Hubble Space Telescope

Starry Eyed

hubble

From “Professor Astro Cat’s Frontier’s of Space” – Last night was all about the Hubble Space Telescope.  This fine piece of machinery measures in at 43 feet by 8 feet.  Making it personal – we learned that the idea of sending a telescope into outer space was first discussed in 1923 (the birth year of both of my son’s grandmothers) and we learned that the Hubble Space Telescope (HST to those in the know) was launched in 1990 (the birth year of my son).  We thought about this:  the HST has been repaired 5 times. That means astronauts had to sync up with it (how can this be easy?) and perform delicate technical procedures.  Hmmm.  Would we want to be (1) floating around in space and (2) fiddling with a 2.5 billion dollar telescope?

Our Main Science Unit – We are about half way through the “Usborne Book of Scientists”.  We have covered astronomers, physicians, physicists, and chemists.  Right now, we are reading about botanists. I think our take-away from this book is three-fold:  (1) there are brilliant thinkers and observers EVERYWHERE, (2) brilliant thinkers stand on the shoulders of brilliant thinkers that have gone before and (3) brilliant thinkers have always had to battle (often uninformed, therefore seriously irritating) defenders of the status quo. Good book. Really good book.

The Le Fictitious Local Diner Story Problem of the day – The diner has 5 large windows that need constant cleaning (pollution on the outside, grimy fingerprints on the inside).  The “Squeaky Clean Window Washing Service” cleans the exterior windows once a month, and the interior windows once a week. If the SCWWS charges $5 per single side of a window, how much does the diner need to budget per month for window cleaning?

Last night’s music theme was “Dealer’s Choice”– About once a week, I provide my son with a list of 10 compositions. He selects 3, by writing “yes” or “no” next to the title.  I love the programs he puts together.

dealers choice

  • Rossini’s “William Tell Overture” – what’s not to like? We enjoy a recorded version with Arthur Fielder conducting.
  • Respighi’s “The Cuckoo”, from his suite, “The Birds”– a sparkling collage of the two-note cuckoo motive.
  • Leonard Bernstein’s “Mambo”, from “West Side Story” – a steamy-hot composition in the hands of TODAY’S HOTTEST CONDUCTOR, Gustavo Dudamel.  In this video he conducts the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra (Venezuela). Who wouldn’t want to be part of this energy?

Welcome to the best part of my day!

– Jane BH

Takes a Lickin’ and Keeps on Tickin’!

PROOF! They do make ’em like they used to!  Last night we read a page in  “Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space”  and learned about “Opportunity”, the NASA exploration rover sent to Mars in 2004.  It was supposed to function (take photos/collect mineral samples) for 90 days.  Well! Just in case you don’t keep abreast of all news interplanetary, “Opportunity” is STILL working! Cheers to the beyond brilliant JPL team that constructed this mighty mite!  Of course, we have already ordered a poster of this little engine that could.

 opportunity

What else we have learned from “Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space”:

  • the differences between the rocket that took the men to the moon in 1969 and the space shuttle of recent years
  • science experiments aboard the International Space Station
  • advancements in space attire

We do not want this book to end.

Concept Check-up – To study planets, it is essential to understand the difference between a solid, liquid, and gas.  All of a sudden, it occurred to me that I had no idea if my son understood the terms.  After illustrating the differences for a few nights, last night my son was presented with a list of 20 items, of which he sorted into solid, liquid, or gas categories.  Yay! Concept mastered!

Reading – We are back reading “Under the Egg”.  Now that it isn’t competing with an equally complex story plot (“The Absolute Value of Mike”) (we were overwhelmed, so we had to take a short break from both books), this novel is most intriguing. The story centers upon one particular painting of the Renaissance artist, Raphael. The plot thickened last night, when we read about the painting’s possible connection with the Monuments Men of WWII (immediately over to the iPad to look up info on the real monuments men. WHOA).  Great reading!

New Vocab – words, concepts, and locations we came across during STORIES AND STUDIES:

axis   –   cadaver   –   dissect   –   eclipse   –   patron   –   pendulum   –   probe   –   rover

symmetry   –   the Baltic Sea   –   the Mariana Trench   –   Croatia   –   Willem deKooning

Our Farmer Brown Story Problem: Farmer Brown is sponsoring a horseshoes tournament at his ranch to raise money for a local animal shelter. Farmer Brown will charge a $15 participant’s fee, so we calculated the number of horseshoe enthusiasts needed if Farmer Brown’s goal is to raise $1,000.

Last night’s music theme was “The Overture”: of course we first discussed what was meant by the term, “overture”.

  • Overture to “H.M.S. Pinafore”, by Sir Arthur Sullivan. Just under 4 minutes of jolly jauntiness. A definitive taste of the style of Gilbert and Sullivan.  I would have liked to have youtube-linked this piece because you cannot listen to it without grinning, but alas, there is not a super good video of this yet.
  • Overture to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, by Felix Mendelssohn. Over 12 minutes long, but oh so clever – worth the listening time. Get this: written when Mendelssohn was 17.
  • Overture to “The Marriage of Figaro”, by Mozart. Just over 4 minutes in length. From the sixth most performed opera in the world!  Enchanting from the first measure.

Welcome to the best part of my day!

– Jane BH