Thursday, January 11, 2018

Earthquake Swarm


We just learned about the Tsunami Earthquake that isn't very big but can trigger a tsunami.

Another type of earthquake is an Earthquake Swarm.

This is when a lot of earthquakes happen in the same area, and are clearly not just aftershocks or foreshocks from one single earthquake.

These can be hundreds or even over a thousand earthquakes in one state, spreading out over a time of days, weeks or months.
One of the ones that happened not long ago was in Nevada, with 1,000 earthquakes between February and November 2008.


(from: wikipedia - earthquake swarm)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Flux

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Frog Teeth


We just learned about frogs eating their skin, and breathing through it.

When frogs eat, they don't chew up their food like other predators with big teeth.
They only have some teeth on their upper jaw, and they use it to hold on to their food and swallow it whole.


(from: wikipedia - frog)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Snake Venom

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Radioulnar Ligaments


We just learned about the Ulnar Collateral Ligament in the elbow.

The two bones in the forearm are connected together by a few ligaments that hold on to them, like strings strapping the two bones together.

The Proximal Radioulnar Articulation is by the elbow, and the Distal Radioulndar Articulation is by the wrist.



(from: wikipedia - annular ligament of radius)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Enteric Nervous System

Monday, January 8, 2018

San Luis Potosí


We just learned about the Mexico state Sonora, where they do the Deer Dance.

Another Mexico State is San Luis Potosí.
It was named after Louis IX of France, and because they found gold and silver in this state they compared it to the mines in Potosi, Bolivia.


(from: wikipedia - san luis potosí)

The coat of arms of San Luis Potosí shows Louis IX of France on a mining hill, with gold and silver bars on either side for the mining in the area. The blue and yellow backgrounds are for night and day.


(from: wikipedia - san luis potosí)

There are many old gold and silver mines in the area that are not used anymore.


(from: wikipedia - san luis potosí)

There are some beautiful waterfalls and natural swimming places in the town of Tamasopo.


(from: wikipedia - tamasopo)

In the Wirikuta mountains, the Huichol people celebrate their ancient traditions with art, song and food.


(from: wikipedia - huichol)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Oregon Coast Range

Sunday, January 7, 2018

Hildegard of Bingen


We just learned about Scholastica the Nun and sister of Benedict.

Another famous Nun was Hildegard of Bingen.

At a very young age, Hildegard was sent to live with Nuns, learn about God and worship.
She was very smart, and studied medicine, plants and animals in nature, music and writings about God.
There is even a special language she created by herself with it's own alphabet and words, that only she knew how to read and write.

She wrote hundreds of letters to people like popes, monks or other nuns, and she was one of the first people to study and write about medicine and biology.
People say that she also had visions from God that gave her instructions to write down the things she learned to help other people.


(from: wikipedia - hildegard of bingen)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Moses

Saturday, January 6, 2018

George Washington - Greenough


We just learned about the statue Spinning Girl by Rudolph Schadow in 1810 in Rome.

Another famous neoclassical sculpture is George Washington by Horatio Greenough in 1832 in America.

We learned a while back of one of the most famous sculptures of Zeus at Olympia that was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

When Greenough was asked to make a statue of George Washington to be outside the US Capitol building, he felt that Washington was such an important person in history that he should be looked up to like the Greeks looked up to Zeus.

So he made a statue of George Washington that looked just like the old statue of Zeus at Olympia, with one arm raised to heaven and another holding out a sword to show Washington handing over the power to the people.

A lot of people did not like the statue because Washington did not have a shirt on, and it made it look like he was a god and not just a person to be respected, so eventually they moved the statue away from the capitol and into a museum.


(from: wikipedia - george washington (greenough))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Baptismal Font at St. Bartholomew's Church, Liège

Friday, January 5, 2018

Greek - Green, Blue, Purple, Pink

We just learned that in Greek, red, orange and yellow are κόκκινο (kókkino), πορτοκαλί (portokalí), and κίτρινο (kítrino).

Let's learn more colors!

green - πράσινο (prásino) - sounds like p-dah-see-no

blue - μπλε (ble) - sounds like blay

purple - μοβ (mov) - sounds like moh-v

pink - ροζ (roz) - sounds like - dr-oh-z

center for the greek language
(from: wikipedia - center for the greek language)

ASL: green, blue, purple, pink

Italian: verde, blu, viola, rosa

German: grün, blau, lila, rosa

Spanish: verde, azul, morado, rosa

French: vert, bleu, violet, rose