Sportive Lemur

We just learned about the Verreaux's Sifaka.

Another type of primate is the Sportive Lemur.

This is a small type of lemur that grows to about 35 centimers, and around 2 pounds.
They have big eyes, because they are all nocturnal, meaning the stay up all night and sleep all day.

Because of their big eyes, they are able to see in the dark and can still hop from tree to tree.
When they are on the ground, they hop like a kangaroo.


(from: wikipedia - sportive lemur)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Gorilla

Nostril

We just learned about the Wing of the Nose.

Another part of the nose is the Nostril also called the naris.

The nostrils are the holes in the front of the nose, right above the mouth.
We use our nostrils for breathing in, breathing out, for blowing our nose when it gets stuffed up, and for smelling food.

The nostrils on the outside of the face are called the external nostrils, or anterior nares.
There are actually other nostrils further inside your nose that help bring the air and smells into your body.

Some people can actually flare out their nostrils, and make the holes get bigger and smaller!
Inside the nostril are around 1,000 hairs, and maybe if you have a stuffed up nose there might be nasal mucus (sometimes called snot) or dried nasal mucus (sometimes called boogers).


(from: wikipedia - )


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Epitope

Saint Lucia

We just learned about the country of Dominica

Let's learn a little about the country of Saint Lucia!

This country is in the Caribbean, just north of South America.
It is about 617 square kilometers, and about 184,000 people live there.
The people in this country speak either English or Creole.


(from: wikipedia - saint lucia)

The flag of Saint Lucia is blue, with white, black and yellow triangles in the middle.
Blue is for the sky and the sea, white and black are for the people of Saint Lucia, and yellow is for the sunshine.
The triangles are for the two volcanoes called the Pitons on the island.


(from: wikipedia - flag of saint lucia)

To eat in this country you might have bouyon, which is soup made of thick red beans, meat, tubers and vegetables.


(from: wikipedia - saint lucian cuisine)

Visiting this country you might go see the two volcanoes called the Gros Piton and Petit Piton.
In French, Gros means big and Petit means little, so these are the big and little Pitons.


(from: wikipedia - pitons)

There is a place called the Sulphur Springs where you can drive into the base of one of the volcanoes, and it lets out hot sulfur.
The smell of sulfur is like rotten eggs, so it doesn't smell very good but some people think the sulphur air is good for you.
Nearby there are some hot springs where you can take a mud bath and people think it helps them be healthier!

(from: wikipedia - sulpur springs, saint lucia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hungary

The Little Drummer Boy

We just learned about the Christmas song White Christmas.

Another Christmas song is The Little Drummer Boy.

This song was written in 1941 by Katherine Kennicott Davis in America.

It used to be called "Carol of the Drum" and the writer said she had the idea to write it after hearing a French song called "Patapan".
In the French song the drums go patapan, and in her song they go "pah-rum-pum-pum-pum".

The first people to sing it on a record were the Trapp Family.
The Trapp Family is also sometimes called the Von Trapps, and their family story was the real life inspiration for the movie Sound of Music.

In the Little Drummer Boy song, a little boy comes to see baby Jesus in the manger, and the Magi are giving him really expensive gifts.
The only thing he has is a drum, so he plays a song for baby Jesus and then Mary and Jesus smile at him.


(from: wikipedia - The Little Drummer Boy)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: French Wars of Religion

Jonah - Sistine Chapel - Michelangelo

We just learned about Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel painting of the prophets Isaiah and Daniel.

Another prophet that Michelangelo painted on the ceiling was Jonah.

Jonah is shown with a giant fish in his painting, because in the Bible he was swallowed by a fish.
The painting of Jonah is on the far right end of the ceiling, and Jonah is looking up toward the painting of the Separation of Light from Darkness.


(from: wikipedia - sistine chapel ceiling)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: La Grande Vitesse - Alexander Calders

Hindi - Cow, chicken, pig

We just learned that black white brown and gray in Hindi is काला (kaala), सफेद (saphed), भूरा (bhoora), ग्रे (gre).

We already know that in Hindi, dog is कुत्ता (kutta) and cat is बिल्ली (billee).

Now let's learn about some farm animals!

cow - गाय (gaay) - sounds like gah-ee - 文A

chicken - मुर्गी (murgee) - sounds like moo-edr-ghee - 文A

pig - सुअर (suar) - sounds like soo-eh-r - 文A





(from: wikipedia - devanagari)

Swahili: ng'ombe, kuku, nguruwe

Russian: корова (korova)курица (kuritsa), свинья (svin'ya)

Norwegian: ku, kylling, gris

Greek: αγελάδα, κοτόπουλο, χοίρο

ASL: cow, chicken, pig

Italian: mucca, pollo, maiale

German: Kuh, Huhn, Schwein

Spanish: vaca, pollo, cerdo

French: vache, poulet, porc

Network Card

We just learned about the Sound Card.

Another part of a computer is the Network Card, also called a network interface controller (NIC), network adapter or LAN adapter, where LAN means local area network.

When you are on your computer and you want to connect to the internet to send a message, chat or play games, you use the computer's network card.
These days the network card is just part of the computer's motherboard, but a long time ago you had to buy a special card for your computer.

With wifi and cell phones it is very easy now to get on a network and share messages, but it used to be a lot of work!


(from: wikipedia - network interface controller)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Engine Block