Operation: Ribbit

I have a new pet around the house and his name is Eggy.  It arrived just today! He is a tadpole.  The great thing about Eggy is that he lives in water his whole life, and when he grows his front arms, we can stop feeding him.  The reason for that is because his tail will be shrinking inside his body and that’s where he’ll get his nutrition.

 
Here is a picture of us preparing the tank. I am adding the blue sand to the bottom, and the little plant decoration is already added.  My little brother Eli is with me.

And here is a picture of Eggy himself. He is in the middle, next to the tree.  Eggy is a great pet and I hope he lasts a long time. We are also going to observe Eggy’s growth and we’ll keep doing blog entries on him so you can follow his progress.

Miles’s Science Encyclopedia Part Six

Inventors and Their Inventions:

Have you ever wondered who put the light in lightbulb?  Or who put the auto in automobile?  Well, today we’re going to learn about that. 

Let’s start with an early and well-known inventor.  Presenting the guy who made the first moveable type and printing press to go with it — Johann Gutenberg!  This happened in 1438.  This guy made the first printed Bible.  He lived in Germany.  Little is known about this person, even his date of birth.

Now, here’s another to add to your collection.  This is the guy who put the light in lightning.  Introducing — Benjamin Franklin!  This guy invented bifocal spectacles.  In other words, a new kind of glasses.  We know this happened in 1784.  How about we learn how these work?  When people who wear these look down to read, they see through the near part of the lens, and when they look up, they see the far part of the lens.  This is a diagram of bifocal spectacles.

Here is another inventor that’s pretty popular.  Introducing the guy who put the light in light bulb — Thomas Alva Edison!  Now the light bulb was the most famous of all his inventions.  In fact, he patented, get this, over 1,000 inventions in his life.  Some of his other famous inventions are the phonograph and the kinetiscope.  This is Edison in his lab.

Takeoff! Here’s our final inventor.  Or should I say, inventors? 

These two boys made a really successful flight.  Introducing — The Wright Brothers!  In 1903, the Wright Brothers made their first successful flight in Kittyhawk, North Carolina.  Before they made the flight, they were just normal bike mechanics.  But if you just believe in yourself, you can do the best things. 

The Miles’s Science Encyclopedias were pretty educational.  Next time, we’re going to learn about me.

Miles’s Science Encyclopedia Part Five

Geology:

I don’t mean to call you a rock head, but today we’re talking about rocks.  Now if you ask me, you think rocks are pretty dull.  But rocks are pretty amazing.  When you see the pictures, you’ll think totally differently about rocks.  I mean, they can blow up or be huge.  But one thing about rocks, they’re not like your regular rock and roll!

Let’s start with huge rocks.  Now, if you’ve ever been to Arizona, you might have heard of a really big landmark — Grand Canyon!  This place is huge.  It was formed by a river.  Now here’s a picture of it:

 

This place is made of “sedimentary” rock.  Sedimentary rock is one of the three kinds of rocks.  This kind of rock was formed from sand, mud or clay that rivers washed down from the land into the sea.  It was packed down on the ocean floor in layers.  Then it started to form mountains.

Next you guys are going to learn about “igneous” rocks.  Igneous rocks mostly come from volcanos.  And speaking of volcanos, here’s a picture of Kiluaea, located on the Big Island of Hawaii.

 

Here’s a bit of volcano Hawaiian: The big chunky pieces of lava are called aa and oozy lava is called pahoehoe. 

Here’s a dash up on the last kind of rock, which is called “metamorphic.” Metamorphic rocks are rocks that used to be other kinds of rocks.  Now, if you’re looking for some more information on metamorphic rocks, here’s a chart that explains different kinds.

Now I don’t think this goes along with this, but I’m going to put it in anyway.  If you’ve watched “Avatar,” you might have noticed Earth Bending.  It’s a kind of skill that really takes a lot of time to master.  Now, if you think they can create huge rock slides and lift huge rocks without using their hands, you’re right!  In fact, here’s a picture of Earth Bending right now:

Now I bet you see how cool rocks are.  Tune in next time for the last science encyclopedia – Inventors!  After that, we’re going to do a little bit about me. 

Miles’s Science Encyclopedia Part Four

Archaeology

I know you’re wondering, what would happen if the past could speak to us?  Well, it seems it can speak to us in a way.  People known as archaeologists dig up amazing things that piece together the past in a way.  They find things such as mummies and temples.

Now, maybe we should take a little time travel trip to see what it was like back when the Mayans and the Ancient Egyptians were around.  Whoosh!  Okay, we’re in the time of the Maya.  Man, these guys were real astronomers.  And speaking of astronomers, Mayan Temples are actually observatories for the stars.  Okay, I know you won’t want to hear this, but I want to tell you something gross.  The Maya actually sacrificed, get this, blood! 

Woosh! Okay, here’s a popular country– Egypt!  Ancient Egypt was a very ceremonial country.  Now what I mean by that is that it had religion that couldn’t be found anywhere else.  In case you’re wondering what these gods were, here’s a list of all the gods and what they are of.

Whoosh!  Okay, one last culture.  This one’s going to be a little modern, though.  Ancient Rome!  Now, the first part of this you should know is that some of these guys were real fighters. A fighter in ancient Roman times was called a gladiator.  Now, there are a couple of different kinds of gladiators.  Some had nets and some had horses.  They usually fought in an arena called The Coliseum.  They were also taught in gladiator school. 

Another thing that you should know is that The Coliseum  also had animal fights.  Sound dangerous?  Well, it was, especially when they used lions.  Some parts of ancient Rome were actually like we have.  What I’m meaning is that it had inventions we had.  Take jacuzzis, for instance.  They had heated baths.  And for all you yo-yo lovers, yo-yos go way back to Ancient Roman times and even further back. 

Miles’s Science Encyclopedia Part Three

Paleontology

Now, I know you’ve always wondered what lived on the Earth before us.  So this article is going to be about creatures of long ago. 

 We should go back to the Triassic Period, about 220 million years ago.  It is the first period where dinosaurs first began to appear on Earth.  Dinosaurs including Coelophysis and Plateosaurus lived during this time.  Plus, creatures that weren’t dinosaurs lived at this time, including Cynognathus, a mammal-like reptile.

Whoosh!  Now, we’re in the Jurassic Period, 140 million years ago.  Creatures such as Allosaurus, which was a meat-eater, and Brachiosaurus, which was a plant-eater, lived at this time.  Dinosaurs got way bigger at this time.  In fact, the biggest dinosaurs were in a group called the Sauropods.  Sauropods includes  Camasaurus and Diplodocus. 

Whoosh! Now, finally we are in the Cretaceous Period, about 70 million years ago, the time of the world’s biggest dinosaur ever — Tyrannosaurus Rex! Man, this was a really really big guy.  In fact, its jaws were  home to 50 to 60 blade-like teeth.

This is a picture of a T-Rex fossil skeleton.  This was photographed at the Natural History Museum in New York City.  The workers who made this blog are in the picture at the base of the skeleton.

The dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago. 

Next time, we’re going to do another big dig – archeology! 

Miles’s Science Encyclopedia Part Two

Astronomy:

Outer space is amazing.  When you think about space, you usually think about the sun, the moon and the stars.  But actually there’s way more to that than meets the eye.  For example, you thought the only planet in the whole universe was Earth?  But actually there are nine planets in our Solar System. 

Here is a color picture of Jupiter.   Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun.  It also has a huge red spot, which is actually a hurricane.  Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar System

Now, our Solar System is in the galaxy The Milky Way.  Here’s a picture of a spiral galaxy. The Milky Way looks like it.
 

Not only can you find pictures of outer space on the Internet or in books and such, but scientists are actually launching spacecraft into outer space to get snapshots of The Milky Way.   Here is a picture taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.  It is part of the Eagle Nebula.

Thank you for reading Miles’s Science Encyclopedia!  Next time, we check out the biggest dig. Paleontology!

Miles’s Science Encyclopedia

Part One

Biology:

There are a wide variety of animals and plants around the world.  Some of them are endangered and some are thriving. Some have scales and some have skin.  In fact, you might not have noticed it, but you’re an animal, too!

Let’s start with reptiles. Reptiles include snakes, lizards and crocodiles.  In fact, you thought dinosaurs were reptiles, but they aren’t!  They were actually related to birds! 

Next let’s go with birds.  Chickens,  turkeys and ostriches can’t fly, but birds have many special adaptations to their environments.  For example, Archeopteryx, one of our first birds, was specially adapted for a forest environment.  And Emperor Penguins are designed especially for very cold environments in Antarctica.  This is a picture of an ostrich, the fastest land bird in the world.

Now, you’re forgetting yourself, because you are a mammal!  All mammals drink milk from their mothers when they are newborns, just like you!  And, just like birds and reptiles, they are adapted for their environments, too.  For example, horses have hooves to adapt to their environment.  And how could a tiger catch prey if it didn’t have claws? Whales are mammals, too, though you may have thought they were fish.  This is a Beluga Whale.

Finally, we’ll do fish.  Glub glub glub.  All fish live in oceans, lakes and rivers.  But one kind of fish is a little unusual.  The Mudskipper is sometimes a fish out of water.  Judging by its name you’d think it sometimes lives in mud.  Well, you’re right!  Sharks are a real T-rex of the deep.  And some have seven rows of razor sharp teeth, plus extras underneath.  This shark was photographed at the Baltimore Aquarium.

 Thank you for checking out this science encyclopedia on biology.