Monday, July 17
As we all know, the Wright Brothers invented the airplane. As young boys they were inspired by a toy their dad gave them. It was a toy of an early helicopter. To make it fly was easy. Just spin the blades that were on a rubber band and let go of it. When they grew up, they owned a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. There, they thought up the idea of the airplane. They went to Kittyhawk to test their ideas. When they got back to Dayton, they borrowed a field to practice on. And that's where they made the airplane.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Underground Railroad Museum
The Underground Railroad wasn't actually a railroad. Runaway slaves would be guided by people called "conductors". They would help the runaways from one safe house to another. Some escaped slaves returned to help their families get away. Some even became soldiers for the Union Army during the Civil War. Harriett Tubman went back and helped people who were strangers to her. There was a man named Henry "Box" Brown who escaped in a box like the one in the picture below. We got to go into one of the slave jails from 200 years ago. There were two floors. The men were on the top floor and the women were kept below on the first floor. It was hard to know that I was in the same place where so many people had been treat badly just because of the color of their skin.
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Hopewell Culture national park
Friday, July 15
Did you know that there were Indians in the time right after the Ice Age? One of the tribes was the Hopewell Culture. For burials, they made mounds and put the dead inside. Another tribe made a mound that looks like a snake. It's called Serpent Mound, and it has a coiled up tail and a wavy body. The mound was made of rocks, clay and dirt. The Indians leveled the ground and put rocks on it in the shape they wanted to make. Then they put the clay on top of the rocks and covered the clay with dirt so that grass would grow on it.
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The curvy body of Serpent Mount
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Did you know that there were Indians in the time right after the Ice Age? One of the tribes was the Hopewell Culture. For burials, they made mounds and put the dead inside. Another tribe made a mound that looks like a snake. It's called Serpent Mound, and it has a coiled up tail and a wavy body. The mound was made of rocks, clay and dirt. The Indians leveled the ground and put rocks on it in the shape they wanted to make. Then they put the clay on top of the rocks and covered the clay with dirt so that grass would grow on it.
The curvy body of Serpent Mount
Boonesborough
Tuesday, July 12
Fort Boonesborough was founded by Daniel Boone. He helped to build the fort. A village was inside the walls. The blacksmith was making S hooks today. They are used to adjust the height of pots over a fire. Another person was making soap bars. She told us how she does it. It takes at least 20 days to make a batch of soap. In another shop, a lady was weaving fabric. She said it takes four hours to make one yard. Think of how hard life must have been for the people in that village. I'm glad I don't live back then.
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The soap lady
Fort Boonesborough was founded by Daniel Boone. He helped to build the fort. A village was inside the walls. The blacksmith was making S hooks today. They are used to adjust the height of pots over a fire. Another person was making soap bars. She told us how she does it. It takes at least 20 days to make a batch of soap. In another shop, a lady was weaving fabric. She said it takes four hours to make one yard. Think of how hard life must have been for the people in that village. I'm glad I don't live back then.
The soap ladyKentucky Horse Park!
Monday, July 11
Today we went to the Kentucky Horse Park! It was amazing! At the Hall of Champions, we got to FunnyCide, Cigar and DaHoss, horses who won lots of important races. We also went to the International Museum of the Horse. There we saw how horses have helped people throughout the years.
We learned about an Arabian legend that says the winds joined together to make the Arabian horse. At the Breeds Barn, we saw all sorts of different horse breeds. My favorite part of the whole day was going on a horseback ride on a horse named Pocahontas.
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Funnycide
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That's me on Pocahontas
Today we went to the Kentucky Horse Park! It was amazing! At the Hall of Champions, we got to FunnyCide, Cigar and DaHoss, horses who won lots of important races. We also went to the International Museum of the Horse. There we saw how horses have helped people throughout the years.
We learned about an Arabian legend that says the winds joined together to make the Arabian horse. At the Breeds Barn, we saw all sorts of different horse breeds. My favorite part of the whole day was going on a horseback ride on a horse named Pocahontas.
Funnycide
That's me on PocahontasChurchill Downs
Friday, July 8
Believe it or not, the Kentucky Derby is not held at the Kentucky Horse Park. It is held at Churchill Downs in Louisville. The track is cared for every day. But today, it was very muddy! At the race two years ago, the track was even muddier than it is today. That must have been hard for the horses.
When a horse walks out onto the track before a race, the owners like to take a lap with their horse. So on that race day two years ago, all of the ladies and gentlemen in the beautiful clothes were walking in mud! It was so much fun learning all about this racetrack.
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Believe it or not, the Kentucky Derby is not held at the Kentucky Horse Park. It is held at Churchill Downs in Louisville. The track is cared for every day. But today, it was very muddy! At the race two years ago, the track was even muddier than it is today. That must have been hard for the horses.
When a horse walks out onto the track before a race, the owners like to take a lap with their horse. So on that race day two years ago, all of the ladies and gentlemen in the beautiful clothes were walking in mud! It was so much fun learning all about this racetrack.
Mammoth Cave
Thursday, July 7
Mammoth Cave really is mammoth! On the Historic Tour, we learned that the first people to be in Mammoth Cave were the Woodland Indians. They came to collect gypsum from the surface of the rocks. We saw the scrape marks from their tools. There's a myth about how the cave was discovered. A man was hunting when he shot and wounded a bear. He followed the bear into the cave.
After the Indians, the cave was used for saltpeter mining. There are still wooden pipes from the mining. One of the girls on a tour many years ago put out her hand to touch a what she thought was a hairy rock. It turned out to be the head of an Indian who had been killed by a falling boulder. Yuck. The cave had preserved the Indian perfectly. That was cool!
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The main entrance to Mammoth Cave
Mammoth Cave really is mammoth! On the Historic Tour, we learned that the first people to be in Mammoth Cave were the Woodland Indians. They came to collect gypsum from the surface of the rocks. We saw the scrape marks from their tools. There's a myth about how the cave was discovered. A man was hunting when he shot and wounded a bear. He followed the bear into the cave.
After the Indians, the cave was used for saltpeter mining. There are still wooden pipes from the mining. One of the girls on a tour many years ago put out her hand to touch a what she thought was a hairy rock. It turned out to be the head of an Indian who had been killed by a falling boulder. Yuck. The cave had preserved the Indian perfectly. That was cool!
The main entrance to Mammoth Cave
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