March 17

Caring For Baby Otters

Picture of an otter in a river.

An otter is a fast swimmer.

Otters are mammals that live in every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Otters have webbed feet and a flat tail to help them swim through the frigid water. Otters live in oceans, lakes, and rivers and are  found in the shallow waters of the Northern Pacific Ocean. Sea Otters have two layers of fur to protect them from the freezing water. Otherwise if they didn’t they would freeze. When baby otters are born, they can float in the water right away. However that’s not all the facts about baby otters. 

About Otters 

Otters are  both carnivores and mammals. The average mother otter usually gives birth to 1 to 2 pups. The pups’ mother will stay with her babies for 6 months until her pups develop their survival skills overtime. The mother otter cares for her pups so they will be ready when they venture on their own. In fact sea otters have been swimming in the sea for more than 5 to 23 million years ago. 

Monterey Bay Aquarium

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is working to help save and preserve baby otters. They will most importantly use gloves and masks around the pup so the pup does not get used to people. Second of all they will feed the pup milk in exchange for its mother’s milk. Next they will move the pup into a big tank where they are taught by an adult otter. The adult otter will care for the pup and teach the pup survival skills to help them when they are released back into the wild. Once the pup is ready to go back into the wild, the aquarium staff will take the otter  in a boat and release it out into the ocean. The Monterey Bay aquarium wants to save and build the population of otters however it is not easy.

Mother Otters Care in the Wild

A mother otter will teach her pup different kinds of skills. For example swimming, walking, diving , rolling and hunting for themselves. The mother otter will keep her pup on her chest until her pup learns how to swim. A baby otter will usually learn how to swim four months after birth. A mother otter will wrap her pup in seaweed when she goes off to hunt so the pup will not float away. The pup’s mother feeds on crabs, snails, shrimp, squid, wood frogs, European fish, and rainbow trout. A mother otter and her babies’ will sleep in kelp beds in the ocean.

Baby sea otters are in trouble because their mother may sometimes get separated and the pup cannot survive because it needs its mother to live. Otters are predators meaning they help control the population of food species they prey upon. Not only are otters extremely important in our world, like all animals; they all surve a purpose in this world. Humans need to start to help save the population of otters.

Alexander Leisser, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons                                  

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
February 28

Murder Hornets

A murder hornet.

Murder hornets are pests beyond imagination.

The American government of Washington state paid over $20,000,000 to the cause of killing Murder hornets! That’s probably more expensive than your house. You might ask why we need to spend so much, well one Murder hornet can kill an entire bee’s nest in a day. Since bees help pollinate plants that means by killing bees they will have a big impact on our food production if left unchecked.

What are they?

The Asian Giant hornet is dubbed the Murder hornet. It has a 2-3 inch body with a stinger strong enough to puncture a Beekeepers suit. They have a wingspan of about 3 inches long which means it’s as big as your hand. Murder hornet queens hibernate in the winter and nest in trees. Just one unlucky step could provoke a deadly massive assault by the hive.

Image of murder hornet's size.

Murder hornets are crazy big and can be as big as your hand!

Where did they come from?                                       

On November 2nd, 2019 murder hornets appeared in North America. The Murder hornet is a native animal in Asia, specifically in Japan. They hitched a ride in a cargo ship to the leading state of agriculture in the country, Washington state. Farmers were shocked and devastated by the impact they are having on the bee population.

How are they a menace?                                      

The Murder hornet species is a threat to wildlife and humans alike. They can demolish bee colonies and kill humans in a couple of strikes. They can also kill rodents and bugs. The people who have gotten stung by them say it’s the most painful thing that has ever happened to them. They can pierce through beekeeper suits, and bugs or rodents can’t scratch them because of the murder hornets’ impenetrable shell.  Also, they can spread disease, damage plants, and pose a big threat to agriculture by decimating the bee population.

What’s the solution?                                                          

Honey bees in Japan have adapted to these pests and defended themselves. They form a ball around it and circulate its lungs with carbon dioxide and heat and eventually kill the Murder hornet. The Murder hornet must be stopped as it is threatening the populations of wildlife and humans alike. In Washington, there is a volunteer job to set up hornet traps. One beekeeper named Ted Mich fall says that humans have to start taking action and vanquishing these beasts and many other people agree. 

Conclusion                                         

Humans and wildlife alike are in trouble When it comes to Murder hornets. Murder hornets are terrorizing us. They can destroy bee nests in under 30 min. They can be defeated by Japanese honey bees we should start letting Western honey bees adapt and do the same thing so they can start defending themselves against the Murder hornets. 

 

Attribution:

Ovpetryshyna.if19, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Yasunori Koide, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
December 18

How Rubber Is Made And Its Uses?

Rubber has many uses, like floss, tires, balloons, and much more. But how is it made? It has to do with trees. Its called a rubber tree. When you get a tool and scratch it along it, a sap comes and drizzles down. When it dries…..TADA rubber! Then it can be made into things like floss, tires, and more.

Rubber comes from the sap of the rubber tree.

Rubber uses

Rubber has lots of uses.Here’s an example–floss. You floss your teeth with it. Let me explain other uses too. It is used for balloon coloring and balloon making! It is used for masks for Halloween! Rubber is used for lots of things, and it’s just from a tree! There’s lots of uses for this stuff than these ones, so just look around to see with you can find it!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
December 18

What is Rubber?

raw natural latex

 When you think about rubber do you think, “Where does rubber come from?” or “What uses does rubber have?” or even “Who first used rubber?” All that will be answered and more in this blog post.

What is Rubber?

Rubber is sap from the rubber tree.The rubber tree was originally from the amazon rainforest but thailand and indonesia are the main makers of rubber today.With natural rubber you can make gloves, balloons, realistic masks, and bed mattresses. Natural rubber has a few nicknames like Latex, Amazonian Rubber, and India Rubber.

The first uses of Rubber

ball player

Mesoamerican ball player

The first uses of rubber were in South America and was used a long time ago by the South American natives called Olmecs for a few games. Rubber was later used by the Aztecs and the Mayas.

How Is Natural Rubber Made?

raw natural latex

latex from rubber tree

There are four steps to the process of getting rubber. Step 1: Start tapping, usually once every 2 days with a knife. Step 2: Collect the liquid rubber with small bowls. Step 3: Mix the liquid rubber with formic acid so it becomes solid rubber. Step 4: Press the solid rubber into sheets. Step 5: Ship the rubber to get sold.

Vulcanization of Rubber

rubber tires

vulcanized rubber tires

Vulcanization is something that you can do to rubber to make it harder but still a little bit flexible. Charles Goodyear discovered Vulcanization in 1839. With Vulcanized rubber, you can make car tires, clarinet bells, and shoe soles. Vulcanization is done by “cross linking”. Cross linking is done by mixing the rubber with sulfur at a high temperature.

cross-linked molecules

cross linked rubber molecules

So next time you see a piece of rubber you’ll know a little more about where it came from.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
December 12

How Was the Asteroid Belt Formed

The asteroid belt is in the middle of our solar system. Did you ever wonder how it got there? Well imagine this, large amounts of gravity, asteroids trying to fuse together but blasting apart into pieces. Or another theory is that a planet blasting into many pieces to form the asteroid belt. Here is the last theory, imagine Jupiter drifting toward Mars, then coming back out scattering asteroids in every direction. Now let’s look at the facts!

Asteroids and the Asteroid Belt

Now, you’re probably thinking, “What is an asteroid?” Well an asteroid is a small rocky object orbiting a star. Most asteroids in the asteroid belt are left over from the solar nebula. The asteroid belt is made of a lot of asteroids orbiting our Sun. The asteroid belt is located between Mars and Jupiter. One last fact is that the mass of the asteroid belt is 4% of the moon. Now you know all this, let us move on.


InnerSolarSystem-en.png

The stuff that is grey is where the asterod belt is located.

Why is the Asteroid Belt Not a Planet?

As you probably know, gravity is used to make moons, planets, galaxies, stars and so on.   Too little or too much gravity doesn’t allow these things to form. Now let’s talk about Jupiter and two ways it affects, or affected the asteroid belt. Jupiter’s mass is the greatest of any planet in our solar system. Jupiter’s pull is so strong, most scientists believe it is one of the main reason the asteroid belt is not a planet. Especially in the asteroid belts early stages, when it tried to form a planet but even if they got close to each other and hit they would be blown into even smaller pieces.

Another theory is that Jupiter, in it’s early stages, drifted towards Mars, but when it came back to where it is currently it left the debris in the middle, now the asteroid belt, making the debris in the middle fling around. Also it left the debris with so much energy, everything was crashing into each other. Gravity affects a lot of things but does it have to have affected the asteroid belt? Well some scientists think not. Read on to find out about another theory.

 Could the Asteroid Belt Have Been a Planet?

Do you know about the hypothetical planet Phaeton? Well let me tell you about it. Some scientists argue that the asteroid belt is left over from a planet that was destroyed, and somehow made a bunch of asteroids, well it’s something along those lines. Others say that Phaeton would have been formed. Those scientists say that the turnings from protoplanets into planets was disturbed by Jupiter’s gravitational pull. That is one of the last MAIN theories about how the asteroid belt was formed. Naturally there are many more theories I could not include in this article. That is because nobody knows the exact way the asteroid belt was formed. All we have are theories.

What Do You Think?

Now that you have some of the main theories what do you think? Which theory do you believe in? Do you belive the theory that it is all up to Jupiter’s gravitational pull? Do you think Jupiter came in toward Mars then moved out and made too much energy? Or do you think the asteroid belt is left over from an exploded planet? Remember nobody knows exactly how the asteroid belt was formed. Maybe you will be the one to find the exact theory!

The asteroid belt now

PIA22419-Neowise-1stFourYearsDataFromDec2013-20180420.gif
Just for fun, this is a type of video. This is what it means : This video shows the progression of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) investigation for the mission’s first four years following its restart in December 2013. Green dots represent near-Earth objects. Gray dots represent all other asteroids which are mainly in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Yellow squares represent comets.

Photo credits:

By Mdf at English Wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., Public Domain, Link

By NASA/JPL-Caltech/PSI – Catalog page · Full-res (GIF), Public Domain, Link

 

 

 

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
May 21

History of Computers!

Could you imagine life without cell phones, tablets, or calculators? These are all computers. They are important part of our daily lives. Here is some information about computer history.

What computers are

So what are computers? They are defined as devices for saving and processing data. They were created initially to calculate math problems.  Charles Babbage was the first one to invent the computer. It was a mechanical computer but he never managed to completely build it. The first digital, electromechanical programmable computer called Z3 was built by Konrad Zuse in Germany in 1941.  Another fact is that the first computer mouse was made out of wood

First Modern computer

First modern, electronic computer was called  ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) and was built in 1946-1947. It took as much as 1800 square feet of space. Early computers often stopped working. Sometimes it was caused by bugs. Not the software errors but actual insects that got trapped in these machines.

Computers now

Nowadays, people have much smaller and faster computers  And now they are not just used for calculating math problems  They are to look things up, to upload pictures, to print and to help us in our daily lives.They are also getting more powerful. But about 6,000 computer  viruses are released each month. That is one of the down sides of computers. But according to Moore’s law, computers get twice as fast every 18 months.

One thing is sure, it looks we will always use computers in our daily lives. I typed this homework on a computer, but who knows, maybe in few years, a computer would be able to write it all by itself.

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
May 1

Great Barrier Reef in Danger

Did you know in the last thirty years half the Great Barrier Reef has died? What really interested me was that the Great Barrier reefs were getting blown up to make room to fit aircraft ship. They would also blow up the Great Barrier Reef to make passageways to get through the Great Barrier Reef.

Great Barrier Reef.

Did you know the Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven natural wonders of the world? The Great Barrier Reef is one of the largest living structures on the planet is so big in fact you can see it from outer space. It’s about 1429 miles long it provides natural habitats for over 2000 species such as shark rays, sea cows, and fish, and 411 types of hard coral. A lot of people would want to see the Great Barrier Reef before they die.

Did you know that the Great Barrier Reef is in big trouble? Global warming is one of the effects that is causing our Coral to bleach and die! It’s not just a Global warming chemicals are being dumped into the ocean which is causing The Great Barrier Reef to bleach or dies and it’s not just the Great Barrier Reef it’s other reefs to!!!

Did you know that there are things we can do to prevent the Great Barrier Reef from dying? May not know but the gas in your car is creating global warming it’s not just you, a lot of people are. This is one of the reasons why we’re having global warming. We can do something about if we can ride a bike or walk if everyone does this we won’t be having any more trouble!!

We’re saving it for a world beauty for some people it’s not like they can walk right down to the beach and take a boat to go Snorkel diving it is a world treasure for people who can’t just walk down to the beach and snorkeling with their friends no they look forward to taking a long vacation to the beach.

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
April 30

Earth’s Biggest Bee

Have you ever seen a giant bee that’s about the size of 4 honey bees? This article talks about how the World’s biggest bee was re-discovered 38 years after first seen. It was found by an American Entomologist whose name was Adam Messer. He first saw the giant bee in 1858 in Indonesia.

Did you know that bees are the most important insect on Earth? Of course, honey bees are important but the biggest bee on Earth would be more important in some way. People call this giant bee the “ Megachile pluto” or Wallace’s Giant Bee. Wallace’s Giant Bee is 1.5 inches long, about the size of your thumb which maybe would be the size of your palm.

Wallace’s Giant Bee got its nickname from Alfred Russel Wallace. The British naturalist was the first to record the existence of the massive insect in 1981 but Adam Messer was the first to see Wallace’s Giant Bee before it got its nickname. Now, thanks to a team of dedicated American and Australian biologists, the magnificent bee has been photographed live in its natural habitat for the first time.

In 1981, Adam Messer spotted the magnificent bee on three different Indonesian islands. Since then, many scientists have tried to look for the rare insect, but have had no luck. American natural history photographer Clay Bolt first heard this in the early 2000s. However, his desire to seek out the elusive creature did not begin until 2015. In 2019, Bolt and Wyman went to Indonesian islands with 2 guides of the area. They didn’t find anything until the 5th day. They were walking through an Indonesian island with no hope of finding the massive insect until one of the local guides noticed that the giant insect was 8 feet above the ground resting on a tree. The local guide said this “ it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen”.

Bolt and Wyman hope to work with Indonesian scientists to find other specimens of Wallace’s Giant Bee. finding the massive insect alive in the wild has also renewed hope among researchers that more rare species are alive and well within the Indonesian forests. What would you do if there was a Megachile pluto ( Wallace’s Giant Bee ) by you? Would you panic, run away, or ignore it?

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
May 2

Amazing Volcanoes

You are there 

Have you ever wondered what a volcano is or why they happen? Imagine you are in a hotel enjoying the view by the volcano Mount Saint Helen’s, then suddenly BOOM  out of nowhere ash and smoke start spewing out of the top. Then you see that half of Mount Saint Helens is gone. You see smoke coming your way but lucky you get into your car and drive away as fast as you can.        

What is a volcano?

A volcano is a mountain that opens downward to a pool of molten rock below the surface of the earth. When pressure builds up, eruptions occur. Gases and rock shoot up through the opening and spill over or fill the air with lava fragments like lava and ash. Eruptions can cause, lava flows, hot ash flows, mudslides, and avalanches. Volcano eruptions have been known to knock down entire forests like the one by Mount Saint Helens, the whole forest was gone. Volcanoes are formed when magma from within the Earth’s upper mantle works its way to the surface. At the surface, it erupts, and forms lava flows and ash. Over time as the volcano continues to erupt, it will get bigger and bigger.

Why do volcanoes erupt?

The Earth’s crust is made up of huge slabs called plates, which fit together like a big puzzle. These plates sometimes move. The friction causes earthquakes and volcanic eruptions near the edges of the plates. The theory that explains this process is called plate tectonics.Scientists have volcanoes into three main categories: active, dormant, and extinct. An active volcano is one which has recently erupted and there is a possibility that it may erupt soon. A dormant volcano is one which has not erupted in a long time but there is a possibility it can erupt in the future. An extinct volcano is one which has erupted thousands of years ago and there’s no possibility of an eruption.

Image result

What is the Ring of Fire?

The Ring of Fire is an area of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in the basin of the Pacific Ocean. The Ring of Fire has 452 volcanoes and is home to over fifty-one percent of the world’s active and dormant volcanoes. Ninety percent of the world’s earthquakes and eighty-one percent of the world’s largest earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire.

Why are volcanoes good for the earth?

Volcanoes are good for the Earth because they provide nutrients to the surrounding soil. Volcanic ash contains minerals that are beneficial to plants, and if it is very fine ash it is able to break down quickly and get mixed into the soil quickly. Volcanoes have formed many islands, mountains and parts of continents. Igneous rock is the rock that is formed by cooled lava and It helps build roads. Also, beautiful stones like amethyst are turned into jewelry. Pumice is a natural glass that helps polish and grind stones and metals. It is also used in making hand soap and other household items like cleaners. You know we have global warming if volcanoes erupt the ahs will cool down the Earth and make it better.  

Did you know that a volcano can reach temperatures like 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit or 1200 degrees Celsius? Volcanoes are very cool and interesting but very dangerous. People who live by volcanoes are endangered and constantly having to move. Scientists are studying volcanoes to better predict earthquakes and eruptions and make life safer for people who live near volcanoes.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
April 25

Hurricanes

Remnants of Hurricane FernandaCreative Commons LicenseHURRICANES 

The clouds are dark and moving in fast, it’s starting to rain hard then it turns into sideways rain drenching the yard. The wind picks up and blows hard striking trees in its path. The windows are taped or boarded, the gas tanks full, a wallet full of money, cabinets stocked with food and water, batteries, radio, and candles ready. We are prepared. Watch out, here comes a hurricane!

What is a hurricane? Hurricanes are powerful ocean storms. They have high winds, heavy rain, and gigantic waves. Hurricanes can cause bad damage to the land. The wind can be so strong that it knocks down power poles causing entire towns to lose electricity. It knocks downs trees causing damage to homes, stores, cars and other things in its way. Huge waves can cause massive flooding to towns and cities. It can destroy towns and even hurt or kill people. Hurricanes are given names just like you and me are. For example, Hurricane Harvey was the recent hurricane that hit Texas and caused major flooding and killed about 88 people. There was a hurricane Sarah in 1959. Hurricanes in the United States happen mostly on the East coast, Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean.  My parents grew up in South Carolina and experienced many hurricanes. In one hurricane (Hurricane Hugo) they lost power to their homes and missed school for three weeks! My mom said, “it was like camping in our house but really hot and no TV”. Unlike earthquakes and fires, hurricanes are predictable and people have time to prepare for them or evacuate if needed. In San Diego, we have to watch out for earthquakes and fires more than hurricanes and those we can’t really prepare for.

How do hurricanes form?  Hurricanes start in warm water in the ocean.  Warm air rises from the top of the ocean. The air gets cold as it rises. The water in the air forms clouds and gives off heat. The storm starts to grow and spin. More air rises and cools.  When the winds reach up to 74 miles per hour that means the storm has become a hurricane.The center of the storm is called an eye. The eye of the hurricane is very calm. Everything around the eye is the hurricane and spins around the eye with wild winds and heavy rain. The eye is usually 10 to 40 miles wide. My dad said his most memorable part of the hurricane was when he went outside during the eye of the storm and “it was so quiet, still and eery”.  Since hurricanes are formed from warm water, we in San Diego don’t need to worry about a hurricane striking as the water in the Pacific Ocean here is cold.

What is the damage from a hurricane?  There are five types of hurricanes. Some are bad and some can be extremely bad. They are rated into categories of 1-5. Category 1 is weak and winds can reach 74-95 miles per hour. Category 2 is moderate and winds reach 96-110 miles per hour. Category 3 is strong and winds reach 111-130 miles per hour.  Category 4 is very strong and winds reach 131-155 miles per hour. Category 5 is considered devastating with winds greater than 155 miles per hour reaching up to over 250 miles per hour. Category 4 and 5 are considered to be the worse and can cause major damage, however, a category 2 storm can cause major flooding depending on the amount of rain. The damage that the hurricanes can do is ruin houses, trees, and the land. It can flood the whole area around the hurricane. Trees can fall and break things causing damage and power outages. Flooding can be bad depending on what category it is. It could be a minor flood, or a major flood where the water can reach the top of your car roof, or halfway inside your house, or even worse, cover your entire house. For example, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina flooded the city of New Orleans and destroyed about 275,000 houses.

Hurricanes can be scary, but at least there is time to prepare for them and people can predict where the hurricane will land. It is important to have an emergency plan and disaster kit ready in case you will need to evacuate or get stuck in your home.  A hurricane can be a catastrophe, or it could be a minor storm. You just need to be prepared.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
April 25

Nothern lights

Creative Commons License Juho Holmi via CompfightHirvisuo

 Have you ever seen beautiful colorful lights in the sky? You may know them as the northern light but the scientific name is aurora. The northern lights are also called aurora borealis or the polar lights. In the south, they are called southern lights, or aurora australis. Is it magic or is it science? Keep reading to find out.

This natural display of lights is mostly seen in high latitude regions, around the Arctic and Antarctic. You are probably wondering how the northern lights are created? Well here is how it works. It begins with a solar flare on the sun’s surface. This solar flare breaks away from the sun and travels through the universe. This is called solar wind.

When the solar wind reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, it hits the Earth’s Magnetosphere. This collision sends the solar wind toward the earth’s northern and southern poles. These collisions result in countless, little bursts of colorful light. The color of the aurora is different depending on the altitude, amount of atomic oxygen and other molecules.

The colors are red, green, blue, ultraviolet, infrared, yellow, pink. My favorite color is the ultraviolet. This color is seen using special equipment and is not visible to most humans. The first person to capture an image of the northern lights was Carl Stormer who had to use special cameras. Now we can capture beautiful images of the northern lights thanks to digital cameras.

This really cool reaction encircles the polar region of the earth and occurs at a zone called the “Auroral oval”. One day I hope to travel to the auroral oval and see these amazing lights.

Do you like northern lights or ever heard of them?

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
May 8

Inventions and Technology

You are working hard to create a machine that could bring messages across the world using electricity. You take a metal wire and insert it into a rumbling machine that is connected through the wall into another room. All of a sudden you realize that you can hear things from when your helper clicks into the machine! You just invented the telephone! Who invented the typewriter? Who invented the iPad? I am going to address inventions, jobs, pollution, and more detail about history’s greatest inventions.

Inventions

Remington Rand Molly Sauter via Compfight

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, with the help of Antonio Meucci, Charles Bourseul, and Elisha Grey. it was designed by using a straight string to carry messages long distances. You’re probably wondering, who invented the tablet? Bill Gates, the leader of Microsoft, developed the tablet a decade before Steve Jobs developed it. Last, the typewriter was invented by Christopher Latham Soles, in 1819. He had the help of John Pratt, Samuel Soule, and Carlos Gladden. It worked by stamping ink onto the keys, and then when you pressed a letter, it pushed down on the paper.

JobsABB IRB RobotCreative Commons License Kitmondo Marketplace via Compfight

Now, as technology evolves machines get more and more sophisticated. Now machines are taking over labor and jobs. Here are a few examples of what they do. If there are many people doing similar jobs, the owner can produce a programmed production line, (PPL) to automate their jobs. That way, the company pays less money to workers. Also, if someone got a letter saying “Urgent. What character do I do for my biography report?” Instead of making another letter that might take weeks to reach them, you could just e-mail them the answer. And, sometimes people have to get together in one location. Instead of doing that, you could just turn on your computer and video conference whoever you need to talk with. Then, if you feel like you don’t have enough friends, or aren’t social enough, you could go online and visit a website like Facebook or Twitter. Last but not least, teachers are using technology to educate students. A Promethean board in your classroom is a good example. Now, technology is looking for more ways to stop pollution.

Pollution

Respire Paul Cherblanc via Compfight

Now technology has its good side, but it also has its bad side. As we create electricity, the power plants let out all the exhaust that was created. This is creating too much pollution. If you look at the big picture, of how many power plants and other pollution makers there are in the world, you MIGHT start to see the bad side. Also, when companies dump their waste into the river, it not only causes water pollution, it wastes drinking water. Just imagine what you swim in when you go to the beach! A few example of smog disasters is the Great Stink, in London, and the Great Smog. Did you know the most polluted place in the world is Chelyabinsk, Russia?

Now you see, technology is making people lose jobs. We have to teach the people whose job was eliminated to do other jobs.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
May 8

All About Math!

Malaysian Chinese abacus

An abacus is an ancient counting tool.

Creative Commons License Thomas Quine via Compfight

Did you know that people have been using mathematics for over 4,500 years? Mathematics is a subject at our schools online and in the outside world. Mathematics was made from a board and a stick, because that is all they had back in 300 to 600 BC. Mathematics was made to help people with everyday things and to make us smarter. So, with that being said I am here to tell you everything you need to know about math.

Mathematics started from 600 to 300 BC (before Christ). The Ancient Greek people invented it by using a system of Mathematics that they used from their own Mathematics. This so they could grow a larger amount of people to use to do everyday things. Like counting money or whatever currency you have. Maybe to count animals, but most importantly what were we going to count the with? Roman Numerals! they were lines and letters. I=1, V=5, X=10, L=50, C=100, D=500, and finally, M=1,000.

 

From 4,500 years ago we still have a tool that Romans used. This tool is called an abacus, it was used to count everyday things. The abacus is also called a counting frame, it is a collector’s item it would be worth definitely over $1 million, obviously because it was made 4,500 years ago.

The Ancient Egyptians from about 3,000 BC used algebra, arithmetic, and geometry to find the approximate the area of a circle. There was a number system that Hindu-Arabic started developing in the 1st century and then came to be in the 9th century. A welsh mathematician named Robert Recorde invented the equal sign (=). The symbols + and – addition and subtraction have been around for thousands of years but it wasn’t until the 16th century that most mathematical symbols were invented.

I hope I have informed you all you need to know about math it really informed me. Well, that is Brandon signing off for now. Thank you for listening to my informational text on Mathematics. Here are some helpful Links:

http://www.kidsmathgamesonline.com/facts/history.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_mathematics

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
May 8

3D Printed Prosthetic Hands

3D printers can make prosthetic hands.

What if you were born without a hand? Would you like one made by a 3D printer, maybe even one made out of plastic in the colors and  design you pick!!! Did you know that amazing prosthetics are being made from a 3D printers? 3D printed hands may seem very different from real hands, but in several ways they are alike.  They can make a kid feel almost normal like Kieran.

3D printed prosthetics are more advanced than they ever have been before. Did you know the original first printed hand was only a pair of hooks held together by a rubber band on a prosthetic with only zip ties holding it together? The 3D prosthetic hand is made up of a polymer called Nylon 12 [plastic melted]. They can be made in fun color combinations and designs that look out of a Superhero movie, like in this video.

3D Prosthetics are held together with nails and wire, they are also held together by elastics, pins, and  hinge caps. A design that anyone can put together, even YOU!

It takes about 20 to 30 minutes to print a 3D prosthetic hand although about 4 hours to assemble. About 4 hours per hand with the cost of only about $35 to $45. Materials cost about $45 altogether. Much more affordable than the electrical prosthetics.

Here are a few ways you can get involved: You can collaborate with others by sharing your tools (software) and knowledge. You can also purchase a 3D Printed Hand Pro and 20% of the net proceeds will be used to help different schools print and create 3D hands to be donated. In addition, you can download the file and find an e-NABLE a global community of volunteers and start 3D printing now.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
May 8

Killer Plants

Some carnivorous plants are like mazes that lead to a dead end. Some are like ticking time bombs. Others, just swallow creatures whole. When I first started researching about carnivorous plants, I thought I already knew a lot about them. It turns out that while I am learning about these plants, I can’t stop thinking about them because there is a lot more to be discovered. Imagine a fascinating, beautiful plant living in a boggy swamp and getting its nutrients not only from soil, but mostly… from meat! Dun, dun, dun!

There are 630 different kinds of carnivorous plants around the world. Some carnivorous plants are aquatic and others live in the soil like most other plants do. They live in poor, wet soil that doesn’t have a lot of nutrients. Because the soil doesn’t give them the nutrients they need, they’ve adapted by eating bugs or small animals. Carnivorous plants are divided in five types, according to how they can catch their prey (food): Pitfall Trap, Flypaper Trap, Snap Trap, Bladder Trap and Lobster Trap.

This carnivorous plant is called Monkey Cup because monkeys drink the water in it.

The Pitfall Trap plants have slippery leaves that are shaped like a funnel and slant down toward their bottom. When bugs land on the leaves of these plants, they slide down the leaf into a “pool” of digestive enzymes found in the bottom of the leaf. Monkey Cup and some bromeliads are examples of Pitcher plants and some are so large that they can catch and consume rats or frogs.

Pitcher Plants have a mechanism that they can turn on and off throughout the day. Part of the day, the Pitcher Plant’s edges are dry so when a scout ant comes and smells the nectar, it goes back to its colony and brings some of its friends. But by that time, the plant is wet and the ants fall into it. The Pitcher Plant gets an ant feast! If the Pitcher Plant was wet all the time, the one scout ant would slide down and not go back to the colony to bring the other ants, which means that it wouldn’t bring back all the food. Insects cannot escape Pitcher Plants, with their pitfall hunting mechanism.

The Sundew plant uses a sticky substance to hunt. It is a “flypaper trap” plant.

When bugs land on a Flypaper Trap carnivorous plant, the sticky substance that appears to be dew when it sparkles on the sun keeps bugs from being able to get away. When the bug struggles to escape, it gets even more stuck and the enzymes on the plant’s leaf digest it faster. Flypaper Trap plants are impossible to escape. Sundew and Butterwort are a couple of carnivorous plants in this category. 

Carnivorous plants with Snap Traps catch their food by trapping bugs or small animals inside their leaves so they cannot escape. All of you might have heard of the Venus Flytrap, but did you know that if the prey touches one of the hairs on the leaf it will set a timer? If it touches another hair within 20 seconds, then the plant will shut; otherwise, the prey will be safe. You can probably make a Venus Flytrap close its jaws with a stick, but it has to feel the prey struggling to start its digestive process. If the object isn’t food, the trap will reopen in about 12 hours and “spit” it out. The Venus Flytrap can only close its mouth six times in its lifetime.

A Venus Flytrap catches a lizard.

After capturing an insect or animal, The Venus Flytrap shuts in less than a second. “All of this takes about 1/2 second,” says Julia Cooke, a plant ecologist from the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at the University of Western Sydney, in Australia. But other carnivorous plants can move even faster: “The related Waterwheel Plant uses snap-traps, but underwater. This plant closes its traps in 20 milliseconds, making it one of the fastest movements recorded in plants.”

The Bladderwort is a type of aquatic carnivorous plant.

Carnivorous plants with Bladder Traps, like the Bladderworts and the Pinguicula, live in the water. They suck bugs and other small animals out of the water (like a vacuum cleaner)and into the bladder so they can be digested. There is no escape. 

The Cobra Lily uses the “lobster trap” mechanism to catch prey.

Carnivorous plants with Lobster Traps use tiny hairs which are all going the same direction to force bugs to walk toward the bottom of the plant’s leaves. The Cobra Lily and the Corkscrew are types of Lobster Trap plants. There are mazes inside them that are easy to enter but hard to leave that they use to catch prey. When the bugs hit a “dead end” with a pool full of digestive enzymes, they can’t escape.

I never knew that carnivorous plants were so interesting and that they were divided in five categories based on how they eat bugs and animals. They are beautiful but dangerous, inviting but deadly. Not to humans though, so don’t be scared if you see one in action. I hope you do.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
March 20

Supersonic Transit System

Not long ago, billionaire Elon Musk had a vision of the future. He dreamed of a supersonic transit system. Soon after, he released a 57-page document on a concept called Hyperloop. Hyperloop is a huge supersonic transit system that travels in between cities filled with traffic. The sponsor of Tesla motors and SpaceX dreamed of a friction-less, low-pressure, vacuum-sealed pod. Powered with energy from solar panels, it should be able to withstand major natural disasters. Elon believed this pod would shorten travel times drastically. For example, the distance from San Francisco to Los Angeles takes 6 hours. This pod could get there in 35 minutes.

Continue reading

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
January 29

Top 10 Star Wars SpaceShips

The best, a T-70 X-Wing Fighter.

Star Wars is super iconic, and some of the most iconic things it brings is the things are the things flying high in the sky, they are spaceships. Today we are bringing you are top 10 favorite Star Wars Spaceships! I have experienced watching all of those amazing Star Wars movies all those war scenes. But our favorite parts were always the Spaceships clashing to win the war that might not ever end.   

#10 The Y-wing starfighter may be slow, but it looks very cool and can drop Bombs. That is why it has Earned #10 spot on this list.

#9 One of the sleekest ships in Star Wars, is the Slave 1 is a sight to behold. Belonging to the bounty hunter Boba Fett it is very impressive.

 #8 The ARC 1-70 Starfighter has powerful laser cannons and serves the republic.

#7  The TIE Striker is a ship that battled on Scariff over the death star plans.

#6 The Millennium Falcon is an Awesome ship, but is very bulky.           

#5 Darth Vader’s tie advanced is an awesome addition to the tie family. It is cool and would have blown up Luke’s X-wing if not for Han Solo.

#4 The first order troop transport has advanced shields and can carry 20 troops.

#3 The jedi interceptor is sleek and can fly very fast.

#2 The  T-65 X-wing fighter blew up two Death Stars and is very cool.

#1 The T-70 X-wing fighter is the best spaceship of all it is very sleek and fast it has very high-powered ion and proton torpedoes. Can have a wider variety of droids as co-pilots than the T-65 and has a cool laser turret that pops up from the bottom.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
January 29

NASA Makes Pumpkins

Photo Credit: NASA/JPL (via Flickr)

I read a great article on Dogo News about how NASA scientists carved pumpkins. That was the challenge posed to the excellent scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, CA in 2010 during Halloween. This interesting competition has turned into an annual tradition with partners trying to outdo each other with sky-high hi-tech carvings.

Photo Credit: NASA JPL (via Flickr)

This year’s entries included a Pac-Man pumpkin, a replica of Darth Vader’s meditation chamber, a carousel, a Ninja Starshade, and even a sink hole pumpkin. While the creations are certainly quite strange, what is even more so, is that the engineers-turned-artists had just an hour to complete their masterpieces!

And now, watch this epic video. Continue reading

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
May 1

Hour of Code

By Jade and Leilani

hour_of_code_etr 

 

Have you ever wondered how a computer works, how it programs, and how it Hour of Code is a great way to learn how  a computer works. Hour of Code can show young kids how to code and makes the brain work harder too. It’s amazing! Besides amazing, hour of code is very challenging. And it can push you, some are really easy but it pushes your brain to work harder and will also make you smarter!
Most kids in the summer are just really lazy in the summer and mostly just watch TV. But instead of watching, you should be challenging your brain with the hour of code. Then in next year you can have a higher chance of getting good grades for their school work. It can create a “new” world in the computer. There are many versions that you can play. For example, there is Minecraft, Star Wars, Frozen, and Angry Birds. And much more to Hour of Code actives.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
February 11

Drones Stink!

Phone the Drone Ars Electronica Center via Compfight

By Ava    

Lots of people are thinking dones are fun so they want to buy drones but we need to get them under control. Thieves can use drones to spy on other people. Drones are very expensive. Drones are also taking over jobs that people do.

How would you like it if someone broke into your house? Well now they can with drones. Right now a drone could be spying on you and in a matter of minutes someone can break into your house.

Some drones can cost up to $150, $290, or even over $1,000. who would want a toy that would waste all of your allowance. Sometimes a drone will cost a lot of money but will break down, and will waste your money.   

Drones are taking over things that we do which is not a good idea because it will make people lazy and not wanting to do their job(s). Kids are going to soon have drones doing their homework, which will increase kids lack of smarts.

To some people a drone can be very disturbing, but to most people think drones are fun and good to play with. For drones there are more bad reasons than good, that is why we should ban DRONES from California.

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email