Head Gasket

We just learned about the Cylinder Head.

Another part of a car's engine is the Head Gasket.

We learned already that there is a cylinder block which holds all of the pistons that go up and down, and a cylinder head that goes up above the piston to give it fuel and take away the exhaust.

The Head Gasket is in between the cylinder block and cylinder head.
It helps make sure that there is no gas or liquid leaking out when the block and head are connected together.


(from: wikipedia - head gasket)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Servo

Hoolock Gibbon

We just learned about the Orangutan.

Another type of primate is the Hoolock Gibbon.

Just like chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans, there are a few different types of gibbons.
Gibbons are the fastest and best tree climbers of any mammal.
They can climb as fast as 34 miles per hour, faster than a person running, and they can jump from tree to tree up over 20 feet away!

Hoolock gibbons live mostly in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and China.
They can grow to be about 3 feet tall about weigh 20 pounds.

When they are born they are either white or yellow colored, and when they grow older the males fur turns black, and females fur turns brown and grey.
They always look like they are wearing a mask because they have a white ring around their eyes and mouth.

These gibbons live together in pairs, and they eat mostly fruit, bugs and leaves.

There are four types of gibbons: Western, Eastern and Skywalker.
Each species is a little different in size, fur or something else like their teeth or eyes.
The Skywalker species was found not long ago, and was named after Luke Skywalker from Star Wars.


(from: wikipedia - )



The Western Hoolock Gibbon Sings and Swings Along the Forest Canopies - RoundGlass Sustain


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jaguar

Leukemia

We just learned a little about Blood Cancer.

One of the three types of blood cancer is called Leukemia.

The word leukemia comes from the words for white and blood, because this is a cancer of the white blood cells.

This disease usually starts in the bone marrow where all of the blood cells are being made.
A type of blood cells called blasts that are not totally made right start getting made in the bone marrow and sent around the body.

These blasts take the place of normal healthy blood cells and then the body gets sick because it doesn't have the right kinds of blood cells doing the right jobs.

There are 4 main kinds of leukemia:
- Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
- Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
- Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)

The different types of leukemia depend on which types of blood cells are having problems, and how fast the cancer is spreading.


(from: wikipedia - leukemia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Peripheral Vision

Latvia

We just learned about the country of Kazakhstan

Let's learn a little about the country of Latvia!

This is a small country that borders Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus, and the Baltic Sea.
It is only about 25,000 square miles, and has about 2 million people living there.


(from: wikipedia - latvia)

The flag of Latvia is red with a white stripe in the middle.
There is an old story from Latvia of a soldier who wrapped himself in a white blanket before he died, and the blood colored the rest of it white.
The other soldiers used that colored flag to help get everyone to fight and win their war.


(from: wikipedia - flag of latvia)

To eat in Latvia you might have sklandrausis, which is a sweet pie made of dough with potatoes and carrots.


(from: wikipedia - sklandrausis)

Visiting Latvia you might go to Turaida castle, an ancient castle built in 1214.


(from: wikipedia - turaida castle)

Another famous building in Latvia is the House of the Blackheads.
The Brotherhood of the Blackheads was a group of people who helped defend the city of Riga.


(from: wikipedia - house of the blackheads (riga))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ross Sea

Heliocentrism

We just learned about the Believer's Baptism.

Another part of early Christianity is Heliocentrism.

Long ago people in the world saw the sun come up one side of the sky and then go down in the other.
People thought that the world was flat, and the sun was up in the sky going around the earth.
Later on people changed and agreed that the world was not flat but that it was a globe, but they still believed that the sun went around the earth.

Through the years a few scientists tried to tell people that the earth actually went around the sun, but people did not believe them.
The idea that the earth is at the middle of the universe is called geocentrism.
The idea that the earth actually orbits around the sun is called heliocentrism.

In 1610 AD the astronomer Galileo wrote a paper called "Sidereus Nuncius" which means Starry Messenger, telling people about how he beleived the earth orbited around the sun.

The church was very upset because they believed that if the earth was not the center of the universe, then that would mean it was not special or that it went against something that was in the Bible.

Galileo was put on trial and was found guilty, and told he was not allowed to teach people that because they thought it was not true.
The astronomer Copernicus had said the same thing many years earlier, but people did not believe him either.

Galileo's and Copernicus' books were banned for their whole lives, and the church did not allow them to be printed until about 200 years later.


(from: wikipedia - heliocentrism)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Vikings and Christians

Throwback - Tony Smith

We just learned about the S, Metal by John Chamberlain.

Another famous American sculpture is Throwback by Tony Smith in 1979 in Washington DC.

Smith was born in 1912 in New Jersey, and was very sick as a child.
He grew up during the depresson, and went to an art school in New York while he was growing up.
Later on in life he worked as an architect and an art teacher in college.

He was known for making what was called Minimalist art, which was artwork that was very simple looking, but was still very interesting.

For his sculpture called Throwback, it was a 7 foot by 11 foot sculpture made of aluminum that was welded together.
The pieces were all at different angles so they made a sort of squarish ring with a lot of edges.

Smith really liked geometry, which is how shapes look and work together, so this sculpture that had a lot of different rectangle type shapes connected to each other in interesting ways.


(from: wikipedia - )


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Forever Free - Edmonia Lewis

Swahili - I am happy

Last time we learned that the Swahili words for horse, sheep and duck are farasi, kondoo, and bata.

Let's learn how to say I am happy in Swahili!

We can break it up into a few words.

I am - Nina - sounds like nee-nah - 文A


happy - furaha - sounds like foo-rah-hah - 文A


Together Nina furaha sounds like nee-nah foo-rah-hah



(from: wikipedia - swahili language)

Russian: Я (ya), счастлив (schastliv)

Norwegian: jeg er glad

Greek: Είμαι (Eímai) χαρούμενος (charoúmenos)

ASL: I am happy

Italian: Sono felice

German: Ich bin glücklich

Spanish: Estoy feliz

French: Je suis heureux