Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands National Park was created in 1964. Located in southeastern Utah, the Park encompasses over 300,000 acres. The Green River combines with the Colorado River in the park, creating large canyons. Petroglyphs can be found in several locations. Children can visit the park’s website at: Canyonlands.
Luna 2, a Soviet unmanned spacecraft, was launched in 1959. On September 14, 1959, it became the first spacecraft to land on the moon. It discovered that the moon had no magnetic field.
Crew of STS-47
Fiftieth Space Shuttle Mission was launched in 1992. The crew spent seven days in space. The flight provided several firsts: Mae Jemison became the first African American woman in space; Mamoru Mohri was the first Japanese scientist to go into space; Mark Lee and N. Jan Davis were the first married couple to fly in a spacecraft. Children could view a timeline of the Space Shuttle missions at: Space Shuttle Missions.
Richard Jordan Gatling (born Hertford County, North Carolina, 1818; died New York, New York, February 26, 1903) was an inventor. He invented mainly items to improve agriculture, including a steam plow and a wheat drill. However, he is most known for the Gatling gun, the first machine gun.
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens (born James Cleveland Owens in Oakville, Alabama, 1913; died Tucson, Arizona, March 31, 1980) was an athlete. He won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany. He established eleven world records in track and field. Children could read Jesse Owens: Gold Medal Hero by Jim Gigliotti.
Valerie Tripp (born Mt. Kisco, New York, 1951) is the author of at least 31 books. She wrote quite a few of the books in the American Girl series.
International Chocolate Day is today! Perhaps this day was chosen because it is also Milton Hershey’s birthday. Anyway – S’Mores? Brownies? Chocolate ice cream? Children can learn how chocolate is made at: Chocolate.
United States capital was established temporarily in New York in 1788 by the Constitutional Convention. The city remained the capital until August 12, 1790. The capital moved back to Philadelphia before it finally moved to Washington, DC. The United States capital actually resided in nine locations before remaining in Washington, DC.
Star-Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key during an attack on Fort McHenry in 1814. The melody was composed by John
Stafford Smith, a British composer, for another song. The song became the national anthem by Presidential decree in 1916 and adopted by Congress in 1931.
Velcro was patented in the United States by George de Mestral in 1955. He received patent number 2717437. The word Velcro is mashup of two French words, velour (velvet) and crochet (hook). His invention was seen to have limited uses until NASA started using it in a number of ways. Now Velcro is extremely popular. Children could make a list of things that use Velcro. For example, some shoes have Velcro closings. Children can read about George de Mestral and Velcro at: Velcro.
Florence Atwater (born Chicago, Illinois, 1896; died Chicago, Illinois, August 23, 1979) cowrote children’s books with her husband Richard Atwater. Their book Mr. Popper’s Penguins received a 1939 Newbery Honor Award.
Roald Dahl (born Llandaff, South Wales, Great Britain, 1916; died Oxford, England, November 23, 1990) wrote books for both children and adults. He wrote among other works James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Children can visit a website devoted to him at: Roald Dahl.
Milton S. Hershey (born Derry Township, Pennsylvania, 1857; died Hershey, Pennsylvania, October 13, 1945) developed the Hershey Bar. His career began in Chicago and New York where he made and sold caramels. In 1905 he concocted the idea of the Hershey Bar and returned to Pennsylvania. There he built his chocolate factory. Children could read Chocolate by Hershey: A Story about Milton S. Hershey by Betty Burford.
Carol Kendall (born Bucyrus, Ohio, 1917; died Lawrence, Kansas, July 28, 2012) was a children’s author. One of her most famous books is The Gammage Cup, a 1960 Newbery Honor Book. She also wrote The Whisper of Glocken. Children can learn more at: Carol Kendall.
Else Holmelund Minarik (born Denmark, 1920; died Sunset Beach, North Carolina, July 12, 2012) wrote at least 40 books for children, including the Little Bear series, illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Children can learn more at: Else Holmelund Minarik.
Walter Reed (born Gloucester County, Virginia, 1851; died Washington, DC, November 22, 1902) was an army physician. He conducted important research regarding yellow fever.
Arnold Schoenberg (born Vienna, Austria, 1874; died Brentwood, California, July 13, 1951) was a composer. He wrote atonal music. Eventually he developed a twelve tone system. Idea: Students could listen to some recordings of his music. Can they tell the difference between his music and music of other composers?
Mildred D. Taylor (born Jackson, Mississippi, 1943) is a children’s author. She wrote among other works Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, which received the 1977 Newbery Medal. She also received numerous Coretta Scott King Awards: in 1982 for Let the Circle Be Unbroken, in 1988 for The Friendship, and in 2002 for The Land. She also earned Jane Addams Book Awards: in 1976 for Song of the Trees, in 1977 for Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, in 1982 for Let the Circle Be Unbroken, and in 1996 for The Well: David’s Story. In 2002 her book The Land received the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction. She received the 2021 Children’s Literature Legacy Award from the American Library Association for her body of works.
Boston Lighthouse
First United States lighthouse, located on Little Brewster Island in Boston Harbor, started operating in 1716. It was attacked by both the Americans and the British during the Revolutionary War. The “new” lighthouse was constructed on the same location in 1783. A National Historic Landmark, it continues to work today. Children can learn more at: First Lighthouse.