Leading Wheel

We just learned about the Driving Wheel.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Leading Wheel.

These wheels are in the front of the train, and are used to help hold up the front part of the locomotive.

They are not the driving wheels that are moved around by the steam engine, they just roll along when the driving wheels push the train along, and help hold up the train.


(from: wikipedia - leading wheel)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Valve Spring

Ojos Azules

We just learned about the type of cat called the Egyptian Mau.

Another type of cat is the Ojos Azules.

This is a type of cat from Mexico, that has big blue eyes.
The name of the cat means "blue eyes".

They can have any color fur, and they usually have white on the ends of their nose, tail and paws.


(from: wikipedia - ojos azules)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jellyfish Polyps

Antigen

We just learned about the Pathogen.

Another part of how the body fights sickness is an Antigen, also called "Ag".

An antigen is a part of a pathogen disease that the body can use to figure out what kind of disease it is.
It's almost like the disease is wearing a type of sign, mark or color that tells the body what it is.

Once the body knows what kind of disease it is, it can use the right types of white blood cells like T cells or NK cells to go kill the bad disease.

The antigens are made up of things called proteins, peptines or polysaccarides.
Those are just fancy words for chemicals on a disease that look like a sign to our virus fighting immune system.


(from: wikipedia - antigen)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Opthalmic Artery

Czech Republic

We just learned about the country of Cyprus

Let's learn a little about the country of Czech Republic, also called Czechia!

This is a small country in the middle of Europe, that borders Austria, Germany, Poland and Slovakia.
It is about 30,000 square miles, and 10 million people live there.

The country has had many names through the years, but one of the most famous was "Bohemia".
One of the leaders long ago was named Wenceslas, and was the person in the famous old song Good King Wenceslas.


(from: wikipedia - czech republic)

The flag of the Czech Republic is a blue triangle on the left, and a white and red stripe.
The blue is for loyalty, the white is for peace and the red is for courage.


(from: wikipedia - flag of the czech republic)

To eat in the Czech Republic you might have svíčková, which is steak with vegetables, spices and boiled in cream.


(from: wikipedia - svíčková)

Visiting the Czech Republic you might go see the famous city of Prague.

(from: wikipedia - prague)

Built in 930 AD, the St. Vitus Cathedral is the largest church in the country.

(from: wikipedia - st. vitus cathedral)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Antarctic Ice Sheet

Luther Bible

We just learned about the Ninety-Five Theses.

Another part of early Christianity was the Luther Bible.

Just like the Wycliffe's Bible that we learned about being translated into English, Martin Luther worked to make a Bible that was in German for the people of Germany.

Historians think that there were about 200,000 of Luther's Bibles printed, which made a big difference in the way that people could read and study the Bible outside of just going to church.

They didn't have to learn Hebrew, Latin or Greek, and they could have the books at schools and libraries.


(from: wikipedia - luther bible)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Christian Nations in 600 AD

Cubi VI - David Smith

We just learned about the sculpture of Winged Man by Richard Hunt.

Another famous American sculpture is CUBI VI by David Smith made in 1963.

In the 1960s in America, a lot of artists started making more abstract art.
Artist Roland David Smith was born in Indiana, and went to college for art, worked in a factory for a while, and then met some other famous artists.

In 1965 he started making a set of "Cubi" sculptures made out of stainless steel.
They are mostly just a bunch of shapes, but they also look like people in different positions.

There are 28 different CUBI sculptures, all numbered with roman numerals from Cubi I to Cubi XXVII.


(from: wikipedia - david smith (sculptor))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Doctor John Witherspoon - Couper

Swahili - Red, Orange, Yellow

We just learned about the alphabet in Swahili.

Now let's learn some colors!

red - nyekundu - sounds like n-yeh-koo-n-doo - 文A


orange - machungwa - sounds like mah-ch-oo-n-g-wah - 文A


yellow - manjano - sounds like mah-n-jah-noh - 文A



(from: wikipedia - swahili language)

Russian: красный (krasnyy), оранжевый (oranzhevyy), желтый (zheltyy)

Norwegian: rød, oransje, gul

Greek: κόκκινο, πορτοκαλί, κίτρινο

ASL: red, orange, yellow

Italian: rosso, arancione, giallo

German: rot, orange, gelb

Spanish: rojo, naranja, amarillo

French: rouge, orange, jaune