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Street Smart

You're walking home from school, minding your own business, when a person in a car pulls up and asks you for directions. Or maybe you're at the park, and someone says he needs you to come and help look for his lost puppy. These people may seem kind and friendly, but no matter what their situation is or what they say to you, they have one thing in common: they're all strangers.

Most strangers aren't dangerous and wouldn't do anything to hurt kids. Unfortunately, though, some strangers can be dangerous, and that's why it's important for kids to know what to do in different situations. A dangerous person doesn't necessarily look scary or mean, so it's impossible to tell who's OK and who's not. That's why it's important to follow these street safety rules all the time.

Did you know?

Some pumpkins can weigh as much as 700 pounds.
Pumpkin roots go extremely deep in the ground, and consequently, the plants need lots of water to penetrate those roots.
Inter-planting works well with pumpkins because they can tolerate shade better than other squash varieties.
Triple Treat, a new variety of pumpkin, has a tasty orange flesh, hull-less (naked) seeds that make a delicious snack when roasted. They are also the perfect size for making a great jack-o'-lantern.

Smoking

By Katie, Grade 7, Southampton, Hampshire, England

At my school in England loads of people smoke and it is really disgusting. Sometimes they smoke in the car park and sometimes they smoke in the toilets which is really disgusting. If the teachers catch them doing it the just suspend them for a couple of days or give them a detention which is not right, they should talk the child and try to make her/him quit. When I'm walking around school it stinks of smoke it is awfull. I go to an all girls' school and when i go to a disco, which most of my school go to along with another boys only school, you can so tell that all the girls that smoke are showing off in front of the boys. Some boys find it quite attractive, but I certainly don't. None of the adults walking round stop them. Most people start smoking at discos especially if your trying to impress someone and they give you a ciggerete. I have been tempted to smoke before and i was laughed at because I didn't want to smoke. I was very upset that I was laughed at but people looked up to me because I had the courage.

Israelis pulled out of Lebanon

By Annie, Grade 9, Fountain Valley High School, Fountain Valley, California, USA

Recently in the Middle East a major event has happened that could change the entire outcome of the Lebanese-Israeli Conflict. For no apparent reason, the Israeli troops began to leave Lebanon after an 18 year occupation of the country. This left what is called a "security vacuum" where the Israeli troops began to pull out, there was no one to defend them during their retreat. All the bases and military equipment that could be transported was taken out of Lebanon, that which could not be dismantled will be demolished by the Lebanese soldiers. Israel has complained that any attack made upon it's borders will be an "act of war" and they will take the necessary actions against it.

The Panda

This adorable black and white animal is loved all around the world, but there’s more to the panda than just a sweet face. These unique creatures have their own unique physiology. They are large yet agile and strong yet tranquil. This solitary animal requires remote bamboo forest habitats to provide the isolation it craves and the nutrition it needs for its bamboo diet.

The scientific name for the panda is Ailuropoda Melanoleuca, which means ‘black and white cat-footed animal.’ In Chinese, the giant panda is called Daxiongmao, literally meaning ‘large bear-cat.’ This large bear-cat has been a source of amazement for so long, that they have even entered China’s legends.

However, this delightful animal’s future is seriously threatened. Pandas are on the endangered species list, with fewer than 1,000 pandas living in the wild and only about 100 more in zoos and other preservation programs. The major threats to the panda’s survival are poachers and the destruction of their habitat.

The physiological

The physiological features of the panda make this animal ideally suited to life in the high mountains and dense forests of rural China. Its solitary life and distinctive characteristics are so unique that scientists are not certain whether the panda’s closest relatives are bears or raccoons.

A panda’s large size belies its speed and agility. Its thick dense fur is waterproof and keeps it warm. Its long sharp claws enable it to climb trees. Its powerful jaw muscles, acute sense of smell, and strong teeth are perfect for eating tough plants like bamboo.

Pandas only come out of their self-imposed isolation during mating season and while raising their young.

Their average life span is 18 to 20 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity.

Who are the panda’s relatives?

Do pandas belong to the bear family, the raccoon family, or a separate family altogether? Due to its unique morphology, physical structure, and solitary disposition, biologists remain divided as to the taxonomy of this species. For more than one hundred years, researchers have studied the anatomy, fossils, behavior and living habits of the panda with inconclusive results.

An example of the panda’s unique morphology is its eyes. Most bear’s eyes have round pupils, but panda’s pupils have vertical slits, like cat’s eyes. These unusual eyes inspired the Chinese to call the panda the "giant bear-cat."

The panda and its cousin, the lesser or red panda (Ailurus fulgens), share the characteristics of both bears and raccoons. Scientist are now studying the DNA of the panda and it seems that pandas share many traits with the bear family (Ursidae), and have characteristics unique enough to put them in their own sub family. But their cousins, the red pandas, are more closely related to the raccoon family (Procyonidae).

Scientists continue to study the animal using biochemistry and molecular biology in an effort to resolve this taxonomical debate.

Large yet agile

(1.5m) in length . Male pandas are about 10% bigger than females.
ThoughAn adult panda weighs about two to three hundred pounds, stands 3 feet (0.9m) tall at its shoulders, and is 5 feet pandas may appear chubby, pigeon-toed, and clumsy the panda is actually very agile and amazingly flexible. A panda can easily touch its head with its hind legs. Its sturdy forelegs and strong shoulders help it climb trees with agility. The panda’s flexible body can make its way through the densest bamboo underbrush with ease.

A thick black and white coat

The Panda's black and white fur is easy to recognize. A panda’s fur is thick and waterproof, allowing it to stay warm and dry, even while sleeping in damp rainy forests. Their thick coats insulate them from the cold. They do not hibernate in winter, so their dense coat serves them well as they look for food in freezing temperatures. Under a panda’s black fur, its skin is black. Under the panda’s white hair, the skin is pink.

Preservation

Pandas live a solitary life. They have few demands aside from having enough food to fill their stomachs. Their tranquil lives enable these animals to avoid conflict with other animals and also among themselves. The greatest threat to the pandas is the encroachment of its territory by human beings. Bit by bit the panda’s habitat has been taken over for use as farmland, roads, and settlements.

China has made efforts to reduce human disturbance to the panda’s natural habitat. They have established 27 nature reserves around China as well as breeding programs in 32 zoos. In these reserves, researchers carry out long-term and extensive scientific study obtaining valuable data about the panda. The scientific data and experiments are important not only for protecting the panda itself, but also for protecting its delicate ecosystem.

Laws

China is committed to preserving the panda species. The Chinese government and all applicable departments have attached great importance to the protection of the wild panda and have carried out concrete work toward this end.

Article 9 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China states that the State protects precious animals and plants. The Act for Wildlife Protection lists the panda as an animal that deserves the highest protection (Class A). Concrete statutes are set in Chinese criminal law for the protection of the panda (ref. Article 21 of the Forestry Law and Article 11 of the Environmental Protection Law). The World Wildlife Fund monitors the enforcement of protection laws and reported that in 1995 a Chinese farmer was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of shooting and killing a panda.

Internationally the panda is also protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty among more than 120 nations aimed at controlling illegal trade in endangered animal and plant species.

Captive Breeding

In 1980 the Chengdu Zoo performed artificial insemination (using frozen sperm) on Mei Mei, a female panda. Mei Mei later gave birth to a cub—the first artificially bred panda in the world.

In 1990, the Chengdu Zoo succeeded for the first time in conceiving a pair of twin pandas in a mother named Qing Qing. Then in 1992 the Chengdu Zoo helped Qing Qing use artificial means to feed her twin babies—plus another young cub that had been born to Qing Qing’s own mother. This is the first time a single mother panda has been known to feed three cubs.

Overnite Fun at Sea World

By Kristin, Grade 6, Travis Ranch Middle, Yorba linda, California, USA

In the middle of March, the sixth graders at our school were offered to go on a two night sleepover at Sea World for $200. There were two Sessions, first on 3-27-00, second on 3-29-00 (the session I went on.) We got to spend two nights at Sea World! The reason for this is a whole bunch of kids came to our school from Bryant Ranch and there wasn't enough space at Outdoor Ed. So we went to Sea World. Of course, it was optional. I had so much fun. We saw bird shows, dolphin shows and a Shamu show.
Thank goodness I brought my camera, I got a lot of great shots. The girls and boys slept separately and the first night the girls slept in the room with the Baluga whales and sea lions. It was totally uncomfortable. My friends and I called the sea lions "fat pigs." Well, they look like pigs when they were swimming. Then, it swam away. My friend said, "It's probably going back to the farm." I cracked up. The second day, it was practically free time. I went on Shipwreck Rapids. I got soaked. It was so much fun. I loved it. The bad thing is we couldn't sleep a lot. We had to sleep at 11:00 pm and wake up at 7:00 am! Sea World was freezing at night. Still, Sea World is one of my most favorite places to go. I recommend you go to Sea World for your next vacation if you haven't been there yet. It's really fun, you'll have a blast, and you'll see tons of different animals and learn about how they live, etc. So go to Sea World its the best place ever! I know you'll have a blast!

1492: An Ongoing Voyage

1492. Columbus. The date and the name provoke many questions related to the linking of very different parts of the world, the Western Hemisphere and the Mediterranean. What was life like in those areas before 1492? What spurred European expansion? How did European, African and American peoples react to each other? What were some of the immediate results of these contacts?

1492: An Ongoing Voyage addresses such questions by examining the rich mixture of societies coexisting in five areas of this hemisphere before European arrival. It then surveys the polyglot Mediterranean world at a dynamic turning point in its development.

The exhibition examines the first sustained contacts between American people and European explorers, conquerors and settlers from 1492 to 1600. During this period, in the wake of Columbus's voyages, Africans also arrived in the hemisphere, usually as slaves. All of these encounters, some brutal and traumatic, others more gradual, irreversibly changed the way in which peoples in the Americas led their lives.

The dramatic events following 1492 set the stage for numerous cultural interactions in the Americas which are still in progress - a complex and ongoing voyage.

WHAT CAME TO BE CALLED "AMERICA"

By 1492 people had lived in the Western Hemisphere for tens of thousands of years. For much of this time it is believed that they experienced virtually no recorded, sustained contact with other parts of the world -- Europe, Africa, or Asia.

Millions of people lived in an area some five times the size of Europe. In strikingly diverse habitats and climates they developed possibly the most varied and productive agriculture in the world. Their lifestyles and belief systems differed widely and they spoke hundreds of distinct languages.

Throughout the hemisphere, states and centers of high civilization had risen and fallen. The dynamic Mexica (Aztec) and Inca empires were still expanding at this time and internal migration and warfare were common. The peoples did not see themselves as part of an entity. Only later would this area be given a unifying name - America - and the people labeled "Indians" by Europe.

We have focused on five geographical areas of the region to represent the variety and complexity of peoples and cultures before 1492: the Caribbean, Middle America, the Andean region, the South Atlantic, and North America. In order to understand what ca me to be called America we are often dependent on European observations.