Abraham Lincoln asked her to make a sculpture of him to be used in Washington D.C.

Shew as the youngest artist and first woman to get hired by the US government to make a statue.

She sat with Lincoln every day for a month to try and look at him and make the sculpture as real looking as possible.

Vinnie once said "I think that history is particularly correct in writing Lincoln down as the man of sorrow. The one great, lasting, all-dominating impression that I have always carried of Lincoln has been that of unfathomable sorrow, and it was this that I tried to put into my statue."


(from: wikipedia - vinnie ream)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Elephanta Caves

Russian - He is angry

We just learned that in Russian I am happy is Я счастлив (ya shastliv), and you are sad is Ты грустный (Ty grustnyy).

Now let's learn how to say He is angry.

Он сердится (On serditsya)

He - Он (On) - sounds like oh-n 文A
angry - сердится (serditsya) - Sounds like see-ay-dr-dee-t-ss-yah 文A

So all together Он сердится (On serditsya) sounds like oh-n see-ay-dr-dee-t-ss-yah.


(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: Han er sint

Greek: Είναι θυμωμένος

ASL: He is angry

Italian: Lui è arrabbiato

German: Er ist wütend

Spanish: Él está enojado

French: Il est en colère

Encoder

We just learned about the Servo, that has sensors to tell it when to start or stop.

One part of a servo is the Encoder.

An encoder is like a map that the servo uses, so when the machine moves it knows where it is and when to stop.
Encoders have markings on them that a sensor can see to tell the machine that it is moving.

A rotary encoder is a type of encoder for a machine that spins.
It has lines on it to help the machine figure out how far it spins around.
If a machine spins to the right, the sensor might see 10 black lines go by.
The machine would then know that if it wanted to go back to where it started, it could spin the other way until it counted 10 black lines go by.


(from: wikipedia - rotary encoder)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: R-7 Rockets

Leopard

We just learned about the Jaguar.

Another type of wild cat is the Leopard.

Leopards are also part of the Felidae family just like lions, tigers and jaguars, and they are part of the smaller family of panthera just like the jaguar.
They live in the southern parts of the African and Asian continents.

Leopards can grow to be over 6 feet long, and weigh 200 pounds. They have a super long tail that can be 3 feet long.

There are a bunch of different types of leopards, usually living in different places like the African leopard, Indian leopard, Javan leopard, Arabian leopard, Persian or Anatolian leopard, Amur leopard, Indochinese leopard, and Sri Lankan leopard.

The leopard looks a lot like it's cousin the jaguar, but it is usually smaller and the rosette spots on its fur are usually smaller.
They can live in different areas, like grasslands, woodlands and rain forests.

Leopard cubs can live with their mothers for about 2 years before they go off on their own, and boy leopards usually live all by themselves.

On a leopard's ears and tails are white tufts of hair, and people think that the leopards can use those to talk to each other.
So if a leopard flicks it's ears or tail it might be trying to tell another leopard something like "get away" or "follow me".





(from: wikipedia - leopard)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Crystal Jelly