Lake Urmia

We just learned about Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan.

The next biggest lake is Lake Urmia in Iran.

This lake used to be the largest lake in the middle east in Asia, but because of dams that blocked off the rivers feeding it and the water being used up, it is now 10 times smaller than it was.

(from: wikipedia - lake urmia)

There is an interesting small island on the lake called The Fist of Osman.

(from: wikipedia - lake urmia)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: New Hampshire

Holy Saturday

We just learned about Good Friday on the Church Calendar.

The next day is Holy Saturday.

On this day people remember when Jesus Christ body was laid in his tomb after he was crucified on Good Friday.


(from: wikipedia - holy saturday)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus' Tomb - Angels

Pendant of Osorkon II

We just learned about the Younger Memnon statue.

Another Egyptian sculpture is the Pendant of Osorkon II.

Through the years of the Egyptian empire, there were many myths about different gods.
The stories about how they looked and who they were changed for many years.
Like for a while Horus was the brother of Isis and Osiris, but then later the stories changed and Horus was the son of Isis and Osiris.

When people started making sculptures of them people decided on what each character would look like, so that when you saw a sculpture you know which person it was, and the stories didn't change as much after that.

This is a sculpture of Horus, Osiris and Isis.
Horus has a falcon's head, Osiris has a feathered tiara, and Isis has a horned disk.

There are markings on the statue showing that it was made for the Pharaoh Osorkon II, and was probably in his temple somewhere.
In those days the Pharaoh was very powerful, and people believed the Pharaoh would become part of the mythology after his death.


(from: wikipedia - art of ancient egypt)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bethlehem Mural - Banksy

Italian - Her hands are soft

We just learned in Italian our table is short is Il nostro tavolo è breve.

To say her hands are soft you would say Le sue mani sono morbide.
We can break it up into four words:
Her - Le sue - sounds like lay soo-ay /?/
hands - mani - sounds like mah-nee /?/
are - sono - Sounds like soh-noh /?/
soft - morbide - Sounds like moh-d-bee-day /?/


So all together Le sue mani sono morbide sounds like lay soo-ay mah-nee so-noh moh-d-bee-day.


(from: wikipedia - accademia della crusca)

In German:
Ihre Hände sind weich

In Spanish:
Sus manos estan suaves

In French:
Ses mains sont douces.

Category 2 Hurricane

We just learned about the Category 1 Hurricane.

The next level of damage on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is the Category 2 Hurricane - Extremely dangerous winds will cause extensive damage.

These hurricanes have winds between 96 and 110 mph.

These will cause damage to roofing, uproot or snap trees, destroy mobile homes and cause power outages.


(from: wikipedia - hurricane juan)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hail

Emerald Tree Boa

We just learned about the Green Tree Python.

Another type of snake is the Emerald Tree Boa.
This snake looks and acts a lot like the Green Tree Python, but they are from totally different parts of the world, and they are not the same snake.

The Emerald Tree Boa is from South America, and the Green Tree Python is from Indonesia and Australia.

They both live in trees, grow to about the same size, attack their prey by wrapping their bodies around them, and they even coil themselves up in trees the same way.

If you found one of these snakes in the wild, it would be really tough to tell which type it was!

A few differences are that the Emerald Tree Boa has large fangs and eats birds, and the boa has live snake babies, while the python lays eggs.


(from: wikipedia - emerald tree boa)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Basenji

Parietal Lobe

We just learned about the frontal lobe in the cerebrum part of the brain.

Another lobe in the cerebrum is called the parietal lobe.

This part of the brain is used for your skin and feelings, so when you touch something you can tell if it is soft or hard, smooth or sharp.

The parietal lobe is also used to help understand and speak languages.

And it is used to figure out where you are when you are moving around, which is called spatial awareness. An example of this is when you are in a house you can tell if you are in a smaller room versus a larger room, or if you go upstairs you can figure out which room you are above.


(from: wikipedia - parietal lobe)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Femoral Artery