Salem Witch Trials

We just learned about the Pilgrims.

Another part of early Christianity is the Salem Witch Trials.

During the years before 1700, people all over the world became very afraid of witchcraft.
They believed that there were women who were working with the devil and doing evil things.

Because people were so afraid, they would say that innocent people were witches, and they would have a witch trial.
The witch trials were very unfair, people would lie about what happened, and the innocent person would be called a witch and killed.

One of the most famous places for witch trials was in Salem Massachusetts where there were some girls who pretended that they were being attacked by another woman who used witchcraft.

The people believed the girls, and they killed many innocent people who were not witches.

At the time people thought they were being good Christians and fighting against the devil, but later on people realised that people were lying and that innocent people were being killed in the name of God.


(from: wikipedia - salem witch trials)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Neume

Contour - Richard Serra

We just learned about the sculpture of Untitled by Donald Judd.

Another famous American sculpture is Contour by Richard Serra, made in Maryland in 2004.

Richard Serra was born in California, and went to art school in California and Connecticut, and spent some time in Italy learning art.
When he was growing up his father worked in steel mills, and he said that gave him lots of memories that he used to think about what kind of art to make.

Serra was famous for a type of art called "Process Art".
In this type of art, the final work of art is not as important as the process of making the art.
So finding all the pieces for it, making all the plans and then how it is all put together is part of the process of the work of art.


(from: wikipedia - richard serra)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nathan Hale - Frederick William MacMonnies

Swahili - This house is big

We just learned that in Swahili we are surprised is Tunashangaa.

Let's learn about some of the things we see every day.

To say this house is big in Swahili you say Nyumba hii ni kubwa.

In Swahili you are really saying "House this is big".

House - Nyumba - sounds like nee-yoo-m-bah - 文A

this - hii - sounds like hee - 文A

is - ni - sounds like nee - 文A

big - kubwa - sounds like koo-b-wah - 文A




(from: wikipedia - swahili language)

Russian: Этот дом большой (Etot dom bol'shoy)
Norwegian: Dette huset er stort

Greek: Αυτό το σπίτι είναι μεγάλο (Aftó to spíti eínai megálo)

ASL: This house is big

Italian: Questa casa è grande

German: Das Haus ist groß

Spanish: Esta casa es grande

French: Cette maison est grande

Intake Valve

We just learned about the Camshaft.

Another part of a car's engine is the Intake Valve.

There are valves right above the cylinders where the pistons go up and down, and they either let in fuel for the piston or let out the bad stuff called exhaust.

Remember we learned that pistons take in gasoline fuel, then push up so it is pressurized, it explodes with a spark, pushes the piston back down and also makes exhaust which is like smoke from a fire.

So one valve opens to let the fuel in, and the other valve opens to let the exhaust out.
The one that lets fuel in is called the intake valve.


(from: wikipedia - valvetrain)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hydraulic Cylinder

Talapoin Monkey

We just learned about the Nomascus Gibbon.

Just like chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and gibbons there are a few different types of monkeys.
Monkeys are grouped into Old World monkeys and New World monkeys.
There are 138 different types of Old World Monkeys.

The smallest type of Old World Monkey is the Talapoin.

Talapoin monkeys are only about 16 inches tall, and weigh about 3 pounds.
Their fur is yellow, black, grey and white.
These monkeys only live in one part of western Africa, around the country of Angola.

Most of the time these monkeys live in trees, but they are also good swimmers and will sometimes jump from the tree to water so they can run away from a predator.

For food they usually eat fruit, leaves or sometimes bugs.


(from: wikipedia - gabon talapoin)

(from: wikipedia - angolan talapoin)



Talapoin severní - Daniel Merhout


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jaguar

Acute Myeloid Leukemia

We just learned about the type of leukemia called Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

If the Leukemia is Acute and Myeloid, it is called Acute Myeloid Leukemia or AML for short.


We know white blood cells are made in the bone marrow.
The myeloid white blood cells are the ones that turn into neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, or monocytes that we've learned about.

They start as stem cells, then turn into something called myeloid blasts, then later turn into these other types of cells.

The human body is only supposed to have so many of each type of cell, and only so many myeloid blasts.

With AML, the body makes too many myeloid blasts over and over, they don't turn into any of the other types of cells, and the myeloid blasts cause problems in the human body like getting infections, having fevers, getting lots of bruises, and tiredness.

Chemotherapy is one of the ways to try and beat this cancer, which is a type of radiation that tries to kill the bad cells.


(from: wikipedia - acute myeloid leukemia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Depth Perception

North Macedonia

We just learned about the country of Luxembourg

Let's learn a little about the country of North Macedonia, also sometimes just called Macedonia!

This is a small country in Europe, about 10,000 square miles where about 2 million people live.
People in this country might speak Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish, Romani, Serbian, Bosnian, or Aromanian.


(from: wikipedia - north macedonia)

The flag of North Macedonia is red with a yellow sun on it with eight sun rays.
In the country's national anthem it talks about the New Sun of Liberty as they became independent from Yugoslavia.


(from: wikipedia - flag of north macedonia)

To eat in North Macedonia you might have Tavče gravče, which is beans, onions, peppers mixed into a kind of chili and cooked.


(from: wikipedia - tavče gravče)

Visiting North Macedonia you might go see the ancient Greek ruins at the city of Heraclea Lyncestis.

(from: wikipedia - heraclea lyncestis)

In North Macedonia there are musical bagpipes called gaida

(from: wikipedia - culture of north macedonia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Roald Amundsen