4Kids.org - Week of October 3, 2004

Week of October 3, 2004

Pacific Adventure

Get your feet wet, take a short swim or plunge to the depths of the Pacific Ocean: Where the Adventure Is Just Beginning at
http://library.thinkquest.org
/15931. Go in-depth about ocean life to sample the seas and become a maritime expert. You’ll find seashell facts and learn the difference between the Carpenter’s Cardita and the West Coast Bittersweet. When you fall into the Ring of Fire, you will find out how life survives in this volcanic region. Dive into History to get the lowdown on human exploration of the Pacific. (This site is no longer available.)

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

Visit the Featured Web sites to find the answers.

Which Scottish mariner inspired the story of Robinson Crusoe?

Daryl Quick
William Dampier
Alexander Selkirk

Who was the first clerk?

Mark Sandman
John Beckley
Scott Parker

What does “pentimento” mean in Italian?

moving slowly
a change of mind
over the top

Hey, Clerk, What’s Happenin’?

Learn about the role the clerk plays in the U.S. Congress with Kids in the House: The Office of the Clerk at http://kids.clerk.house.gov. You’ll meet the clerk, learn about Congress and discover how a bill becomes a law. Join A. Bill and learn about the events and people of the House of Representatives. Then take a field trip to Capitol Hill to explore the capitol and other legislative buildings. If you are up to the challenge, you can try Capitol Trivia and Seek-A-Word. Your new knowledge is sure to impress everyone.

Mexican Modernism

A conservator sees through layers of paint to view artists’ secret painting techniques. Peer beneath the paint of four masterpieces at The Conservator’s Studio at www.seattleartmuseum.org/exhibit/ interactives/mexicanModernism/enter.asp. You’ll learn the terms, tools and tricks of the conservator’s trade, such as using infrared light to reveal hidden layers in an artwork. You can explore four paintings by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to see how the works look through the eyes of the typical museum visitor. Then view them with the X-ray vision of a conservator.

Do you prefer watching college
or professional sports?

Speak Out Here!

Ask Amy: Tech Genius?

When I started writing this column years ago, I wasn’t the technology genius that writes for you today. I was just a kid trying to figure out how all this techie stuff works. Over time, I have learned a lot from answering your questions. And though I don’t know every answer off the top of my head, I know how to find information, which is the best skill I have learned while writing for you.

I want to share my resources with you so that you can learn, just as I have, how and where to find what you’re looking for. How Stuff Works explains tons of “stuff” at www.howstuffworks.com. For all those crazy computer terms, use Webopedia. It’s a techie dictionary at www.webopedia.com. And of course, search engines are my best friends: They are critical for hunting down any answer. Yahooligans at http://kids.yahoo.com rocks!

Also, make use of the Ask Amy Archive at 4kids.org/askamyArchive (Note: this feature is no longer available). Every question that I have ever answered is listed there, and you can search by keyword to find what you’re looking for.

Thanks for the questions everyone. Keep ’em comin’.

— Amy

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