Arkansas became the twenty-fifth state of the United States in 1836. Hernando de Soto explored the area in 1541. Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet visited the region in 1673. Henri de Tonti built Arkansas Post in 1686. The capital is Little Rock, and the state’s nickname is the “Land of Opportunity.” Its state gem is the diamond. Arkansas ranks 29th in area and 34th in population. Children can visit an Internet site at: Arkansas. Children can print and color an activities page about Arkansas at: Crayola Arkansas.
Magna Carta was signed in 1215. King John I was forced to sign the document in Runnymede, England. Written in haste and in Latin, the Magna Carta was the first English document to outline human rights. Only four originals of the document still exist, and one copy resides in the National Archives in Washington, DC. Older children can read a translation at: Magna Carta.
Ben Franklin flew his famous kite in 1752, demonstrating that lightning carries an electrical current. Idea: Actually Franklin was lucky to survive the lightning. Older children could read about the experiment at: https://www.fi.edu/benjamin-franklin/kite-key-experiment. Children could learn about lightning and thunder at: Lightning and Thunder. Children could locate more information on lightning and its dangers.
Charles Goodyear patented vulcanized rubber in 1844. He received Patent #3633, and he stabilized rubber by heating the rubber and adding sulfur. However, he made little money from the process. In 1898 the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was named after him. Children can learn how vulcanized rubber is produced at: Rubber.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park was created in 1934. Because the park hovers on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, it is close to large centers of population. Over eight million people visit the park each year. People lived in the area prior to its becoming a park. Over 6,000 tracts of land had to be purchased before the area could be declared a national park. Children can visit a website at: http://www.nps.gov/grsm.