4Kids.org - Week of February 8, 2004

Week of February 8, 2004

Making Stuff

Chances are, you’ve eaten a jelly bean or watched an airplane flying high. Head over to http://manufacturing. stanford.edu to discover How Everyday Things Are Made. Put your brain to the test and find out what you already know about manufacturing. Then watch videos about motorcycle engines, sweaters and candy packages. You’ll learn how yellow cocoa seeds are browned, sorted, ground and hydraulically pressed to turn them into cocoa powder. Think of this as your own private factory tour!

Nominate a cool Web site at https://4Kids.org/nominations/

Visit the Featured Web sites to find the answers.

How long can it take to make a jelly bean?

3 days
1 week
10 days

What was
George Catlin’s occupation before he became a painter?

mime
dog catcher
lawyer

What is the biggest butterfly in Canada?

Giant Swallowtail
Brown Elfin
Silvery Blue

Portrait of a Wanderer

Gather around the campfire and listen to Campfire Stories with George Catlin at http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/
catlinclassroom/cl.html. Catlin headed West during the 1830s to document the lives of Native Americans. His adventures shine through in his paintings, such as one that shows a confrontation between American soldiers and a Comanche village. Listen to artist Jaune Quick-To-See Smith discuss why the faces in Catlin’s paintings look realistic. Then examine his work for yourself in the Gallery.

Fluttering Around the Yard

Butter up on your butterfly knowledge with Butterflies North and South at www.virtualmuseum.ca/ Exhibitions/Butterflies. Due to sprawling cities, protecting the butterfly population is increasing in importance. Creating a butterfly garden in your backyard is a great way to help these friendly flying creatures. Just make sure you have plenty of sunshine, shelter, water and minerals in the area. The butterfly gallery will help you identify which butterflies are hanging out in your garden, and playing the games will increase your brain-span on butterflies.

What do you think of housing animals in small spaces for long spans of time?

Speak Out Here!

Dear Amy: What are some good sites with information on computers and IT? The level should be suitable for a student in seventh grade.
— Nandini, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Dear Nandini: Glue on your thinking cap because Information Technology people are problem-solvers. A great site to learn about troubleshooting computer problems is www.everythingcomputers.
com/troubleg.htm. It has articles on topics such as home networking and basic Mac and PC troubleshooting. The articles are a bit lengthy, so be ready to read.

Another great way to learn is by trial and error. I don’t recommend sabotaging your home computer so that you can try to fix it, but explore your computer and the programs you use. Spend some time tinkering around with your computer to get to know its ins and outs, and search the Web for more information about how operating systems, programs and hardware work together.
Learning programming is another way to understand how computers work. Give the C++ tutorials at http://devcentral.iftech.com/
articles/C++/default.php a try.

Good luck!

Ask Amy a Question