Michigan State Flag
Michigan became the twenty-sixth state of the United States in 1837. The state borders four of the five Great Lakes. It has more coastline than any other state except Alaska. The state capital is Lansing, and its nicknames are the Wolverine State and the Lake State. It ranks twenty-third in area and eighth in population. Children could make a map of Michigan and the Great Lakes it borders.
Incandescent light bulb was patented by Thomas Edison in 1880. The patent number is 223898. Idea: In a drawing a light bulb above someone’s head indicates the person has developed a new idea. Children could draw light bulbs. They could surround the light bulbs with ideas of their own for new inventions. They could see his patent at: Light Bulb Patent.
National Recording Registry in 2003 announced its first 50 selections of sound recordings to be preserved. The National Recording Preservation Board, a part of the Library of Congress, chooses 25 recordings each year. One of the recordings is the 1929 “Light’s Golden Jubilee,” celebrating Edison’s light bulb invention. Children can find the names of all the artists and works at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/record/nrpb/registry/. They can even listen to the works.
Astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee were killed in the Apollo I fire in 1967. The three were in a training simulator when a spark set off a fire in an oxygen-rich capsule. The hatch could not be opened quickly enough, and the three perished. NASA took two years off to improve the safety of the space program. Children could learn about Apollo I at: Apollo I.
Galileo
Galileo in 1613 may have seen Neptune, but he probably did not realize what it was. Children could learn more facts at: Neptune.
Coast Guard was created by Congress in 1915. It was derived from the Life Saving and Revenue Cutter Service. The Coast Guard has three goals: maritime safety, maritime security, and maritime stewardship.
Louis Brandeis
Louis Brandeis became the first Jew to be appointed to the Supreme Court in 1916. An Associate Justice, he served from 1916 to 1939. Before he became a Supreme Court Justice, he often took law cases for causes that were important to him. Many times he took no pay for these cases. He was called the “People’s Lawyer.” Children can learn more at: Louis Brandeis.
Christa McAuliffe
Challenger Space Shuttle disintegrated in 1986. Just 73 seconds into its flight, the spacecraft broke into pieces over the Atlantic Ocean. The accident temporarily stopped the American space program, and it revamped space travel safety requirements. Killed were Christa McAuliffe (the first teacher in space), Francis Scobee, Gregory Jarvis, Ronald McNair, Michael Smith, Judith Resnick, and Ellison Onizuka. Children could learn more about the astronauts at: Challenger They could also read The Challenger Disaster by Tim McNeese.
Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces
National Puzzle Day is today! This day celebrates all kinds of puzzles: jigsaw, crossword, mechanical, sudoku, word search, maze, logic, hidden object, and more. Children could enjoy their favorite types of puzzles. Idea: Could children incorporate two or more puzzles into one activity? For example, they could print a photo, cut it into jigsaw pieces, and then incorporate some of the photo elements into a word search.
Kansas State Flag
Kansas became the thirty-fourth state of the United States in 1861. Kansas is known chiefly for its agricultural products, including wheat and cattle. The state capital is Topeka. Kansas ranks fifteenth in area and 34th in population. The geographic center of the United States is located near Lebanon, Kansas. The state animal is the buffalo. Children could visit Kansas. Idea: The sunflower is the state’s official wild flower. Children could toast and eat sunflower seeds.