Geoffroy's Cat

We just learned about the Kodkod.

Another kind of wild cat is Geoffroy's Cat.

This cat lives in South and Central America, and is about the size of a house cat.
They are brownish yellow with black spots all over their bodies.
Some cats are all black like a panther.

They are about 2 feet long, and weigh from 4 to 11 pounds.
Most of these cats live in the woods and like to hide.
When they are hungry they hunt for food at night.
Sometimes they like to stand up on their hind legs and look around, using their tail to help thems tand up.
They can climb trees but they usually don't.





(from: wikipedia - geoffroy's cat)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lobed Comb Jellyfish

Bulbar Conjunctiva

We just learned about the Lacrimal Lake.

Another part of the eye is the Bulbar Conjunctiva.

This is a very thin layer of skin on top of the white sclera that helps bring tears to the eye, and also has blood vessels coming into the eye.


(from: wikipedia - conjunctiva)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Palatine Raphe

Carlini Base

We just learned about the Brown Station.

Another base in Antarctica is Carlini Base.

This base is owned by Argentina and is on the Antarctic peninsula, and holds about 60 people.
It was built in 1953, and is used mostly to study the weather, the animals and the ocean.

There are tourists that sometimes come to visit the station, so they have a radio station and a movie theater there for people.
In 2013 the rock band Metallica came down to Antarctica to play a concert, so that they could say they played on every continent.
Because the loud guitars, drums and speakers would hurt the ice, animals and environment down there, they played the concert with no amplifiers, just using their instruments in a special dome that kept in the sounds.

Living by this base are thousands of penguins and hundreds of sea lions that they watch over and study.



(from: wikipedia - carlini base)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Machicolation

Third Crusade

We just learned about the Second Crusade.

Another part of the crusades was the Third Crusade.

After the Second Crusade, one of the Muslim rulers named Saladin took back Jerusalem in some other battles.

So the church and the European countries decided to go to war again.
They battled their way through Asia toward Jerusalem, and took over a lot of land but did not take back Jerusalem.

Even though they won most of their battles, people were still upset that they did not take back Jerusalem, and came back home.


(from: wikipedia - third crusade)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Church of Nativity

Penguins - Albert Laessle

We just learned about the John Dill - Herbert Haseltine.

Another famous American statue is Penguins by Albert Laessle, made in 1917 in Philadelphia.

Laessle was born in 1877 in Philadelphia, and went to college to learn about art.
When he was 27 he moved to Paris to study art with some other masters.

He was famous for making sculptures of animals, like his bronze Penguins sculpture which is at the Philadelphia zoo.


(from: wikipedia - albert laessle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Trà Kiệu Pedestal

Russian - Saturday, Sunday

We just learned that Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday in Russian is Понедельник (Ponedel'nik), Вторник (Vtornik), Среда (Sreda) and Thursday, Friday is Четверг (Chetverg), пятница (Pyatnitsa).

Let's keep learning the days of the week!

Saturday - Суббота (Subbota) - sounds like soo-boh-tah 文A

Sunday - Воскресенье (Voskresen'ye) - sounds like voh-skray-say-n-yeh 文A



(from: wikipedia - russian academy of sciences)

Norwegian: Lørdag, Søndag

Greek: Σάββατο (Sávvato), Κυριακή (Kyriakí)

ASL: Saturday, Sunday

Italian: Sabato, Domenica

German: Samstag, Sonntag

Spanish: Sabado, Domingo

French: Samedi, Dimanche

Newcomen Engine

We just learned about the Steam Pump.

Another part of the history of steam engines is the Newcomen Engine.

In 1712 in England, Thomas Newcomen took the idea of the Steam Pump and made his own type of steam engine.

He had a big tank full of water called a boiler that was being heated up by a coal fire underneath.
The water would boil and make steam that was let up into another smaller cylinder tank.
That steam would expand and push up on a piston that was hooked to a big long beam.
The beam was like a see-saw, and when the one side got pushed up, the other side was pushed down.

After the steam had filled the cylinder, a plug valve would be closed so no more steam would come in, and another tank of cold water would splash some cold water onto the steam.
This created a vacuum, which sucked the piston back down, pulling the beam down, and pulling the other side of the beam up.

With this steam engine, it would rock the beam back and forth like a see-saw.
The other end of the beam was hooked up to a pump to help pull water out of mines that were flooded.

At first the plugs had to be opened by a person called the "plug man" who would run around and pull the plugs at just the right time.
Later someone figured out a way to use a board with some chains on it called a "plug tree" with weights on it that would automatically open and close the valves.



(from: wikipedia - newcomen atmospheric engine)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Forensic Botany