Spider Silk Glands

Spiders make silk in a part of their body called the silk gland.

The silk gland makes a liquid out of something called proteins.
The liquid goes into a large area called a sac where the silk liquid is saved.
When the spider wants to make the stringy silk, it squishes the liquid down a smaller tube.
This squishing makes the liquid start to turn harder because it is being squished so hard.

At the very end right by the spinnerets where the silk string comes out,
the silk liquid gets squished into a really tiny tube where it turns into the silky string that we see in spider webs.

(from: wikipedia - spider silk)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Red Fox

Aorta

We've learned that oxygenated blood goes comes into the heart at the left atrium which is part of the heart, and then goes to the left ventricle which pushes the blood to all the parts of your body.

The big tube that the left ventricle pushes the blood to first is called the aorta.

The aorta is a big long tube that goes up from your heart, then turns and goes downward all the way down to your hips area.

(from: wikipedia - aorta)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Levator Lip Muscles

Georgia

Georgia is a state on the east coast of the US, right on the Atlantic Ocean, in the south right above Florida.
It was named after King George II of England.

Georgia's nicknames are the Peach State because they grow a lot of peaches, and the Empire State of the South because for a long time the state made a lot of money.

The state motto is: Wisdom, Justice, Moderation

(from: wikipedia - georgia (u.s. state))

The flag of Georgia looks kind of like one of the old flags of the US with 13 stars on it for the 13 original colonies of the US, but it only has 3 stripes. During the American Civil War one of the first flags used by the confederacy was just like that and was called the Stars With Bars.

The Georgia flag also has a picture in the middle of the star circle, with the words: Constitution, wisdom, justice, moderation and In God We Trust. There are three pillars, and a soldier with a sword, dressed in a uniform like soldiers wore in the American Revolution.

(from: wikipedia - flag of georgia (u.s. state))

Savannah is a very famous fancy city in Georgia.

(from: wikipedia - savannah, georgia)

Famous civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was born and raised in the city of Atlanta, Georgia.

(from: wikipedia - martin luther king, jr.)

One of the biggest aquariums in the whole world is in Georgia, with over 10 million gallons of water!

(from: wikipedia - georgia aquarium)

Two presidents of the US were from Georgia, Jimmy Carter and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)

(from: wikipedia - jimmy carter)


(from: wikipedia - franklin d. roosevelt)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Thailand

The Last Supper

After Jesus went to Jerusalem and was greeted as a king,
he sat down for with his twelve apostles for the last time before he would be taken away to be killed.

Because it was the last time they would have supper together, this is known as The Last Supper.

(from: wikipedia - last supper)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus' Apostles - James Son of Alphaeus

Girl with a Pearl Earring - Johannes Vermeer

We've just learned about the Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and The Persistence of Memory by Salvadore Dali.

Another very famous painting is called Girl with a Pearl Earring by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer in 1665.

The artist Vermeer painted what is called a tronie, which is the head and shoulders of a person, usually with a smile or something standing out in the painting, and not necessarily a painting of anyone famous.

The very dark background of the painting makes the woman more noticeable, and the light and dark colors are to make it look like there is a light up to the left shining on her face, and making her face look bright, her lips and eyes and pearl shine.


(from: wikipedia - girl with a pearl earring)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lunar Wrinkle Ridges

German - One, Two, Three, Four, Five

Let's count to five in German!
1 ein - sounds like ah-een /?/
2 zwei - sounds like s-vah-ee /?/
3 drei - sounds like drai (with the German R, you use the back of your throat) /?/
4 vier - sounds like fee-uh /?/
5 fünf - sounds like fuh-nf /?/


(from: wikipedia - Goethe Institute)

Do you remember how to say it in Spanish?
Uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco

Warm Front

We've learned about weather fronts, and one type called cold fronts.

A warm front is a big bunch of warm air moving along.
When it comes to a cold front it is lighter than the cold front so it goes over it.

When the warm air goes over the cold air, it cools down and the sometimes turns into clouds.

When the weather people on the news want to show a warm front they use red half circles on a line.

(from: wikipedia - wikimedia commons - weather front)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Shield Volcanoes