Flux

We just learned about Gangue.

Another part of smelting is something called flux.

When blacksmith has iron ore, they want to turn it into iron, and get rid of the gangue and turn it into slag.

Sometimes the only way to get rid of the gangue ore is to use another chemical called a flux.
There are a few different types of fluxes, but one that was used a lot is limestone.

When the iron ore is heated up in the blast furnace, the limestone melts and sticks to the gangue, and it all melts off and turns into slag, just leaving the iron behind.



(from: wikipedia - limestone)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tornado Family

Snake - Venom

We just learned about the Snake Fangs.

Another part of the snake is the venom.

The saliva or spit in our mouth is what snakes use in their mouth for venom.

There are different types of venom that can do different things to the body.

Neurotoxins attack the nervous system, and can cause hallucinations (seeing things that aren't real), muscle spasms (muscles move without control), muscle paralysis (can't move), and numbness (can't feel anything).

Cytotoxins attack the cells in the body, and can eat away at skin, fat, muscles, blood or bodily organs.

When the snake bites their prey, they squirt the venom into the prey's body.
The blood in the prey's body then carries that venom all over the body and the snake can eat their prey.


(from: wikipedia - snake venom)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jack Russell Terrier

Neuron

We just learned about the Enteric Nervous System.

All of the parts of the nervous system are made up of smaller things called neurons.

Neurons are like tiny little computers in the body that send and receive messages to other neurons all over the body.


(from: wikipedia - neuron)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tricuspid Valve

Oregon Coast Range

We just learned about the Cascade Range.

Another mountain range in the Pacific Coast Belt in the North American Cordillera is the Oregon Coast Range.

There are many forests in this mountain range, and many people use this area to get trees to be used for houses and buildings.


(from: wikipedia - oregon coast range)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Great Slave Lake

Moses

We just learned about the Joseph.

Another person from the Bible is Moses.

Moses was one of the most important people in the Bible.
His name is mentioned more in the Old Testament than anyone else.
Moses did many amazing things in his life.

When he was born, there was a law to kill Hebrew boys that were born, so his mother put him in a basket by the river. He was found by the Pharaoh's daughter and she saved him.

He grew up and saw that the Hebrews were slaves, so he ran away from Egypt to become a shepherd.
When he was a shepherd, God appeared to him as a burning bush, and told him to go back to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to free the Hebrew people.

The Pharaoh did not listen to Moses, so God made really bad things called plagues happen to the Egyptians.
Water turned to blood, swarms of pests like flies took over the land, and farm animals died.
The last plague was the death of all firstborn children, and after that the Pharaoh let the Hebrews go.
After they left, Pharaoh changed his mind and chased after them, but Moses parted the Red Sea and the Hebrews went across but the Egyptian army drowned trying to follow them.

Moses took his people to Mt. Sinai and God gave him the Ten Commandments.
He built the Ark of the Covenant to put the stone tablets into.

Moses lead his people through the desert for 40 years, and in that time God gave him over 600 laws to tell his followers so they could be safe living in the desert.


(from: wikipedia - moses)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Revelation

Baptismal Font at St. Bartholomew's Church, Liège

We just learned about the Reliquary of St. Maurus.

Another famous sculpture is the Baptismal Font at St. Bartholomew's Church, Liège made in 1107 in Belgium.

It is made of bronze, and the sculptures are in high relief.
High relief means that the parts of the sculpture stick out very far from the background.

The pictures on this sculpture are of the people that wrote the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
These people are sometimes called the Four Evangelists.

This is a baptismal font, which is a tub that gets filled with water for people to get baptized in.
It is still used even today.


(from: wikipedia - baptismal font at st bartholomew's church, liège)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Composition VII - van Doesburg

ASL - Green, Blue, Purple, Pink

We just the ASL signs for red, orange and yellow.

Let's learn more colors!

green - Make the hand sign for the letter G, and twist your hand back and forth.

blue - Make the hand sign for the letter B, and twist your hand back and forth.

purple - Make the hand sign for the letter P, and twist your hand back and forth.

pink - Make the hand sign for the letter P, and put your tall finger up to your chin and pull it down, sort of like the sign for red, but using your tall finger.

Here is a helpful video showing these signs:

Learn ASL colors with Fireese - Fun show for kids - My Smart Hands




(from: wikipedia - american sign language)

Italian: verde, blu, viola, rosa

German: grün, blau, lila, rosa

Spanish: verde, azul, morado, rosa

French: vert, bleu, violet, rose