Getting to Know You

Have a meet-and-greet with your mother…Earth! NGA Kids, www1.nga.mil/kids/
Pages/default.aspx, is a great geography resource where kids can go to collect information about our amazing planet. GEOINT Games can help get you started with printable geographic boundary quizzes and crossword puzzles. You can also find out how to become a geospatial analyst and read up on education requirements and job training to figure out if this could be the right job for you. With tons of great pictures and fun facts, you’ll be busy!

A Way of Life

Lessen your footprint and give the Earth a hug when you learn to Reduce Waste, www.reduce.org. Reducing is a great way for you to save money, time and our planet. Try composting table scraps to create “black gold” to improve your backyard garden’s soil. You can also look ahead and green up your act this holiday season. Instead of purchasing a bunch of gifts, look into buying experiences, such as music lessons or art classes. No matter which route to reduce you choose, you can feel good about your efforts. They do make a difference.

Long, Long Ago…

The BBC's Primary History, www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primary
history, is an awesome blast from the past. Mouse around on the box of artifacts and click to begin. If you pick the Vikings, you will be in for an Old World treat. Learning all about their lifestyle, invasions and exploration will make you an expert in no time. You can also read up on how kids spent their days in Victorian England or World War II. Now, move back in time to the Romans, Ancient Greeks and Anglo-Saxons for more eye-opening history that will help you understand lives lived long ago.

What are you going to be for Halloween?

Speak Out Here!

Dear Amy: How do they make the 3-D pictures in the newspaper? Is there a program to do your own? Do they have a 3-D Web page? — Karen, Sudbury, Mass.

Dear Karen: The 3-D images in the Magic Eye newspaper feature and books are a type of stereogram. When you view an object, the left and right eyes have slightly different viewpoints, which when combined form a 3-D image. A stereogram works in the same way by providing two views of an object, one for each eye. The Magic Eye pictures hide these 3-D views of the object in a 2-D pattern. To learn more, visit www.magiceye.com/advert2.htm.

A number of websites and programs are available to make your own stereogram. Check out www.hidden-3d.com/games/StereogramPaint.swf. You can create a stereogram using different shades of gray. The dark shades show up as farther away, and lighter shades appear closer when viewed in 3-D. When you're done, click on Render to encode your image into a 2-D pattern that can be viewed like a Magic Eye image.

Many new websites are being built in 3-D, but you'll need a 3-D PC or monitor for the full effect. Otherwise they just look like 3-D graphics seen in many computer games.

—Amy

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