Origami n' Stuff 4 Kids

Crafts Around the World: Italy

Buon giorno! Print these paper models of Constantine's Arch and the Roman Colosseum. Cut out along outer solid line, then use tape or glue on tabs to assemble models. Who said Rome wasn't built in a day?

Colosseum. Photo by Tammy Yee.

The Colosseum
The Roman Colosseum, or Flavian's Amphitheatre, reflects the genius and grandeur of ancient Roman architecture and remains one of Rome's major attractions.

Construction on the Colosseum began almost 2,000 years ago during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian in 70 AD. Vespasian never saw the completion of his arena--at the time of his death in 79 AD, construction had reached the third level.

The top level was finally finished and inaugurated by Vespasian's son, Titus, in 80 AD. The inaugural games were a spectacle. 9,000 wild animals were slaughtered to the roar of spectators, and the arena was flooded with water to stage mock sea battles.

Colosseum. Photo by Tammy Yee.

Years later, Vespasian's younger son, the Emperor Domitian remodeled the Colosseum, creating a maze of underground tunnels and cages for gladiators, slaves and animals, and increasing its seating capacity by adding an upper gallery.

In its heyday the Colosseum sat 50,000 people who gathered to watch gladiatorial games, battle re-enactments, executions and staged animal hunts. Rhinos, hippos, elephants, lions and tigers were brought from across the known world for entertainment.

The Arch of Constantine. Photo by Tammy Yee.

Constantine's Arch
Beside the Roman Colosseum is a stately arch, 70 feet tall and 84 feet wide. Erected in 315 AD, the arch commemorates Constantine I's victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge. Inscriptions on both sides of the arch hail Constantine's military prowess and righteousness:

IMPERATORI CAESARI FLAVIO CONSTANTINO MAXIMO
PIO FELICI AVGVSTO SENATVS POPVLVSQVE ROMANVS
QVOD INSTINCTV DIVINITATIS MENTIS
MAGNITVDINE CVM EXERCITV SVO
TAM DE TYRANNO QVAM DE OMNI EIVS
FACTIONE VNO TEMPORE IVSTIS
REMPVBLICAM VLTVS EST ARMIS
ARCVM TRIVMPHIS INSIGNEM DICAVIT

To the Emperor Caesar Flavius Constantinus, the Greatest,
pious, fortunate, the Senate and people of Rome,
by inspiration of divinity and his own great mind
with his righteous arms
on both the tyrant and his faction
in one instant in rightful
battle he avenged the republic,
dedicated this arch as a memorial to his military victory.

Print and Color Constantine's Arch and the Colosseum:

Print and Build Constantine's Arch and the Colosseum:

Print and Color the Flag of Italy:

Super Science: Origami Folding Robot

How long before scientists will be making Transformers robots? This little contraption has been programmed to fold itself into a boat or an airplane.

For more information, visit Discovery News.

June 14: Flag Day

June 14 is National Flag Day in the United States, a day to commemorate the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as our flag.

Stony Hill School. Photo by Kevin Hansen.

The idea of a special day honoring our flag has been around at least since 1885, when schoolteacher Bernard J. Cigrand held the first celebration of the flag's 108th birthday at Stony Hill School in Wisconsin. Over the years, Mr. Cigrand became an advocate for the recognition of Flag Day, later becoming the president of the American Flag Day Association.

However, it wasn't until 1916 that June 14 was officially proclaimed as Flag Day by President Woodrow Wilson. National Flag Day was later established by an Act of Congress in August, 1949.

On the week of June 14, the U.S. flag will be displayed on all government buildings, and U.S. citizens are encouraged to display the flag as well.

You can print and color your own Stars and Stripes here.

©2010 Tammy Yee

World Environment Day: Biodiversity

Many Species. One Planet. One Future.

June 5th is World Environment Day (WED), established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 as a day to highlight the political, social and economic problems of the global environment.

2010's theme focuses on biodiversity and will start with the Environmental and Conservation Conference in Rwanda. In addition to hosting three days of keynote speeches addressing strategies to restore "forests and freshwaters to mangroves and wetlands" through sustainable development and measures to combat poverty, the Rwandan government has organized a community tree planting involving 10,000 participants.

In North America, the city of Pittsburgh has been chosen to host the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Click here for a list of WED activities for the entire family.

What is biodiversity and why is it important?

Biodiversity is the rich variety of life on earth. This includes plants, animals and even the tiniest microorganisms, creatures that can only be seen under a microscope.

Biodiversity is more than just preserving wildlife so that our grandchildren can enjoy gorillas, whales and tigers. The environment is very complex, and even the tiniest creatures play very important roles.

In Hawaii, scientists dangle from steep rock cliffs hundreds of feet off the ground to hand-pollinate a rare plant, the alula (Brighamia insignis). Why? Because in nature, flowering plants are pollinated by birds and insects--this is how plants reproduce and thrive. In the case of the alula, its natural pollinator, possibly a small native moth, has gone extinct.

This means that without the scientists' help, the alula plant will also go extinct (left).

What are keystone species?

Keystone species is a species--plant, animal or otherwise--that is so important to an ecosystem that its removal will have a dramatic effect on the surrounding environment.

The sea otter is an example of a keystone species. Sea otters feed on urchins, which in turn feed on kelp. Without sea otters, urchins are free to reproduce, eating their way through kelp forests and thus destroying vital habitat for fish and shellfish.

Read more about kelp forest ecocsystems: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/about/ecosystems/kelpdesc.html

Fold an origami sea otter.

How does biodiversity affect ME?

We always hear about how little is known about the rainforest and the potential forest remedies that will be lost with its destruction. What most of us don't know is that many of our life-saving medicines already come from plants and animals found in nature.

Here's a short list of some of the many drugs that have their origin in nature:

ARA-C, to treat cancer: Caribbean sponge

Aspirin, used for fever and inflammation: meadowsweet and willow bark

Calcimar, for osteoporosis: Coho salmon

Captopril, to lower blood pressure: Brazilian arrowhead viper

Codeine, a painkiller: poppy

Digoxin, vital in treating patients with heart failure: woolly foxglove

Integrelin, to treat heart patients: southeastern pygmy rattlesnake venom

Lidocaine, an anesthetic frequently used in dentistry: barley

Quinine, used to treat malaria, and Quinidine, to regulate heart rhythms: Peruvian quinine tree

Tubocurarine, used as a muscle relaxant in surgery: curare vine, Chondodendron tomentosum

Vincristine, used to treat cancer: Madagascar periwinkle

Warfarin, used to prevent blood clots: sweet clover

In fact, scientists are urging the protection of the deadly cone snail, known for killing unwary swimmers, because they hope to find uses for its venom in the treatment of pain, heart disease and spinal cord injury.

Here's an article about medicines from unusual animal sources: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=52324

And an article about pharmaceutical plants: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/3293327/For-purely-medicinal-purposes.html

AND a cool page about endangered birds: http://www.ornithology.com/endangered.html

Origami Biodiversity

Visit our Animal Projects Page for a list of cool animal crafts, articles and origami:

Happy World Environment Day Card

This year's theme. "Many Species. One Planet. One Future," focuses on the diversity of life on Earth. Events across the world will feature organized clean-ups, exhibits, film festivals and more.

Print (on recycled paper) and fold an Environment Day card:

Flags of the World: United States of America

Color the flag of the United States of America:

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