Martin Luther King Day Is a National Holiday

 Events
Jan 192026
 

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King Day is a national holiday. The holiday is the third Monday in January. Martin Luther King, Junior’s birthday is January 15, 1929. He was assassinated in 1968. A holiday in his honor was first proposed in 1968. It became law in 1983 when President Ronald Reagan signed the document. It was first observed January 20, 1986. Some states fought the idea, and it was first observed in all 50 states in 2000. Lately people have proposed that the day become a day of service and not just a holiday. Some organizations paint/repair community buildings. Others improve parks and highways. Others work with charity groups. Children could learn more about the Martin Luther King Day of Service at: http://mlkday.gov/.

Singapore Celebrates its Kite Festival

 Events
Jan 192026
 

Singapore celebrates its kite festival. Singapore is a country of one large island and fifty smaller islands. Located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, it sits between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Colonized by the British, Singapore today is independent and an important commerce and transportation center. Idea: Children could make and fly their own kites.

New Horizons Was Launched in 2006 to Fly by Pluto and its Moons

 Events
Jan 192026
 
New Horizons

New Horizons

New Horizons was launched in 2006 to fly by Pluto and its moons. The unmanned spacecraft flew closest to Pluto on July 14, 2015. The craft then studied Pluto’s five moons: Charon, Nix, Hydra, Styx, and Kerberos. After its work around Pluto was done, it was given a new mission, to study objects in the Kuiper Belt. It conducted a flyby of (486958) 2014 MU69 on January 1, 2019. After it has passed through the Kuiper Belt, it will study interstellar space. Children could learn a great deal more at: New Horizons.

Birthdays

 Birthdays
Jan 192026
 

Paul Cezanne (born Aix-en-Provence, France, 1839; died Aix-en-Provence, France, October 22, 1906) has been declared the “father of modern painting.” He did not become famous until after his death. He tended to convey the emotion of the object painted rather than its physical appearance. Children could visit a website at: http://www.paul-cezanne.org/.

Alice Eastwood (born Toronto, Canada, 1859; died San Francisco, California, October 30, 1953) was a botanist. She studied botany in Europe and in the United States. In 1890 she took a job at the herbarium of the California Academy of Sciences. From 1894 to 1943 (when she retired) she was head of the department of botany. She collected and traded specimens of numerous plants from the western United States. Children could learn more at: Alice Eastwood.

Lisa Campbell Ernst (born Bartlesville, Oklahoma, 1956) has written or illustrated at least 30 books for children. Her works include Sylvia Jean, Drama Queen and The Gingerbread Girl.

Pat Mora (born El Paso, Texas, 1942) writes books for children, young adults, and adults. She pays particular attention to the Latino community, the importance of literacy, and the value of multilingualism. She created El dia de los ninos/ el dia de los libros, a day to share books with children and improve literacy. The American Library Association cohosts this yearly event on April 30th. She has written about 39 books, many published in both English and Spanish. Her books include A Birthday Basket for Tia and The Night the Moon Fell. Children can visit her website: Pat Mora.

Edgar Allan Poe (born Boston, Massachusetts, 1809; died Baltimore, Maryland, October 7, 1849) was a poet and a writer. His most famous works include the poem The Raven and the tale The Gold Bug. Idea: Older children enjoy a choral reading of The Raven. Many of his works can be found at: Project Gutenberg. Children can learn more about Poe at: Edgar Allan Poe.

James Watt (born Greenock, Scotland, 1736; died Heathfield, England, August 19, 1819) was an inventor and a civil engineer. While he did not invent the steam engine, he did make it more practical. The electrical unit, the watt, is named in honor of him. Idea: Children could look at different types of light bulbs and find the wattage. They could then discover the relationships between watts and brightness.