Origami n' Stuff 4 Kids: fun facts

Origami Folding Tips

Origami, from the Japanese ori (to fold) and kami (paper), began in the 6th century when Buddhist monks introduced paper to Japan. The print-and-fold crafts and easy diagrams are designed to help children with fine motor skills, directions and hand eye coordination. Some basic origami folding tips:

Print and cut out patterns carefully.
Fold with clean, dry hands.
Follow the instructions. Study the diagrams and be patient.
Be precise: fold each crease well, flattening the creases by running your fingertip over the fold.
Folding the paper away from you is easier than folding towards you.
Be creative...use your origami on greeting cards, holiday decorations, table place cards and bookmarks.

Showing posts with label fun facts. Show all posts

Color and Identify: Hawaiian Intertidal Zones

What will you see at the rocky shore?

Hawaii's intertidal zone is home to a variety of plants and animals that are well suited to the push and pull of tides. When the tide is low, rocks are exposed to the hot sun. Shellfish hug the rocks to keep moisture in. Some snails even have an operculum, a "door" that closes shut to prevent them from drying out. When the tide is high, rocks are submerged and fish, mollusks and other creatures emerge from crevices and hiding spots under rocks, free to roam. Some animals even prefer the spray zone, where waves constantly pound the shore.

Plants and animals living in the intertidal zone must also adapt to drastic changes in temperature and the level of salt in the tide pools.

Tide pools can be fun, but you must use caution when exploring. Always wear protective foot covering. Rocks can be slippery, so watch your step. Beware of animals, like urchins, that can be venomous. Avoid stepping on and destroying plants and coral. If you overturn a rock, replace it the way you found it so that the plants and animals beneath the rocks aren't exposed to sunlight and drying out. And NEVER turn your back to the waves! Always be mindful of the sea and all its creatures.

Print and color this identification sheet of Hawaii's rocky shore:

Hawaiian 'Opihi Origami

'Opihi are limpets that live on the shores of Hawaii. With their cone-shaped, squat shells, they can withstand the mightiest waves as they cling tightly to the rocks.

'Opihi have long been considered an essential part of a Hawaiian luau—'opihi pickers risk their lives to collect these prized delicacies and are sometimes swept out to sea. However, overharvesting has made this native shellfish harder and harder to find. To better understand how we can conserve our 'opihi populations for future generations, scientists have been working hard at learning about the 'opihi's life cycle, and enlisting the vital help of local communities to develop plans that will ensure that our coastlines are preserved for future generations.

There are three species of 'opihi. 'Opihi Makaiauli (blackfoot 'opihi) is found in clinging tightly to rocks in the splash zone, and can tolerate being exposed to the sun during low tides. 'Opihi 'ālinalina (yellowfoot ʻopihi) have shells with jagged edges that were used by Hawaiians as scrapers for shredding coconut meat. These need moisture, and are found in the most dangerous tidal zones where there is constant wave action. ʻOpihi kōʻele (giant or kneecap ʻopihi) is found submerged in water, and can grow up to four inches across.

PRINT AND FOLD IKI, THE LITTLEST ʻOPIHI ORIGAMI

DIRECTIONS:

1. Print Iki, the Littlest ʻOpihi origami. Cut out image along outer solid lines.

2. With printed side facing up, fold down on solid line. UNFOLD.

3. Turn over, so that the printed side is facing DOWN.
4. Fold along diagonal line as shown. UNFOLD.

5. Repeat diagonal fold on the other side. UNFOLD.

6. Your 'Opihi Origami should be creased as illustrated.

7. With printed side down, fold down, forming a "tent" along the creases.

8. Fold body up along solid line.

9. Tuck tapered end of body into shell.

Origami based on:
Iki, The Littlest 'Opihi
2nd Edition
Written and Illustrated by Tammy Yee
Windword Books 2013
ISBN: 978-1493657971

'Opihi are shellfish that live clinging to the rocky shores in Hawaii. But Iki, the littlest 'opihi, seeks adventure in the open ocean. Will he ever join the other 'opihi and learn to "stick to it"?

Squeaking Caterpillars!

At first glance, this caterpillar looks too cute to be true, like a rubber squeaky toy...

Photo by Kirby Wolfe.

To find out if it was real, I translated the video's description, which led me to Usutabiga (ウスタビガ), the Japanese name for the Saturniid moth, Rhodinia fugax. Found throughout Japan, China and North Korea, this silk moth has the amazing capacity as larvae to produce squeaking noises when disturbed. They can even squeak from inside their cocoons...

According to LiveScience.com,

"Caterpillars apparently can whistle, letting out squeaks that can fend off attacking birds, scientists have now found.

They don't whistle by puckering their lips and blowing, since they don't have lips. Instead, they blow out their sides, researchers said.

Scientists have known for more than 100 years that many caterpillars can generate clicking or squeaking noises. However, researchers have only recently begun to experimentally investigate how these noises are made and what roles they might play."

Other members of the Saturniid moth family are also known for larvae that produce clicking sounds with their mandibles (jaws) as a warning before secreting stinky chemicals, and some are covered with stinging hairs. (Warning: you should never handle a caterpillar that is covered in spines or hair, because they often contain venom that can cause a painful skin reaction.)

The eggs of the squeaky silkmoth overwinter and hatch in the spring. Caterpillars feed on oak, walnut, hawthorn, sycamore, birch and rose before spinning a pitcher-plant shaped cocoon. Adults have a 3.5-inch wingspan.

©Tammy Yee

Owl Mask (Pueo)

Pueo (Hawaiian Short-eared Owl)
Scientific name: Asio flammeus sandwichensis

What is it about owls that inspires so many myths and legends? Owls are a symbol of wisdom; their watchful eyes penetrate the darkness, seeing all. Flying by night, they are guides, messengers and navigators of the supernatural. The Romans saw owls as omens of death, while the Greeks saw owls as a sign of victory in battle. To the Hawaiians, the pueo, or Hawaiian Short-eared Owl, was worshiped as a god or a guardian spirit.

The Hawaiian Short-eared Owl is the only native owl in Hawai'i (the common barn owl was introduced in the 1950's as rodent control). Most active at dawn and at dusk (and sometimes, at mid-day), Pueo have large eyes that allow them to hunt in dim light. In fact, the eyes of owls are so large, relative to their heads, that they can't look from side to side; that's why owls have such flexible necks.

Soft, specialized feathers help the pueo to hunt in silence. Besides rodents, pueo also eat insects and rarely, birds in open, grassy fields and dry forests.

2003 Ka Palapala Po'okela Award Winner, Excellence in Children's Books

Lullaby Moon
Written by Elaine Masters
Illustrated by Tammy Yee
Music by Malia Elliot
Island Heritage Publishing, 2002

A dreamy adventure about Koa, a little Hawaiian boy who would rather play outside than fall asleep. Koa soon finds himself befriended by an owl, or Pueo, who takes him on a magical exploration of the island's wildlife. Under the watchful gaze of Lullaby Moon, Koa learns how bats, bees and green sea turtles spend their night.

Featuring boldly illustrated lift-a-flaps and a CD by Malia Elliot, of the popular performing and songwriting duo, Leon & Malia.

Origami, Math and Science

Robert Lang merges mathematics with aesthetics to fold complex origami insects and creatures from a single sheet of paper. His scientific approach helps him make folds once thought impossible -- and has secured his place as one of the first great Western masters of the art. Here he explains the history and principles behind origami, and how it is applied in engineering space telescopes, solar sails and airbags.

To learn more, visit his website: www.langorigami.com

Paper Planes: Space Shuttle

On April 17, 2012, the space shuttle Discovery made its final flight, riding piggy-back on a specially equipped 747 over the Capitol, White House, and the National Mall before touching down at Dulles International Airport. The retired shuttle's final resting home will be at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Curators plan to display the space craft in its well-loved, working state--unwashed, with cracked ceramic tiles and scorched underbelly.

Since its maiden voyage on August 30, 1984 until the completion of its final mission on March 9, 2011, Discovery has traveled more than any other aircraft, having flown 149 million miles (238 million km) in 39 missions, completed 5,830 orbits, and spent 365 days in orbit in over 27 years.

Farewell, Space Shuttle Discovery!

Space Shuttle Fun Facts
Space Shuttle Paper Model

Print and fold a flying Paper Airplane Space Shuttle Endeavour or Discovery:

SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY

SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR

Difficulty: Easy

Directions:
1. Print and cut out paper plane Space Shuttle. Fold back horizontally along A.

2. With printed side down, fold diagonally along C and D.

3. Fold tip along E.

4. Fold in half along B.

5. Note that there are two vertical lines along the fuselage, to either side of the center fold. Fold these down to open up the wings, as shown in the final sample.

6. Tape or staple fuselage as shown. Fold wing flaps up as shown...these can be adjusted as you test your paper airplane Space Shuttle.

Science: Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle Discovery Since 1981, six Space Shuttles, or STSs (Space Transportation Systems) as NASA calls them, have flown on more than 120 missions, carrying payloads weighing up to 50,000 pounds--that's as heavy as four full grown elephants! While there are no plans to launch elephants into space, there's plenty of work to do, shuttling satellites, telescopes and parts for the International Space Station (ISS) into low-Earth orbit.

First shuttle launch 4/12/1981 Credit: NASA

2.5 million parts make the STS the most complicated machine ever built, capable of withstanding extreme temperatures inside and out.

At -423 degrees Farenheit, the shuttle's liquid hydrogen fuel is the second coldest liquid on Earth (only liquid helium is colder, at -450 degrees Farenheit). When it is combined with liquid oxygen, combustion occurs, and the temperature within the main combustion chamber rockets to a staggering 6,000 degrees Farenheit. That's hot enough not just to melt iron, but to bring it to the boiling point! This chemical reaction is so efficient that the combined energy of the shuttle's three main engines at full power would equal the energy created by 13 Hoover Dams (enough power to serve 16 million people).

The Journey Home: Fresh from the STS-126 mission space shuttle Endeavour, mounted atop its modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft, flew over California's Mojave Desert on its way back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 10, 2008. Image Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas

Though every shuttle launches from Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida, there are over 50 alternate landing sites.

Fun Facts:

The External Tank is half the length of a football field; if all of its foam insulation were spread out on the ground, it would cover nearly one-half acre.
The shuttle has two Solid Rocket Boosters. Each Solid Rocket Booster is two feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty, yet weighs three times as much. Combined, they consume 11,000 pounds of fuel per second, or two million times the gas mileage of an average family car!
The Space Shuttle travels 25 times the speed of sound while in orbit. Its tires are filled with nitrogen.
Up until 2007, a software glitch prevented the shuttle from orbiting from December to January, during the year change. The original software had to be reset each New Year.
There have been six Space Shuttles: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, Endeavour and Enterprise. Discover has flown the most missions; Enterprise was built for testing only; and Endeavour was built to replace the Challenger.
More Space Shuttle Trivia from the Marshall Space Flight Center: http://www1.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/pdf/113069main_shuttle_trivia.pdf

Space Shuttle Activities:

Visit www.coloring-pages-book-for-kids-boys.com: to print and color the Space Shuttle and other cool planes:
Print and fold a Space Shuttle Paper Airplane or a Space Shuttle Paper Model:

Lady Bug-a-rama...Ladybug Origami and More...

Ladybug feeding on aphids. Photo by Greyson Orlando

The ladybug is the state insect of Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio and Tennessee. In Massachusetts, it was a group of second graders from Kennedy School in Franklin who petitioned to make the ladybug their state's official insect.

Why ladybugs so popular?

Farmers and gardeners know how aphids, mites and scales can damage plants by sucking the sap from them. Ladybugs are beneficial because both adults and larvae prey on these pests.

The most common species is the convergent ladybug, which can be recognized by the 13 spots on its red to orange wings. Convergent ladybug larva eat their weight in aphids every day, and adults eat up to 50 aphids a day. Its larger European cousin, the seven-spot ladybug, has an even bigger appetite, devouring up to 300 aphids every day.

Bug or Beetle?

Ladybugs, or ladybirds, are not bugs at all. They are actually beetles.

Bugs have needle-like mouths that they use like straws to puncture their food so they can suck out nectar, sap or animal fluids. Bugs may or may not have wings. If they do, their wings are thin, like membranes. Baby bugs look like mini adult bugs...without the wings.

Beetles have chewing mouth parts, and feed on a wide range of plants and animals. Adult bugs have hard forewings that cover and protect the thin, membranous hindwings. And beetles, unlike bugs, undergo a complete metamorphosis. Beetle larvae, which look very different from adults, must enter a pupal stage before it transforms itself into an adult with hard outer wings.

Ladybugs gather in Mill Valley, California.

Photo by Kristopher Anderson.

Fun Facts:

There are over 450 species of ladybugs in North America alone. Of these, two, the Mexican bean beetle and the squash beetle, feed on plants and are considered pests.

Ladybugs spend the winter gathering in large groups beneath rocks, in leafy litter, or in hollowed trunks. In the spring they emerge to feed and find a place to lay their eggs.

Print and fold an Origami Ladybug:

Difficulty: Easy

Directions:

1. Print and cut out Ladybug Origami along outer solid line.

2. With printed side facing down, fold in half diagonally as shown.

3a. Turn origami over.
3b. Fold wing down, as shown.
3c. Repeat on other side.

4. Turn origami over. Fold ladybug's head forward, as shown, then up, as shown.

5. Turn origami over. Fold corner of wing back, as shown.

6. Repeat on other side, folding corner of wing back. Finally, fold corner of abdomen back as shown.

More Ladybug Crafts:

The National Wildlife Federation's Ladybug Garden Rock:

Natural Suburbia's Knitted Ladybug Pattern:

Fun Facts: Hawaiian Monk Seal

Illustration by Tammy Yee

Scientific name: Monachus schauinslandi

Color a Hawaiian Monk Seal

On July 6, 2000, the residents on the island of Kauai were treated to a very special event. A baby Hawaiian monk seal, or pup, was born on the shores of Poipu beach. Yellow tape was set up around the mother and pup to keep onlookers at a safe distance. Volunteers kept a watchful eye on the seals 24 hours a day, insuring that the pair was not disturbed.

Well, you might ask, why all the hoopla? After all, California sea lions gather in rookeries by the thousands. First of all, Hawaiian monk seals usually steer clear of the populated, major Hawaiian Islands. They are usually found in the French Frigate Shoals, Northwest of the Hawaiian Islands. Secondly and more importantly, Hawaiian monk seals are endangered. Today, there are less than 1,500 Hawaiian monk seals in the entire world.

Hawaiian monk seals are one of only two mammals that are endemic, or found only in Hawaii. Adult seals weigh 400 to 600 pounds (females are generally larger) and feed on fish, squid, and crustaceans. Pups are black at birth, and grow at a rapid rate as they feed on their mother's rich milk. Mother doesn't eat the entire time that is spent nursing her pup...that means no meals for six weeks! By this time, poor hungry mom has lost almost a third of her of her weight, and the chubby pup has put on more than a hundred pounds! Imagine if your baby brother or sister weighed 150 pounds when he or she was only six weeks old.

"Winged Feet"
Hawaiian monk seals are pinnipeds (PIN-uh-pedz). Pinniped means "winged feet", and with their flippers and sleek bodies, these mammals are well-adapted to life at sea.

Illustration by Tammy Yee

Seal or Sea Lion?
True seals have no external ears, and their hind flippers can't turn forwards. Seals, like the monk seal, harp seal, and harbor seal, are very awkward on land. They drag themselves about with floppy, undulating motions. But once these blubbery pinnipeds enter the water, look out! Their torpedo-shaped bodies cut through the water with ease, and they can dive to tremendous depths. The Antarctic Weddell seal can dive to 2,000 feet and stay underwater for up to 73 minutes!

Sea lions and fur seals belong to the Sea Lion family. These pinnipeds have external ears, and they can turn their hind flippers forwards, making it easier for them to move on land. The California sea lion is the most popular of all, and is commonly seen in marine shows and circuses.

Hawaiian name: ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua, quadruped that runs in the rough seas.

Recommended reading for children:
The Hawaiian Monk Seal, by Patrick Ching. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1994.
The Story of Hina, by Patrick Ching. Island Heritage, 1999.
Sources: Macmillan Illustrated Animal Encyclopedia, Dr. Philip Whitfield, Ed. Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1984.

NOAA Monk Seal Recovery Plan
With Senator Dan Inouye at NOAA's Recovery Plan Ceremony. Painting by Tammy Yee. In the past few years, the Hawaiian monk seal population has plummeted to 1,200 individuals, making it the United States' most endangered marine mammal. The oldest living seal species, it is one of only two remaining tropical seals--the Mediterranean monk seal is also critically endangered. A third tropical seal, the Carribean monk seal, has been extinct since the 1950s.
NOAA's recovery plan, revised after intensive research, will focus on a captive care program to nutritionally supplement vulnerable juvenile female seals.

You can help the Hawaiian monk seal by:

Keeping distance from Hawaiian monk seals. Seals and pups are sometimes seen on popular beaches on the Main Hawaiian Islands--human interaction can disturb the mother-pup relationship and introduce disease.

Cutting loops from six-pack holders and other plastic items before throwing them away. Marine animals can swallow them or become entangled in the plastic holes, which may lead to death.

Disposing of unwanted fishing lines, nets and other garbage. Don't bury trash in the sand, as it will eventually be uncovered.

Educating yourself and others about the Hawaiian monk seal:
NOAA Monk Seal Recovery Plan
Star Bulletin: Saving Monk Seals

To learn more about Hawaiian monk seals and for a monk seal dot-to-dot, visit the Native Hawaiian Library Other online resources: The Waikiki Aquarium Hawaiian Monk Seal Research, The Seal Conservation Society or Earthtrust

School paper got you down? Need info on wildlife? Visit The Animal Diversity Web

©2011 Tammy Yee

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