Monday, July 12, 2021

Laos


We just learned about the country of Kyrgyzstan

Let's learn a little about the country of Laos!

Laos is a small country in Asia, bordering Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.
It is only about 90,000 square miles, and about 7 million people live there.
People in this country speak the Lao language.


(from: wikipedia - laos)

The flag of Laos is sideways stripes of red, blue and red, with a white circle in the middle.
The blue is for money, the red is for blood, and the white is for the moon shining over the Mekong river.


(from: wikipedia - flag of laos)

To eat in Laos you might have khao niao, also called sticky rice.
This is a type of rice that grows in the area, and when cookied all of the pieces of rice stick to each other, so it is called sticky rice.

(from: wikipedia - lao cuisine)

Visiting Laos you might go to Si Phan Don which is a group of islands with rivers going around them.

(from: wikipedia - si phan don)

In Laos there is a place called the Plain of Jars, where there are thousands of stone jars laying around in big piles.
No one is sure what the jars are for, but they are thousands of years old.

(from: wikipedia - plain of jars)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nunatak

Sunday, July 11, 2021

Jesus Paid it All


We just learned about the When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.

Another famous hymn is Jesus Paid it All written by Elvina Hall and John Grape .

This hymn is about Jesus paying the price so all the bad things people do are forgiven by Jesus if they believe in him.

It was written in 1865 by Elvina Hall, and the music was made by John Grape.
Elvina was sitting in church one day and while she was listening to the sermon she wrote the words on the back of a hymnal. After church she gave the lyrics to her pastor.
That same week the organist John Grape wrote some new music for another song and shared it with the pastor.
The pastor liked the lyrics from Elvina and the music from Grape, so he put them together for the hymn.


(from: wikipedia - jesus paid it all)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Franciscans

Saturday, July 10, 2021

Flying Pins - Claes Oldenburg


We just learned about the Monument to Joe Louis by Robert Graham.

Another famous work of American art is Flying Pins by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen made in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

Oldenburg was born in 1929 in Sweden, and in 1936 his family moved to Chicago where he learned to be a sculptor.

In 2001 he made a sculpture of giant bowling bins and a bowling ball.
They were all made from steel, plastic and foatm, and the pins are about 24 feet tall.


(from: wikipedia - claes oldenburg)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Maya Lin

Thursday, July 8, 2021

Cooling Fan


We just learned about the car's Radiator.

Another part of a car is the Cooling Fan.

We know the radiator gets hot and has to get cooled down so it can put cold liquid back into the engine.
Most engines have a fan that blows air onto the radiator to help cool it.


(from: wikipedia - fan (machine))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Fire Tube Boiler

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Golden Snub Nosed Monkey


We just learned about the Red Shanked Douc.

Another type of old world monkey is the Golden Snub Nosed Monkey.

These monkeys live in the mountains of China, and can live in snowy colder places than most monkeys.

Golden snub nosed monkeys grow to about 2 feet long and weigh about 35 pounds.
They have long gold colored fur and white faces.



(from: wikipedia - golden snub-nosed monkey)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pallas's Cat

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

Antitragus


We just learned about the Antihelix.

On the outer ear we know about:
- The auricle or pinna, which is the main outside part of the ear
- The helix, which is the folded over part around the outside
- The antihelix, which is the Y shaped bump that sticks out

Another part of the ear is the Antitragus.

Going up from the bottom of the ear and just connected to the earlobe is the antitragus.
It is a bump that is pointing up.
The shape of this part of the ear helps bring in sounds the way your body wants to hear them.


(from: wikipedia - antitragus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Astigmatism