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Around The World

Around the world – September 2015

Happy Labor Day! Labor Day falls on the first Monday in September. For many people, it is the last big weekend of the summer, a time to have fun and play before buckling down and studying. Labor Day is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country. More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers. Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.” But Peter McGuire’s place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic. Northern Lights Iceland is known for many things, but one thing that makes it a destination for a lot of people is the Northern Lights. The Northern Lights are bright dancing lights of the auora that are caused by a collision between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth’s atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemisphere. As you know, Iceland is a scarcely populated island with many wild, unpolluted places. It is just the kind of place that makes it possible to see the Northern Lights. The Northern Lights are visible in Iceland from September to mid-April. The lights are actually active all year, but you can only see them when it is dark. In summertime, Iceland is bright almost all the time, so that’s why people look forward to September.

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What’s It Like To be

Storyteller

What does a storyteller do? Well, the simple answer is, “Storytellers tell stories.” Storytelling is live performance art — it’s not reading aloud, nor is it acting. It’s sharing a story through language, facial expression, body language, tone of voice and — most importantly — through imagination. The storyteller holds the story in her imagination — the images, emotions, characters, motivations, etc. — and she helps you experience that story in your own imagination. Storytelling is not about memorizing words and reciting them — the storyteller knows the story but is free to watch and respond to the audience, adapting the language, tempo, sound effects, gestures, etc., as needed. Why is this kind of work important? Another simple answer: Because we are human. Anthropologists tell us that storytelling is central to human existence. From the beginning of time, storytelling has been the way cultures have preserved and celebrated their memories, passed on their values and belief systems, entertained, instructed and reported. Our world has changed, our stories have changed, but our brains are still hard-wired for storytelling. What is a typical day like for you? When you’re a full-time storyteller, there is no “typical” day — that’s one of the joys of storytelling for me. I abhor routine! As a storyteller, in a typical week I might spend Monday performing five sessions for kindergartners in Atlanta, then drive to Knoxville to spend Tuesday leading an all-day professional development workshop for teachers; Wednesday, rush back home to St. Louis to pack for a 24-hour journey to Taiwan to participate in a two-week storytelling festival, performing four or five times a day in schools, libraries and museums. Variety is exciting and challenging and keeps the work fresh! However, having made that point, I should explain that I am a Storytelling Teaching Artist, which means that a great deal of my work is in preschool through high school classrooms, using storytelling as a tool for teaching creative writing or social studies or science or math. Storytelling is a great way to learn! So, a “typical day” might include four or five classroom sessions, perhaps working with 8th graders on researching and writing historical fiction stories about Westward Expansion, or with 4-year-olds who are using creative drama to retell a story. And I finish nearly every day with preparation — working on proposals, invoicing clients, writing lesson plans and developing new stories. When and how did you know you wanted to become a storyteller? When I was a Children’s Librarian with the Miami-Dade Public Library System, our job was to motivate kids to read and use the library. My colleagues and I tried a lot of things, but what worked was storytelling. Once I experienced the power of storytelling, I never looked back! What kind of training does it take to be a storyteller? Storytellers come from all kinds of backgrounds, and so far, we have not standardized any criteria for “what it takes to be a storyteller.” Most storytellers have college degrees; many have masters and doctorates. It helps to have read a lot, listened to a lot of tellers, told a lot of stories to all kinds of different audiences and given a great deal of thought to what you’ve read, what you’ve heard and what you’ve learned. Storytelling takes practice, patience, reflection and the passion to share stories! What do you love most about your job? Travel! I have had the opportunity to work all over the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska, and in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Ireland and the Bahamas. I get to meet all kinds of people everywhere I go — and I get to play with the kids and hear their stories. Can you imagine getting PAID to go to fabulous places to do what you love to do and meet fascinating people? What is something challenging about your job? Travel! Being on the road for weeks at a time can be exhausting and sometimes lonely. Some storytellers having a saying: I drive for a living and tell stories for fun. Why is it important for people to understand the world and cultures (and related stories) around them? My friend Carmen Deedy — a truly amazing storyteller and author — says it best for me: “When a child grows up without hearing family stories, she enters adulthood with an incomplete sense of her personal history. This is loss enough. But when a child grows up without hearing folktales and fairytales, she enters adulthood with an imperfect sense of what it means to be a member of the human family.” So why is this work important? Because telling and listening to stories is an essential part of being human. Is there something you wish more people understood about storytelling and its importance – if so what is it? Perhaps this story, told by Metis storyteller Ron Evans, is my best answer: A Peace Corps volunteer, or perhaps it was an anthropologist, in Africa was in a village when satellite television made its debut there. For a period of time, normal village life came to a halt as people watched, slack-jawed. Then slowly, things began to return to some semblance of normality. When asked why people were not watching as much television, a villager replied, “We have our storyteller.” “I understand,” said the volunteer, “but your storyteller knows a hundred stories — the television knows thousands of stories.” With a gleam in his eye, the man quickly responded, “That is true, but the storyteller knows me!”We can use machines, but we are not machines. We are human — and humans need storytellers! Can you tell our readers something really cool about what you do that most people don’t know about? Kids are storytellers, too! In many festivals across the country, kids are onstage telling stories. For example, the Timpanogos Festival in Utah features kids at every venue; the St. Louis Storytelling Festival showcases student tellers from Taiwan; the National Storytelling Network’s National Storytelling Conference…

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Wildville

MUSK OX

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Genus: Ovibos Species: Moschatus The Musk Ox is an incredible animal. It is perfectly adapted to live in some of the harshest environments in the world. They can be found in places like northern Canada, Greenland, Alaska, Norway, Sweden and Russia. They thrive in cold, icy places that are covered by snow most of the year. The temperatures can plummet to well below zero but with their thick layers of fur, the oxen don’t even notice. These large animals can find food such as lichens, grass and shrubs though layers of snow in even the coldest and darkest winters. • They are herbivores • They weigh between 500 and 800 pounds • They are social animals and live in herds • Herds are usually 24-36 animals • These herds cooperate to defend against predators like wolves • They live between 12 to 20 years • On average they stand between 4 to 5 feet high at the shoulder • In the summer they graze like any other animal • In the winter they use their hooves to dig through the snow to get to the plants underneath • They have long thick layers of hair that protect them from the extreme cold • The inner fur is thick and soft like wool • The outer hair is long and brown and protects the inner layer • Native Alaskans call the Musk Ox oomingmak which means “the bearded one” • During the summer they shed their thick coats • They are closely related to goats and sheep • They are usually between 6 and 7.5 feet long • They are called Musk Ox because they have a gland under their eyes that produces a strong smell they use to mark their territory For a while there were no Musk Ox in Alaska. They were hunted to extinction for their hides and because they are easy targets for human hunters. However, in the 1930s scientists brought 34 over from Greenland. They were brought to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks where they started a new herd. They were then moved to Nunivak Island and fiercely protected. Little by little the scientists have been reintroducing them into the wild in Alaska. They have been thriving ever since, and while they are still protected they are no longer endangered

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Where in the World

Bangor, Maine?

Bangor, Maine, was first settled by Europeans in 1769. The effort was led by Jacob Buswell and the town was originally named Condeskeag Plantation. It was a small settlement made of just 12 families, a sawmill, a store and a school. The town survived the American Revolution and the War of 1812 and was a center for anti-slavery politics before the Civil War. In the 19th century when one of the major resources that America harvested was lumber, Bangor was known as the “Lumber Capital of the World.” It was a hugely successful lumber port. All of the logs harvested in the surrounding forests, for miles around, were fed through the rivers and driven through Bangor. Then they were sold to help build the big cities like Boston and New York. Businessmen in Bangor owned most of the surrounding forests where all of the lumber came from. They used their wood and the massive amounts of money it created to build huge beautiful houses that still stand today. Currently, Bangor is still a very important city in Maine and in the northeast. The historic nature of the city makes it popular for tourists. There are many museums, old houses and landmarks to visit and enjoy. Bangor is also surrounded by beautiful forests so there are many outdoor activities to enjoy, as well. It is a 90-minute drive from Acadia National Park, Baxter State Park and the Moosehead Lake Region. Inside the city there is also all the fun of a thriving northeastern town. There is art and culture, such as Bangor Symphony Orchestra, which is the oldest continually operating symphony orchestra in the United States, founded in 1896. The town is an incredible combination of modern and historic. MORE about Bangor, Maine… • The local Native American tribe were the Penobscots • The town was called Sunbury in 1787 • It was renamed Bangor in 1790 • The name Bangor comes from a popular hymn about the American Revolution • It has been called “Maine’s Queen City” since 1834 • Most of Boston and New York were built using lumber harvested from Maine • The total area of the city is 34.26 square miles • There are many museums in Bangor that record the long history of the city such as the Police Museum, Fire Museum and Cole Land Transportation Museum • Paul Bunyan is an American folktale about a logger, there is a statue of him in Bangor • Many of the houses are on the National Register of Historic Places

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Kids

It’s a bird… It’s a plane… It’s a Coyote!

Hurricane season is here, and hurricane forecasters and scientists are busy watching thunderstorms roll across the oceans to see which ones might develop into hurricanes. A hurricane is a storm that forms in the tropics of the southern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Hurricane scientists have many tools to help them study these storms, and one of the very best ways is to fly right into the center using hurricane hunter airplanes. Hurricane hunter airplanes are flying laboratories designed to withstand the strong winds and rough environment within the hurricane. They fly directly into and around the edge of storms to collect data. Scientists and forecasters use this data to determine how strong a storm is. They also feed the data into models to forecast or predict where the hurricane will go and how strong it will become. However, the hurricane hunter aircraft typically don’t fly below 5,000 feet, as this part of the storm is extremely turbulent and can be too dangerous for an aircraft carrying people. Scientists now have a new tool to collect data in the lowest part of the hurricane: the Coyote unmanned aircraft system, or UAS. UAS are aircraft that are flown with remote controls — just more sophisticated versions of the radio-controlled model airplanes you may fly at home! Flying the Coyote UAS in the lower part of a hurricane is a safe way to get very important data to improve hurricane forecasts. Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released the Coyote into a hurricane for the first time in 2014, into the eye of Hurricane Edouard. The small, seven-pound aircraft deployed from a chute in the belly of the hurricane hunter, floated on its parachute until it opened its six-foot wingspan, and flew through the storm about 1,000 feet above the churning ocean. The Coyote can be controlled or piloted from miles away but is typically piloted by scientists onboard the hurricane hunter aircraft. Its lightweight design requires the Coyote to fly with the wind currents, but it can be directed up, down and sideways to navigate specific flight patterns during its typical one-to two-hour flight. The Coyote’s primary mission is to measure air pressure, temperature, moisture and wind speed inside the storm. It also has a sensor to measure sea surface temperatures in and around a storm. These observations could help scientists better understand how a hurricane pulls energy from the ocean — and how strong it could become. Scientists search for better ways to study and observe hurricanes with one goal in mind: improve hurricane forecasts and save lives. Communities and families like yours rely on NOAA to provide an accurate forecast of when and where a hurricane may impact their community. Using new technologies such as the Coyote UAS also allow NOAA to make better forecasts of how strong a storm will be, so that your family can be prepared and stay safe.

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Letter From Truman

August 2015 – Letter from Truman

Hi, Kids! I just love a good story! I love reading them, listening to them and telling them, too! A folktale is a special kind of story. You’ve probably heard folktales before, I know I have. I just didn’t realize that’s what they are called. Read the “Connections” section to find out more about folktales and why they are important. Did you know that there are people who get to tell stories for a living? I didn’t. That is why I was so excited to interview Sherry Norfolk for the “What’s It Like to Be …” section. She is a professional storyteller. There is a lot more to that job than I realized. Reading stories is a lot of fun, but so is telling them. Do you have a favorite story that you like to tell?

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Space Place

Planning A Visit to Europa

Europa is one of Jupiter’s moons. It’s about the size of our moon. Europa is a very special moon in our solar system because it might be able to support living things. Beneath its icy crust, there could be an ocean with twice as much water as there is in Earth’s oceans. We know a lot about Europa from NASA’s Galileo mission, which visited Jupiter more than 10 years ago. We have also taken pictures of it with the Hubble Space Telescope. But now NASA plans to send a spacecraft, a machine that flies in space, right to Europa to learn more. It will loop around Jupiter and fly by Europa 45 times over three years. It will get as close as 16 miles (25 kilometers) above the icy surface. What will the spacecraft do when it gets there? The spacecraft will have nine machines that will take different measurements of Europa. Using cameras, radar and other devices, we will learn all kinds of new things about this interesting moon. We’ll learn more about the surface and get detailed pictures of it. We’ll find out how thick the crust is and how much water is under it. We will even be able to measure how deep and salty the ocean is. How warm and cold are different parts of the moon? We’ll find that out, too. The spacecraft will also measure the magnetic field around Europa. Even though the spacecraft isn’t landing on Europa, we can still learn about very small things, too. The spacecraft can measure the very thin atmosphere there. It will find out how much water and other particles are floating around in it. We can even find out what kinds of salt and other small molecules are in Europa’s ocean. There is a lot to be excited about, but we’ll have to wait a while to learn all these things. The mission will launch in the 2020s, and it will take years for the spacecraft to reach Europa. Until then we can look at all the beautiful pictures we have of this icy moon and think about what we’ll find there.

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Movie Reviews for Kids by Kids

Inside Out

Meet the Little Voices Inside Your Head! This new Disney/Pixar film explores the bumpy road of pre-teens and the emotions they experience when growing up. Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco is guided by her emotions — Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness. The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley’s main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school. KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Mia A. comments, “This animated movie is incredible! The animation is spot on. It is so detailed and life-like that sometimes, it made me forget that it is a cartoon and not real.” Tre’ana H. adds, “It captures some comedic moments and connects you to to your inner self. It makes you become more aware and in touch with your conscience.” This animated movie is incredible! This is one of my favorite Disney/Pixar movies. The story is about a young girl named Riley (Kaitlyn Dias) who moves from Minnesota to San Francisco with her family and how her emotions support and confuse her through the move. Amy Poehler as Joy, Bill Hader as Fear, Mindy Kaling as Disgust, Phyllis Smith as Sadness and Lewis Black as Anger are perfect for the roles. It gets the audience attached to her emotions. The animation is spot on. It is so detailed and life-like that sometimes, it made me forget that it is a cartoon and not real. For instance, people say that memories can be kept in file cabinets in your brain. In this movie, they are kept in storage cabinets and it looks like what actually could be in our brains. Also, they introduce little characters that are very funny. In one part, they have a machine that makes imaginary boyfriends and the boyfriends say “I would die for you, Riley.”

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Kidsville Kitchen

Good Nutrition Shouldn’t Take a Summer Break

Children in need may lose access to milk when school is out While the summer is often celebrated as a carefree time of lounging around, pool dates and hanging out with friends, for many children in communities across the country, it means limited access to the foods their growing bodies need. In fact, more than 22 million children may miss out on milk’s nutrition in the summer months when schools are closed and they don’t have access to free or reduced-price meal programs. Although some programs like the USDA’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) help to deliver meals when school is not in session, the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP), do not reach children during the summer months. That’s why food banks play an even more critical role in helping children access nutritious foods when class isn’t in session. The need for nutrient-rich milk According to a 2014 survey of Feeding America food banks, milk is one of the most requested items by food bank clients, but on average, they are only able to provide the equivalent of less than one gallon per person per year. That’s why, since 2014, Feeding America has partnered with America’s dairy farmers and milk companies to create a program that makes it easy to provide fresh, nutritious milk to children who need it most in communities across the country. For a small donation of as little as $5 at milklife.com/give, The Great American Milk Drive will deliver a gallon of nutrient-rich milk to a family that’s missing it in your local community. Since it began, the drive has delivered more than 325,000 gallons of fresh, nutritious milk to a network of nearly 200 food banks. Feeding America leads the fight against hunger in the United States by serving more than 46 million food-insecure Americans, including 12 million children across the country. “Milk is an easy and affordable way to provide much needed nourishment to children who might otherwise miss out on it during the summer months,” said Michelle Dudash, registered dietitian and nutritionist. “Many people don’t realize that milk provides eight grams of high-quality protein in each eight-ounce glass and is the top food source of calcium, vitamin D and potassium.” Visit milklife.com/give to learn more about the need for nutrient-rich milk during the summer months and how a small donation can make a significant impact to children and families in your community.

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Kids

Swan Lake

According to the dictionary, ballet is an artistic dance form performed to music using precise and highly formalized set steps and gestures. It is storytelling set to music! Just like our folktales of Paul Bunyon and Johnny Appleseed, other countries have their own folktales. In Russia there is a story called “The White Duck” that may very well be the inspiration for the ballet “Swan Lake.” This famous ballet was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875. Tchaikovsky is also known for his compostion of “Sleeping Beauty” and the Christmas favorite “The Nutcracker.” “Swan Lake” tells the story of Prince Siegfried who falls in love with Odette. Odette is under the spell of the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart. The spell turns Odette into a swan during the day. At night, Odette and the other enchanted swans turn back in to humans. The only way to break the spell is for someone who has never loved before to swear to love Odette forever. Now a very popular and well-loved ballet, “Swan Lake” was not well-received when it was first released at the Bolshoi Ballet in 1877. The music was considered difficult to dance to and the original choreography by German ballet master, Julius Reisinger, was uninspiring and unoriginal. A lot has changed since “Swan Lake” was first premiered. Now it is a ballet that is performed and loved around the world.

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