Massachusetts State Flag
Massachusetts became the sixth state in the United States by ratifying the Constitution in 1788. The word Massachusetts means, “at or about the great hill.” The state ranks forty-fifth in size and thirteenth in population. Its state beverage is cranberry juice. They could toast Massachusetts’s birthday with cranberry juice.
Volleyball was invented by William G. Morgan of Massachusetts in 1895. He invented the game to be played indoors and that would provide good exercise but not as much physical contact as other sports, for example basketball.
Salem witch trials commenced in 1692. The mania concluded in the fall. Nineteen people were hanged. One man was pressed to death. Over 50 more people awaited execution, and 150 were in jail, waiting to be tried. All the living were pardoned by late 1692. Older children could read Beyond the Burning Time by Kathryn Lasky.
Telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bell’s first call was to Thomas Watson (who was in another room in the same building).His first telephone message was “Mr. Watson, come here. I want you.” The famous duo of Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas A. Watson made history again when the first transcontinental telephone call occurred on January 25, 1915. Watson was in San Francisco, California, when Bell called him from New York, New York. President Woodrow Wilson and the mayors of both cities were also part of the call. Bell also investigated causes of deafness.
Maine State Flag
Maine became the twenty-third state of the United States in 1820. Vikings explored the area around AD 1000. Originally Maine was a part of the Massachusetts colony. Augusta is the state capital, and the state nickname is the Pine Tree State. People who live in Maine are called Down-Easters. Today fishing, lumbering, and growing potatoes are strong sources of income. It is home to Acadia National Park. The moose is the state mammal. Maine is the twelfth smallest state, and it ranks as the ninth least populous state. Idea: Children could find out why and when Maine separated from Massachusetts.
Robert Goddard fired the first liquid-fueled rocket in 1926 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Prior to this launch, only solid-fueled propellents had been constructed. His work regarding different fuels and rockets became the foundation of America’s space program. Older children can see how liquid-fueled rockets work at: http://science.howstuffworks.com/rocket5.htm.
Paul Revere
William Dawes
Paul Revere and William Dawes conducted their famous horse ride at 10:00 PM in 1775. They warned their fellow patriots that the British were marching to Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. Children could read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s account of the ride, “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” at: Midnight Ride. They could learn more at: Revere and Dawes.
First recorded American earthquake occurred in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1638. Since English citizens had rarely experienced earthquakes, the colonists did not even have a word to describe their experience. Scientists today believe the earthquake was between a 6.5 to 7 on the Richter Magnitude Scale, making the earthquake one of the strongest ever in New England. Children could visit a WONDERFUL interactive site, including a map of earthquakes that have occurred today, at: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kids/.