soap bubble prints - university of california,...

KRT KidNews 08/05

Did you know that ateenager named PhiloFarnsworth invented TV?Or that paleontologistMary Anning was a

young girl when she discovered fossilsfrom the Jurassic period?

In “The Kid Who Named Pluto”(Chronicle Books, $15.95, ages 9 to 12),author Marc McCutcheon tells of nine kidswhose ideas led them to pivotal discoveries.

Readers learn about the youngster whose1890s childhood dream inspired space travel,and a fourth-grader in the 1990s who chal-lenged expert findings on energy fields.

Line drawings and black-and-white photosadd to the book’s appeal. — Jean Nash Johnson

ALL ABOUT OWLSIt’s true, you’ll get a very real piece of gen-

uine owl puke with purchase of the book “OwlPuke” by Jane Hammerslough (WorkmanPublishing, $13.95, ages 8 to 12). Learn allabout owls, from what they eat to how they see.

The puke, a small pellet wrapped in foil,contains bones of the animals owls have eaten.Owls swallow their food whole, and the indi-

gestible parts, includingfeathers, fur and skeletons,are formed into a pelletthat the owl regurgitates.The book explains how todissect your pellet usingthe plastic sorting trayprovided. — Nancy Churnin

Copyright 2004 Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune

Kid fights to savespace telescopeWhen 11-year-old space

fan Kari Stausmire learnedthat the Hubble telescope isexpected to stop working in 2007 — and that anew telescope probably will not launch until 2011— she wanted to do something. Kari, a fifth-grad-er in Oregon, Ohio, read the news in Time ForKids magazine.

HELPING HUBBLEWhy was she so interested in saving Hubble?

“Hubble helps give us a different outlook onspace,” she said. “It helps us see stuff that wecan’t see with our eyes.” Kari visited the HubbleWeb site and wrote an e-mail to NASA saying shewanted to raise money to keep the telescope run-ning. Then she spread the word.

A local businessman donated $1,000 to thecause. Kari also received donations from otherstudents at her school. “The kids brought in theirpennies, nickels and dimes,” said Terri Hook,Kari’s teacher. In the end, Kari raised $1,400.

Meanwhile, NBC News caught wind of Kari’se-mail. In April, Kari, her teacher and another stu-dent appeared on “Today.” “It was very exciting,”Kari said.

FUND-RAISING SUCCESSSo what happened to the money she raised? As

it turns out, NASA does not need monetary dona-tions. It has enough money to keep Hubble run-ning, but feels it is not safe to send astronauts tomaintain it. So, NASA asked Kari to redirect themoney she raised to her town’s new localChallenger Learning Center.

In June, Kari presented the check toCommander Julie Muffler and Flight CommanderReed Steele of the Challenger Learning Center.The money will go toward the purchase of a newtelescope for students to use during visits to thecenter.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHEDAs for Hubble, Kari has accomplished her mis-

sion to raise awareness about its plight. “It wasone idea that became a huge ripple,” she said. AWeb site dedicated to her efforts, www.savingth-ehubble.com, has been set up, and more andmore people have shown support for Hubble.

“I’m very proud of the fact that Kari took someinitiative,” Hook said. “She kept up on currentevents and took it another step!”

Kari’s story is proof that one kid can make adifference. All it takes is some hard work and ded-ication!

— Jennifer Marino

● International Left Handers Day is Aug. 13.● Ten percent to 13 percent of people are left-handed.● The official handshakes for both the Boy Scouts

and Girl Scouts are done with the left hand.● Kermit the Frog is left-handed.

— World Almanac for Kids

© 2004 Time Inc. All Rights Reserved.TIME FOR KIDS and Timeforkids.com are registered trademarks of Time Inc.

DEAR AMERICAN GIRL: I really like sports.My best friend hates them. When I play sports,

she seems to feel left out.Should I give up something Ilove to let my best friend feelcomfortable? — Confused

■ Your special talents arewhat make you interesting and unique. Youwouldn’t ask your best friendto give up her violin lessons,would you? So don’t give upsports just because yourfriend doesn’t love them too. Tell her howmuch you enjoy spending time with her whenyou don’t have sports practice or a match. Andthe next time you have a big game, try invitingher to come along and cheer your team on.

DEAR AMERICAN GIRL: I’m online all thetime! The bad thing is, I’m losing interest inso many other things. How do I stop?!

— Computer Nerd

■ Your online smarts will help you inschool and someday in your career. Butyou’re wise to realize that you’re tooplugged in. Try this: Decide on a reasonable

amount of computer timeeach day. To make sure thatyou stop on time, makeplans with a friend to shoot

baskets, go skating or explore your neigh-borhood. Stay busy and on the move, andit’ll be easier to stay offline.Visit americangirl.com to get or give advice.

© 2004 American Girl, LLC. All rights reserved.

Friends don’t share love of sports

Try this cool experi-ment to discover theclensing effects of soap.

MATERIALS● Jar● Water● Oil● Dishwashing liquid

DIRECTIONS1. Put some cooking oiland some water in a jar,then secure the lid tightly.

2. Shake the jar, andnotice how the waterand oil stay separated.

3. Now put a few dropsof dishwashing liquidinto the jar, and securethe lid again.

4. Shake the jar onceagain, and notice how acloudy mixture has beencreated.

WHY?The dish-

washing liquidbreaks up the oilinto smallerdrops, which justfloat in the water,creating the cloudymixture. When clean-ing, soap allows oil andgrime to be washedaway better!

— Funology.com

MARTHA TH IERRY/

KRT

Gentlytouch the paper

to the bubbles and then lift to see your print,repeating until the paper issufficiently covered. Blowmore bubbles as needed. For a different effect, try

printing one colorover another.

Soapbubble prints

Normally, blowing bubbles with adrinking straw is taboo for kids. Not this time! In fact, that’s half

the thrill of making these marbleized prints.

The bubbles will pop as they touch the paper, leaving a unique

print every time— From the editors of FamilyFun

Magazine

Setout your paper

(try copier paper or light-colored construction

paper) and several plastic drink-ing straws. For younger children,

a parent should pierce a smallhole halfway up the straw with

a pin; this will help preventaccidental swallowing of

the paint.

Big discoveries

3

5

Nowfor the fun.

With one end of thestraw submerged in the

bubble solution, blow untilbubbles mound up in the

container. The best time totake a print is just as the

bubbles begin tooverflow.

4

Coveryour work

surface with athick layer of news-

paper or a plastictablecloth.

1

Gatherseveral shallow

disposable containers,such as aluminum pie tins. In

each, blend 1 cup of store-bought or homemade bubble solu-tion with 1/2 cup of tempera paint.(To make your own bubble solu-

tion, mix 3 cups of water, 1cup of dish soap and 1/4

cup of corn syrup.)

2

“Time is fun when you’re having

flies!”— Kermit the Frog

COURTESY OF NASA

The Hubble telescope