Seymour Simon's Blog, page 30

Colorful Chameleon

Our "Cool Photo of the Week" is of a chameleon climbing on a Bird of Paradise flower. Isn’t this a magnificent array of colors, textures and shapes? Photo: Sebastian Duda

Writing Wednesday: Jellyfish Prizewinner

Welcome to our last Writing Wednesday of the school year! Today, we’re going to do a five-minute writing warm-up, with two simple rules: 1. Give us the best you’ve got in 5 minutes. That’s right - five minutes of creative writing. Think of it as a word extravaganza to warm up your brain for the rest of the day! 2. Tell us your first name and what state you live in. Ready? Let’s go! Today, we would like you to look at the photograph below. Write five strong, colorful words that you think best describe this photograph of a jellyfish that was the "Fan Favorite" in the University of Miami’s underwater photo competition. Your writing could be serious, or it could be funny. Either approach is fine, as long as what you write makes the reader want to know more! Write your 5 descriptive words and submit them by clicking on the "Comments" below. Happy writing!Photo: Todd Aki

Cool Photo of the Week

Today’s "Cool Photo of the Week" is something that you do not see very often - a rainbow in the sky as lighting strikes after a storm in Haikou, China.Photo: China Daily via ReutersRead all about LIGHTNING in Seymour Simon’s Smithsonian-Collins book of the same name.

National Trails Day this Weekend!

Get out your hiking shoes, because Saturday, June 2 is the 20th annual NATIONAL TRAILS DAY, sponsored by the American Hiking Society. Join your fellow nature lovers on the trails on Saturday, and celebrate the beginning of summer in the outdoors. There are events planned all over the country. Click on this link to find an event near you. There is an interactive map, and if you click on your state, up pops a whole list of National Trails Day events. Some require pre-registration, so check today. We live in New York State, so we are thinking about being part of the Riverkeeper Sweep, a day when people from New York City to Albany volunteer to help take care of the Hudson River. We drive and walk often along its shores, watching the wildlife and being inspired by its beauty. I also plan to drive over to Stissing Pond, a place that has inspired me since I first saw it depicted in a diorama at the American Museum of Natural History when I was a kid. I love to photograph there. How are you going to celebrate National Trails Day?

Writing Wednesday: Why I Want a Puppy

Good morning, and welcome to Writing Wednesday, where every week there is a new opportunity to publish your creative writing on the Seymour Science blog. This week, we are asking you to read an excerpt from Seymour Simon’s book WHY DO PUPPIES DO THAT?, and then write a convincing letter about why you want to have a dog.From WHY DO PUPPIES DO THAT?, by Seymour Simon Getting a puppy is a big decision. Taking care of a puppy takes a lot of time and attention. When puppies grow into adult dogs they still need love and attention from their owners. Puppies offer so much in return for your affection. They are great fun to play with and always are ready to be your companion. They can cheer you up when you feel sad or lonely. They have helpful barks that can let you know someone’s at the door, or even warn you of danger. Perhaps best of all, caring for a puppy teaches you the value of loving and being loved.Your assignment: Do you agree that dogs are more than just pets, but friends too? Have you ever wanted a pet dog, but you are not allowed to have one? Write a letter to an adult asking them to get you a dog. Think about several reasons why dogs make great pets, and decide what kind of dog you would want. Be sure to give plenty of solid facts about dogs in order to make a great case for yourself. You might also want to explain how to care for a dog, and the responsibilities that come with being a dog owner. Who knows, maybe you will have a canine friend before you know it!When you are finished writing, click on the yellow "Comments" at the bottom of this post to enter your writing! Photo: Kai Chiang Note to Educators: Today’s Writing Wednesday exercise is designed to use in support of CCSS standard W.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Cool Photo: Wedding Tornado

Caleb and Candra Pence had just said "I do" and were taking photographs when a tornado touched down miles away from their outdoor wedding ceremony in Harper, Kansas. The tornadoes were eight miles away, heading the other direction, so no one at the wedding was in danger."It’s just Kansas, it’s just who we are, it’s like wheat fields, cowboys and tornadoes; what more can you ask for?" said the groom’s mother, Carla Pence. That is one unusual wedding picture, which is why it is our Cool Photo of the Week! Photo: Cate Eighmey

Writing Wednesday: Animals Nobody Loves

Good morning, and welcome to Writing Wednesday, where every week there is a new opportunity to publish your creative writing on the Seymour Science blog. This week, we are asking you to read an excerpt from Seymour Simon’s book ANIMALS NOBODY LOVES, and then do your own research about sharks! From ANIMALS NOBODY LOVES, by Seymour Simon The shark is the most feared animal in the sea. Some sharks are large and dangerous. Others are just a few feet long and eat small fish. Sharks come in many different sizes, shapes and colors. Hammerheads, tiger sharks, and mako sharks have powerful jaws and razor-sharp teeth. Some sharks can bite three hundred times harder than a human. The most dangerous shark is the great white shark. It usually swims in the open sea. But sometimes a great white shark may attach and kill swimmers with no warning. It may even attack small boats. Its large, saw-edged teeth can rip through wood and even metal. The great white shark has a huge appetite and will eat any animal or person that it finds in its path.Your assignment: After reading about this misunderstood animal, do some research of your own. Decide whether you agree or disagree with the author’s point of view. Go to the library or use the Internet to find other sources that will help you learn about sharks. Are these animals worthy of love, or are they just a menace? Give details and solid evidence to support your opinion. When you are finished writing, click on the yellow "Comments" at the bottom of this post to enter your writing! Photo: Al Giddings Note to EducatorsNote to Educators: Today’s Writing Wednesday exercise is designed to use in support of CCSS standards RI.8: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text; W.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons; and W.7: Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

Cool Photo: Solar Eclipse

Today’s "Cool photo of the week" is, of course, of Sunday’s Solar Eclipse. Readers in the western part of the US and Canada were in the right place to see the spectacular annular eclipse. "Annular" means "shaped like a ring," which is exactly how it appeared. A solar eclipse happens when the moon is aligned directly between Earth and the Sun, blocking out all but an outer circle of light. Photo: Getty ImagesDiagram: NASA

Cool Photo: Saturn’s Moons

Saturn has many moons - 53 that have been discovered and named, nine more "provisional moons" which have been detected but only assigned a number until more is known about them. Today’s "Cool Photo of the Week" is of two of Saturn’s moons. The small one is one of Enceladus, ice-covered and just 300 miles (483 kilometers) wide, and covered by ice. It is dwarfed by one of the big Saturnian moons, the 3,200 mile (5,150 kilometer) wide Titan. The streak across the middle of the photograph is one of the planet’s giant rings. Cool photo, don’t you think? It was taken by the Cassini orbiter, an unmanned spacecraft which continues to help us learn more about this gas giant. Photo: NASA/JPL/SSI/J. MajorAn updated version of Seymour Simon’s SATURN, with the latest information from the Cassini mission, will be published for Amazon’s Kindle Fire this September.

Surfing the Highest Wave

I have been working on a new book called SEYMOUR SIMON’S EXTREME OCEANS. In the chapter called "Big Waves and Giant Tides" I write about places along the coasts of Hawaii, California and Australia where huge waves are regularly whipped up by strong winds blowing at sea.One of those places is Nazare, off the coast of Portugal. Recently, a 44-year-old Hawaiian surfer broke the world record for riding the biggest wave ever recorded. Garrett McNamara, who started surfing when he was 11 years old, successfully surfed a 78-foot (23.8 meter) wave. His ride beat the previous 2008 record by more than a foot, and is now in the Guinness Book of World Records. Click on the "play" button below to see this awesome ride on a magnificent wave!I think I might take a shot at the record. What do you think? Can I make it into the Guinness Book of World Records as a surfer?!Video © Billabong XXL, courtesy Telegraph.co.uk