Seymour Simon's Blog, page 34

Saving Baby Sea Turtles

In today's Science News, we have this photograph of baby turtles making their way into the ocean after their release during a campaign to save sea turtles in Aceh Besar, Indonesia. Hatching baby turtles have always been in danger from predators who snatch them while they are heading for the safety of the water, but now they are facing extinction due to the action of the most powerful predator of all - human poachers who kill them for their meat, fat, shells and eggs. Now, conservationists are educating the public about the importance of helping these baby turtles to make it to the safety of the water. They hope that with knowledge and the support from the public, sea turtles will eventually be able to come off the endangered list. Photo: Heri Juanda/APBe part of Seymour Simon's celebration of Earth Day 2012 by commenting on blog stories like this one, and telling Seymour about YOUR Earth Day Promises! How are you going to make a difference for the Earth? What will you do to make it be Earth Day / every day? Each time you leave a comment between today and April 22, you will be entered into a drawing to win a free, personally autographed book from Seymour Simon. So get started by clicking "comments" below, and tell us about Your Earth Day Promises!

A Very Tiny Lizard

Today is April 1, and we are beginning our celebration of Earth Day with a report of the discovery of a new species on our planet! A chameleon small enough to perch on the head of a match has been discovered on a tiny island off Madagascar. It is called a "Brookesia micra" chameleon, and it is believed to be the smallest species ever found. This tiny reptile is just six-tenths of an inch (16 millimeters) long, and even with its tail fully extended, it only measures 1.1 inches (29 millimeters). Chameleons (even ones as small as this one) are particularly well-adapted for catching the insects that make up most of their diet. They have feet like parrots, with two toes facing forward and two facing backward, so that they can grab onto branches and climb easily. Each of their eyes moves on its own, so they can see all around them as they hunt for insects. And when they spot an insect, they shoot their long tongues out of their mouths at lightning speed, enabling them to catch fast-moving prey. Photo: Joern Koehler/ReutersBe part of Seymour Simon's celebration of Earth Day 2012 by commenting on blog stories like this one, and telling Seymour about YOUR Earth Day Promises! How are you going to make a difference for the Earth? What will you do to make it be Earth Day / every day? Each time you leave a comment between today and April 22, you will be entered into a drawing to win a free, personally autographed book from Seymour Simon. So get started by clicking "comments" below, and tell us about Your Earth Day Promises!

Cat and Mouse

A student named Nicholas S. wrote recently with a simple question. WHY DO CATS CHASE MICE? This is a question that has been asked by many a cat lover. It can be upsetting to see your beautiful, gentle friend turn into a hunter. But don't blame your cat - it can't help itself. Although cats have been domesticated (living with humans as pets) for thousands of years, they are still predators like their relatives the lion, tiger, leopard, etc. The hunting instinct is inborn. Even if you make sure to feed your cat regularly, it will not be able to resist chasing a delicious-looking mouse!

Contest! YOUR EARTH DAY PROMISES

We're going to celebrate Earth Day for the entire month of April here on the Seymour Science blog. Our team will be writing lots of articles about our home planet - showing the beauty of nature, plants and animals, talking about how we can help our environment, and what kids can do to make a difference. When you comment on our stories, we want you to share Your Earth Day Promises. What will you do, not just on Earth Day but every day, to help protect our environment? How have you changed your behavior because of what you have learned about taking care of our planet Earth? What beauty do you see around you that inspires you to love Earth? Two lucky winners are going to receive personally autographed copies of Seymour Simon's books EARTH: OUR PLANET IN SPACE and BUTTERFLIES. And one lucky class will win a free Skype session with Seymour Simon! Everyone who participates can get a certificate signed by Seymour Simon. Here is how you enter the EARTH DAY PROMISES CONTEST: 1. Read Seymour Simon's blog every day in the month of April. Click on the yellow "comments" button at the bottom of each story and tell us your Earth Day Promise, and why it was inspired by the story. 2. You can write your Earth Day Promises on your own, or your class can write comments as a group. Class entries should tell one thing that the class is doing to honor our planet for Earth Day. (example: recycling all the paper used in class). 3. Each time you write a comment, your name is entered into the drawing for a prize. You may comment and enter as many times as you wish between April 1 and April 22 (Earth Day). 4. Or, you can enter by taking part in Seymour Simon's EARTH DAY PHOTO CONTEST. Take a digital photo showing an Earth treasure around your school or home that makes you appreciate our planet. (examples: Clouds, trees, animals, etc.). Click on "Send us Photos/Video" (in the yellow bar at the top of every page) and follow the instructions to upload it to the website. We will publish your Earth Day photos and videos on Seymour's blog, and each person who uploads a photo or video will be entered into the drawing to win an autographed book.5. VERY IMPORTANT!!: Each time your write a comment, you must tell us the following: a. Your name (first name and last initial only). b. An email address if you have one.c. The name of your teacher and the name of your school.d. What town and state you live in. If we do not know who you are, we will not be able to contact you if your name is chosen in the prize drawing! PRIZES:1. Everyone who writes a comment will be entered into a drawing to win a personally autographed copy of EARTH: OUR PLANET IN SPACE. 2. Each person who uploads a photograph or video will be entered into a drawing to win a personally autographed copy of BUTTERFLIES. 3. Every class that participates will be entered into a drawing to win a free, 45-minute Skype session with Seymour Simon. 4. Everyone who participates and gives us an email address will receive a free, downloadable certificate, signed by Seymour Simon, which commemorates their participation in SEYMOUR SIMON'S YOUR EARTH DAY PROMISES event. Seymour Simon's YOUR EARTH DAY PROMISES CONTEST starts on Sunday, April 1, so come, read, write and tell us how you are going to make a difference for our planet Earth!

Setting Up My New Aquarium

At one time, I had many freshwater tropical aquariums set up around my house. I was very much into the hobby of keeping tropical fish. I had all kinds of tropical fish in my tanks: angels, neons, barbs, tetras, guppies, white clouds, dwarf cichlids and many more. I even had several marine tanks set up and wrote a book about them called TROPICAL SALTWATER AQUARIUMS, How to Set Them Up and Keep Them Going. But over the years, I kept fewer tanks of fish and finally there were no tanks left.I haven't kept tanks for years. But I've started again. I've just set up two small freshwater aquariums. Here's what I did.I washed out the tanks thoroughly, using NO SOAP at all, just water and a clean (never used) sponge. Then I rinsed the tanks completely and set them in safe places that were strong enough to support their weights when they were full of water, gravel, plants and fish. Water weighs a lot; you should figure that an aquarium averages about 10 pounds a gallon, so a ten-gallon aquarium is going to weight about 100 pounds. I poured tap water into the aquarium and let the water age for several days. I also added a water conditioner, which helped the water age more quickly.I washed out about two pounds of gravel per gallon in a new plastic bucket (remember NO SOAP) and then poured the gravel into the aquarium. I added a filter, a small water heater and then planted a few underwater plants. After another few days I added a few fish: white clouds, platys, cherry barbs and two small catfish. So far the fish seem fine. I'll keep reporting to you about how they are doing and also show you some photographs. If you have a tropical fish tank and home or in class, write about your experiences and send me some photos too!

Writing Wednesday: Diving Deep

Welcome to WRITING WEDNESDAY! Every week there is a new opportunity to publish your own creative writing on the Seymour Science blog. This week, we are asking you to contrast two different kinds of science news stories - a firsthand account, and a secondhand account. The Facts: This week's big science news story is about James Cameron, the film director who directed both "Titanic" and "Avatar." On Monday, Cameron used a specially designed submarine to dive alone to the deepest place on Earth. The place is known as the Challenger Deep, off the coast of the Pacific island of Guam, and it is almost impossible to imagine how deep it really is. The Challenger Deep is 120 times deeper than the Grand Canyon and more than a mile deeper than the tallest mountain on Earth, Mount Everest, is tall. Only two other people have ever made this dive. In 1960, Swiss engineer Jacques Piccard and U.S. Navy Capt. Don Walsh descended to the bottom in a bathyscape (a deep-sea diving craft) called the Trieste. Read these descriptions of the two events. The first one is a firsthand account - which means that the story is being told by the person who was actually there. The second is a secondhand account - a story that is retold by someone who was not there, but has heard it from someone else. Firsthand Account (James Cameron writing on Twitter): "Just arrived at the ocean's deepest point. Hitting bottom never felt so good. Can't wait to share what I'm seeing with you."Secondhand Account (U.S. Navy website): "Only two people have ever been to the deepest part of the world ocean, and Dr. Don Walsh is one of them. In 1960 Walsh, along with Swiss inventor Jacques Piccard, piloted the U.S. Navy's bathyscaph Trieste to a spot at the bottom of the Marianas Trench known as the Challenger Deep. Inside Trieste's seven-foot diameter cabin and with more than 16,000 pounds per square inch pressure outside, Walsh relied on the knowledge and skills of the ocean engineers and marine technicians who built the craft and supported its operation." Your Assignment: Tell us about the differences between the firsthand account and the secondhand account. Contrast and compare the two stories by telling us about the main focus of each. How is the information you got from each of them alike? How is it different? When you are ready, click "comments" below and write about the differences and similarities between these two accounts.Happy writing! Photo: Mark Thiessen / National Geographic Educators: Today's Writing Wednesday is designed to use in support of CCSS Anchor Standard RI.4.6: Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event of topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided.

One Week til the Earth Day Contest Begins!

April is almost here. It is one of my favorite months, because it is the month that we celebrate Earth. If you are a regular reader of the Seymour Science blog, you know that April is the month that we all share our Earth Day Promises, about how we will care for our environment and make our planet a better and healthier place. This year we're running a contest, with multiple prizes that can be won by students from any school, in any country, in Kindergarten through 8th Grade. Each day from April 1 until April 22, we will give you a chance to write your comments about how you are helping the Earth. There will be prizes for individuals who enter, as well as for classes that enter as a group. And, we are going to have a special Earth Day Photo Contest for those of you who want to upload a photo of an Earth treasure that makes you appreciate our planet. The prizes will range from personally autographed books to a free classroom Skype session. Stay tuned this week for more information about how you can enter and what you can win. And start thinking about your Earth Day promises, because starting next Sunday, April 1, you can share them with the world!

Cool Photo: A Bald Eagle

Today's "Cool Photo of the Week" is a photograph that I took on Sunday afternoon. We were leaving our house in Columbia County, reluctantly heading back to the city, and decided to drive past Copake Lake. As we were driving along the shore, I saw a swooping motion out of the corner of my eye, as a large bird dove into the water and came out with a fish in its beak. I quickly pulled over, because many of my neighbors have told me that they have been seeing bald eagles this winter. Sure enough - my first close-up eagle sighting!

Preparing for Earth Day

Earth Day is a topic that comes up often as I travel the country, speaking in schools to thousands of children. Our planet Earth is so big and the subject so vast, that you might think that kids are overwhelmed. "What does this mean to me?" Or, "Why should I bother about Earth Day?" you might think that kids wonder. You will be surprised at what they really do say. In anticipation of Earth Day last year, I posted an invitation to kids on my blog. I wrote: "How are you contributing to the Billion Acts of Green? Tell us how you are celebrating Earth Day." And I promised to publish each child's writing to inspire other readers to do the same. We often get a dozen or so responses to one of my blog postings. But last year's invitation to be a vocal participant and advocate on Earth Day drew almost 300 responses from around the country. Here are some of the promises made by elementary students who have specific strategies for making a difference. "Our class is going green. We are recycling all our old papers." "I ride my bike or the bus to school to keep the air cleaner by not using our car." "My carbon footprint was 13.5 (not so good). To reduce my carbon footprint I will reduce, reuse and recycle." "My brother and I go out and pick up all the litter that people throw in a creek near us. There are lots of fish and frogs so when we are finished I look back and feel great." "I love trees and that's why I don't waste paper. I recycle and encourage others to care about our world like a mother would care for her newborn." "I usually refuse to use plastic silverware and cups." "I learned that it takes one step at a time and if we start now the Earth will get better sooner. If we don't start…..who will? I have a favorite Native American proverb that suggests why we, as adults, should take our lead from the children as we celebrate Earth Day: Treat the Earth well. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our children. Earth Day is April 22, 2012. I hope to get even more students involved in reusing, recycling, learning and writing about what they can do to help our Earth's environment. Tune in here tomorrow to find out how your students can participate!

A Funny Welcome for Seymour

When Seymour Simon visited Carl Sandburg Elementary School, a student named Jacob read his independent writing to welcome Seymour. Jacob's principal, Mr. Kincaid, wrote: "What a special moment that was for all of us who were fortunate enough to hear him read it to Seymour that morning in the hallway at school!" Take a look (below). We think you will agree!