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Near and Far

Near

These pictures were taken by Ellie using a computer microscope called Zoomy

Some bee parts

A close-up of the bee body

A small leaf

Notice the background on this picture is composed of dots.  This is actually the surface of the table which has been magnified enough to show the printing - it has a simulated woodgrain finish!

The edge of a piece of brown paper

A pebble of road grit - the kind that gets stuck to your shoes

Can you figure out his one?

Far

We also built a simple computer telescope using a webcam and some directions on Youtube.  The results were amazing!

Here is the "Tele-Cam"

A regular picture outside our window - can you make out an antenna on the hill?

First pictures using the camera and telescope

A night time shot of a distant radio antenna with lights

The same antenna during the day

Circuit Bending? Hacking your toys!

The fine folks at the Calgary Science center have initiated a side project called Local Library

Paige and Ellie were invited to be test participants.  The activities included:

• Building your own Theremin
• Demo of midi instruments
• Circuit bending

The Circuit Bending activity is very simple but great fun!  You take apart some electronic toys, preferably something that makes a noise.  Then you use a damp sponge to change the circuit and thus the sound coming from the toy.

Apart from the thrill of dismantling your favourite stuffy you also get the added benefit of making weird and wonderful sounds - no musical talent required.

Items to be fiddled with included an old keyboard, a musical greeting card, a furby along with the ever famous electronic Sponge Bob.  Imagine the tones that emerged.

Is it a plant or an animal?

I have been fighting the great battle of the lawn.  Spent most of my summer working on the deck and yards but that darn grass just never seemed to catch on.  The most progress came when we visited the Blue Grass shop to get advice.  Coming from the sunny tropical islands we did not know about the need to "de-thatch" and "aerate" with seeding and special additives. 

Feeling much better about the yards now.  While we were there at Blue Grass, Paige noticed a Venus Fly Trap plant which she instantly fell in love with.  I don't recall her ever putting so much time and attention into a plant before.  She even did some research on the Internet to find out about what they "eat" and how to maintain this strange pet.

Ellie immediately jumped on the bandwagon and decided to hunt for food for "Ferly #4" **.  In her mind, any bug would do.  Thus began a growing collection of dead flies and mosquitoes that she religiously fed to the poor plant.  Ellie had to overcome her morbid fear of bugs and insects to accomplish this task but it all worked out quite nicely. She has learned to identify different bugs and the difference between an insect and an arachnid. Arachnids are what she fears the most.

Paige then explained that the bugs need to have some substance to them so Ferly has suffered somewhat.  Happily, it is still alive and hungry.

Paige puts it in the sun and keeps the roots moist.

** By the way, Ferly #1 was actually Goldie and Splashy who sadly passed when Paige decided to "feed" them - granted, she was just 2 yrs old at the time.   Ferly #2 had survived for quite some time, even through a house move during winter.  But all beta's must come to an end. We had a funeral and got some lessons about the Circle of Life etc.  Ferly #3 passed due to my own mis-calculations about salt levels in the water - Urghh.  So here we are at Ferly #4 !

Up, up and away - the Aero Expo



Ellie at the Aero Expo

Here is one of the main aircraft used by the Calgary Police Force.  Also present were Global 1 used by Global News and a fully functional WestJet passenger aircraft.

Ellie seems to have a strong interest in aviation.  Mind you, she has a strong interest in many things so we will just need to wait and see which one comes to fruition.  Having such a wide spectrum can be quite a challenge for this type of mind.  You can spend many years trying to zero in on your "thing"because there are so many.  I hope we can guide Ellie from our own life lessons.

She can spend extended periods on Microsoft Flight Simulator and she has mastered the rudiments of takeoff, stunts and landing. 

This expo was a joint project between the SAIT aircraft technology program and the Aerospace center. 

That day they also commissioned the Lancaster bomber after years of restoration and collaboration with the folks in Nanton.

Ellie just had to get her hands on the real controls.
It's nice that they let the kids touch and feel.  There were also actual flights offered in helicopters and planes (an old DC9 clunker!)
Shows like "Flying Wild Alaska" on the Discovery Channel are giving the younger demographic a first hand view of this career.

Another Lancaster bomber can be viewed in Nanton at

http://www.bombercommandmuseum.ca/

Farmer's Market

Recently, we discovered a Farmers Market in our neighborhood.  It has quickly become a favorite destination because of the variety of goods and the connection to the sources.  So often, kids (and adults) get disconnected from the source of our food and other products because they are so nicely packaged and turned into commodities.

So much extra care is taken when products are prepared in a home by a small group.  Yes, you may pay a premium but the quality is worth it. 

Last time we picked up some Bolivian music, South American delicacies, a baby liner for shopping carts, some sno-cones and home-made hot dogs.

I'm reading a book called "Why your world is about to get a whole lot smaller" written by a chief economist for the CIBC.  He describes why buying local and places like the Farmers Markets will become more crucial in years to come as the price of oil rises due to dwindling supplies. It's good for our kids to understand where we are heading since they will be dealing with the realities.

Wolf center

This was certainly one of the most enjoyable day trips we made this year - never mind that our butts hurt for a few days after - it's a long drive from Calgary to Golden B.C. http://www.northernlightswildlife.com/

The center is quite rustic in appearance due to the environmentally concious slant on everything (including the washroom).  The information, however, is very eye-openning and enlightening.  Make sure to hang around for the "talk" that is delivered several times a day. 

The kids have been to an Equestrian rehabilitation center in the UK and Paige has a particular interest in Sharks and their conservation.  This trip fit right into that category.

Some close up shots of the inhabitants

They explain the common misconceptions about wolf behaviour.  The tour guides you through several rehabilitation centers and illustrates the care that has been taken to allow these animals to wonder freely and co-exist with their habitat.

 You can choose to sponsor an animal and find out its story.

Some wolves were donated to Yellowstone park in the US after over-hunting threw off the natural balance by practically eliminating the keystone species.

 Here are a few skulls showing the structure for different animals.

It's important to draw a distinction between wolf and coyote.  They provide a good explanation here.

"Alpha and Omega" is a great movie showing these roles in a pack 

Each wolf is affectionately named

This is a great science lesson. It also provides some social studies as we map the behaviour onto other species, even humans!

The idea of a Keystone species was a great learning experience

Art with light

This is a toy that allows kids to create art and patterns from light.  You drag the pixels in a certain direction to get the corresponding color. It allows up to 6 colors to be used in your picture.  Ellie also uses stencils to create pictures from pre-defined shapes.

Here is a video of Ellie a she proudly displays her creation!

  

Crafts - reward motivation

Ellie normally loves her schoolwork.  She greets me every day with a blow by blow commentary on what she learned, sometimes interjecting her progress in the latest video game challenge.  However, from time to time, she needs an extra incentive to stick with it - perhaps she wants to work only on her favorite subject or we went on a trip and she wants to stay in "holiday mode".  Whatever the distraction, she always has time for her craft.

This has become a nice way to keep her motivated - "one section of schoolwork then you can build one of your craft projects"

The collection of little objects that have been constructed over the years is growing so large that we had to say goodbye to a few boxes of them.  To ease the pain of sending these little projects to the great toy bin in the sky we let her take some pictures of them.

To my delight I discovered that she did some videos as well.

Here are a few demo's of her work.  The picture are too numerous to post here to we posted them in a Photobucket album at:

http://photobucket.com/ellie5000

Hexbugs and Zibbits - artificial life?

Ellie is quite fascinated with craftwork and activities which allow her to build and interact.  Here is a video showing a few collections of toys that allow her to do just that.

Hexbugs - these are little mechanical "creatures" that buzz around in a manner similar to bees in a hive or ants in a nest.  Ellie quite likes to arrange the paths or them and watch them go!  There are a few other models which are controlled with a joystick.  Some react to light and sound.  One of them even tries to find shady areas to hide in.

Zibits - This type of mini robot comes in several shapes and colors.  Each has its own sound and "channel" so that several of them can be used at the same time.  They were a great hit in a recent presentation at the local Science Museum (Smash Careers) and they were an easy segue into various principles of communication and controls. We used them to navigate an obstacel course, battle ala Sumo Wrestling then teach.

Of course, Ellie got to keep them afterwards!

How the universe works

Paige had a look at the current thinking about the "Big Bang" and the evolution of the universe.  Who knows what really took place but scientists are peeling back the layers in the mystery and they figure that they can trace the events back to when the universe was smaller than an atom and time/space did not even exist.

Here are some pictures Paige drew of the stages as they are envisioned by physicists going from nothing to the bang then the formation of the first atoms and molecules then galaxies and finally settling down to the space we see today.