Roald Amundsen

We just learned about Adriene de Gerlache, the first person to explore Antarctica.

Another famous explorer of Antarctica was Roald Amundsen, from Norway.

Amundsen was one of the people who went with Gerlache on the first trip to Antarctica, so he had some idea what to expect down there.
He worked with a famous explorer named Nansen to get a special boat called Fram which was made special so that it would not get stuck in the ice.

Amundsen at first was planning to go to the North pole, but right at the same time the news came in that someone else had just made it to the North pole so he changed his plans.

He started his trip to the South pole starting in the year 1910 AD.
Unlike some other explorers, Amundsen knew that sled dogs were great for traveling in the cold, so he got 100 sled dogs from Greenland.
He knew how cold it got in Antarctica, so he had boots and clothes specially made from seal, reindeer and wolf skins as they were natural protection against the cold.
They made special long skis and long sleds to be used on the glaciers, and big strong tents that could hold up to the wind and cold.

Amundsen knew that people could get sick if they did not eat right, so he made sure they planned to eat lots of seal meat and fruits.
He knew they could go crazy from the cold and darkness, so he brought some wine, some music instruments and records, and thousands of books to give people something to do.

When he landed in the south part of Antarctica by the Ross Ice shelf, they set up a special camp called "Framheim" which meant the home for Fram, their boat.
They built a big shed there to be safe from the cold, and then started making trips out toward the south pole.
Taking the sled dogs, they would travel for about 15 miles and then put up a tent with some supplies called a depot, and then go back.
Every time they would go along, stop at a depot for supplies and then go a little further.
Eventually it was getting too close to winter and they had to stop and wait for months for it to stop.

At the same time that Amundsen was there, some other explorers from Britain were there too, so it was a big race to get there.
The British were using motorized sleds instead of dogs.

In 1911 after being at the pole for eight months, they set out on their trip to the South pole with five people, four sleds and 52 dogs.
They had a very tough time, and lost 40 of their dogs, but finally made it to the South pole and put up their tent.
The name they gave to their tent was Polheim, meaning "Home at the Pole", and they left supplies for any other travelers that might make it there.

They went back to their ship and went home to Norway where they were made heroes and given the Norwegian South Pole medal Sydpolsmedaljen.






(from: wikipedia - amundsen's south pole expedition)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Frankenstein Castle

Cyrillic Script

We just learned about the Christianity in Bulgaria.

Another part of early Christianity is the Cyrillic Script.

We learned before about the Glagolitic Alphabet made by the monks Cyril and Methodius.

The schools in the country of Bulgaria worked together to make a new writing language that would be easy for people in the area to read.
They wanted people to be able to read and have church services in their local language instead of Greek.

The Cyrillic Script is used today by over 250 million people in several languages like Russian or Ukranian.


(from: wikipedia - early cyrillic alphabet)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Gospel Harmony

Standing Lincoln - Augustus Saint-Gaudens

We just learned about the statue of Charles Sumner by Anne Whitney.

Another famous American statue is Standing Lincoln made by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in 1887 in Chicago.

Saint-Gaudens was born in Ireland in 1848, but moved to New York when he was a baby.
Growing up he learned about sculpture, and when he was 19 he moved to Paris and Rome to learn more about art.

He came back to American and in his adult life became very famous for making sculptors of Civil War heroes like Abraham Lincoln or Robert Gould Shaw.

His Standing Lincoln statue of Abraham Lincoln in Chicago is one of his most famous.
It is sometimes called "Abraham Lincoln: The Man" and is 12 feet tall made of bronze.

Many people say it is the most important sculpture of Lincoln from this time, and shows him rising from a chair about to give a speech.
Saint-Gaudens was at Lincoln's inauguration when he became president, and also at his funeral.
He really liked Lincoln a lot, and tried his best to make a statue that would stand for a long time honoring Lincoln.

It was such a famous statue in Chicago that famous people like Jane Addams would walk to the statue sometimes to look at it and be inspired by Lincoln's life.


(from: wikipedia - abraham lincoln: the man)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Konark Sun Temple

Russian - We are surprised

We just learned that in Russian I am happy is Я счастлив (ya shastliv),
you are sad is Ты грустный (Ty grustnyy),
he is angry is Он сердится (On serditsya),
and they are excited is Они взволнованы (Oni vzvolnovany).

Let's learn how to say We are surprised.

Мы удивлены (My udivleny)

We can break it up into two words:

We - Мы (My) - Sounds like Moo 文A
are surprised - удивлены (udivleny) - Sounds like oo-dee-v-lay-n-ee 文A

So all together Мы удивлены sounds like Moo oo-dee-v-lay-n-ee.


(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: Vi er overrasket

Greek: Είναι έκπληκτοι

ASL: We are surprised

German: Wir sind begeistert

Spanish: Estamos sorprendido

French: Nous sommes surpris

Hydraulics

We just learned about the Negative Feedback.

Another part of machine science is Hydraulics.

This means using the power of water to move machines.
The science of hydraulics goes back thousands of years, and can be as simple as just a water wheel that is using the power of a river to turn the wheel.

Any system that uses water to move something is using hydraulics.


(from: wikipedia - hydraulics)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ariane

Snow Leopard

We just learned about the Black Panther.

Another type of big cat is the Snow Leopard, also called Panthera Uncia.

This is a big cat living in the mountains in Asia, mostly in China.
There are not a lot of these cats left, less than 10,000 in the world.
They live up in the mountains at elevations around 10,000 feet above sea level.

A snow leopard's fur is white and grey with black spots on its head and neck, with rosettes on its fur.
It has a bushy tail, a white belly, and eyes that are green or grey.

Because the snow leopard lives in cold places, it has longer fur than other leopards, and short ears that don't get too cold.
When it sleeps it can use its bushy tail as a coat, and it has big nostrils to help bring in a lot of fresh air to keep it warm.
These cats have very big paws to help it walk on snow like snow shoes, with fur on the bottom to help them keep their grip on rocks.

They are about 2 feet tall, 5 feet long, with a 3 foot tail and they weigh about 120 pounds.
Snow leopards can grunt and meow, but they can not roar like other big cats because of a difference in their throat.





(from: wikipedia - snow leopard)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Moon Jellyfish

Rapid Eye Movement

We just learned about eye movement of Smooth Pursuit.

Another part of eye movement is Rapid Eye Movement also called REM.

Sometimes when a person is sleeping, their eyes will move around quickly in a bunch of different directions over and over again for a while.
The quick or rapid eye movement also happens at the same time as a lot of activity in the brain even while you are asleep.
Some scientists think that REM is what happens when you are having very active dreams.


(from: wikipedia - rapid eye movement sleep)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Foliate Papillae