Wooden Buddha - Enkū

We just learned about the Noh Masks.

Another famous ancient Japanese sculpture is the Wooden Buddha by Enkū.

In the 1600s in Japan there was a monk named Enkū who was also a poet and an artist who carved over 100,000 wooden sculptures of Buddha.

Sometimes he made these sculptures as payment for food and a place to sleep as he traveled around Japan.


(from: wikipedia - enkū)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Spinning Girl - Schadow

Norwegian - Red, Orange, Yellow

We just learned about the alphabet in Norwegian.

Now let's learn some colors!

red - rød - sounds like dr-uh-ah

orange - oransje - - sounds like oo-dr-ah-n-sh-ah

yellow - gul - sounds like goo-l



(from: wikipedia - norwegian language)

Greek: κόκκινο, πορτοκαλί, κίτρινο

ASL: red, orange, yellow

Italian: rosso, arancione, giallo

German: rot, orange, gelb

Spanish: rojo, naranja, amarillo

French: rouge, orange, jaune

De Laval Nozzle

We just learned about the Nell Rocket by Robert Goddard.

Another part of rocket science is the de Laval Nozzle.

When Robert Goddard was working on his rockets, he decided to use a type of nozzle that would have a pinch in the middle.
The smaller part of the nozzle puts pressure on the burning fuel, and it comes out at a supersonic speed, burning faster than the speed of sound.

The De Laval Nozzle was actually invented by a German engineer who came up with it for steam engines.



(from: wikipedia - de laval nozzle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Supershear Earthquake

Statocyst

We just learned about the Cephalopod Skin.

Another part of a squid's body is the Statocyst.

This is a sac inside the squid's head that has small hairs and a hard ball inside it.
When the squid swims around, the ball rolls around inside and moves the hairs, and the squid can tell which way it is swimming.

It also can use this statocyst to hear low sounds, when the sound is loud and the hairs are vibrating the sac.


(from: wikipedia - statocyst)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tadpoles

Gingiva

We just learned about the Periodontal Ligament.

Another part of the mouth is the Gingiva, also known as the Gums.

The gums are the soft part of the inside of the mouth, around the teeth.

The lips and cheeks have skin that moves around, but the skin of the gums stays stuck to the bones of the jaw, so they help hold the teeth in place and help protect the parts of the teeth below the gums.

Gums are supposed to be a color called "coral pink" for lighter skinned people.
If the gums are red or bleeding, it can mean that the person has bad mouth problems and needs to brush more or use mouthwash.


(from: wikipedia - gums)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Humeroradial Ligaments

Summer Palace

We just learned about the Mysore Palace.

Another famous palace is the Summer Palace, built around 1500 AD in Beijing China.

It was built little by little over hundreds of years as different buildings and islands were added, and it is now over 1 square mile.

There are three islands on the land, that were built to be like three magical mountains in the East sea.
With all of the gates, halls, towers, boats and bridges, there are over 40 different buildings to see in the palace.

All of them have special names for special reasons, like the Dragon Bridge built to honor the story of the Dragon King.
Some other nice names are The Garden of Harmonious Pleasures, the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, and the Pavilion of Precious Cloud.






(from: wikipedia - summer palace)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hidalgo

Sabbath Day in Christianity

We just learned about the Great Fire of Rome.

Another part of Christian history is the Sabbath Day.

In the old Jewish faith, people rested on the seventh day, called the shabbat, which is where we get the name Saturday.

After the Christians started to separate into their own religion, they started to move the day of worship to Sunday.
Part of the idea was that Sunday would be seen as the celebration of the resurrection and freedom from sin on the first day of every week.

Some Christians through the years have changed back to Saturday as the holy day, but others still worship on Sunday.

A fancy word for beliefs about which day is the sabbath is "Sabbatarianism".
First-day Sabbatarianism means that Sunday should be the day of worship.
Seventh-day Sabbatarianism means that Saturday should be the day of worship.
There is even Non-Sabbatarianism, which means that there should not be any special day for worship, you should pick whatever day you want to worship on.


(from: wikipedia - sabbath in christianity)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul