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September 1st, 2008

Why can’t ostriches fly?

Kids ASK! about Pets & Animals

According to scientists, a bird that weighs more than 18kg will not be able to fly since it could not have enough muscles to carry it off the ground. Since ostriches are very heavy, weighing up to 150kg, they can only stay on the ground.

Do not worry though, because an ostrich can still get away from its enemies. With its two-toed leg, it can run up to 72km/hr – even faster than lions. It can also defend itself with its sharp and heavy claws.
Source: Miller, S. S. (2001). Bizarre Birds. New York: F. Watts.

For more information, here are some recommended library books on bizarre birds and birds in general:

bizarre-birds.jpg
Bizarre birds by Sara Swan Miller
Publisher: New York: F. Watts, c2001
Summary: Discusses several species of birds that have unusual appearances, habitats, or behavior, such as the ostrich, jacana, and toucan.
Call No.: J 598 MIL

bird-class.jpg
The bird class by Rebecca Stefoff.
Publisher: Tarrytown, N.Y. : Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, c2008
Summary: Explores the habitats, life cycles, and other characteristics of organisms in the bird class.
Call No.: J 598 STE

ostrich.jpg
Ostrich : the world’s biggest bird by Natalie Lunis
Publisher: New York : Bearport Pub., c2007.
Summary: Examines the life of an ostrich, including how it escapes from danger, what it eats, where it lives, and how it raises its young.
Call No.: J P 598.5 LUN

ostriches.jpg
Ostriches by William John Ripple
Publisher: Mankato, Minn. : Capstone Press, c2005
Call No.: J P 598.5 RIP

usborne.jpg
The Usborne little book of birds by Sarah Khan
Publisher: London : Usborne, 2008
Call No.: J 598 KHA

All websites were last accessed on 1 September 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use. All book summaries were taken from the book descriptions. All images were extracted from www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

sieu-pin.JPGAnswered by Mr Lim Sieu Pin
Children’s Librarian
Children’s Services

Posted by Ms Elizabeth Lee
Children’s Librarian
Children’s Services

Found this post interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

Filed under ..Children, Pets & Animals Comments (0)
3,508 views
September 1st, 2008

Can you get pink eye by looking at someone’s eyes?

Kids ASK! about Myths & Facts

Back in my school days, whenever a kid turned up for school wearing sunglasses, we knew immediately to avoid that person. Whispers and rumours were spread that we should not look at that kid’s eyes for any reason and avoid all contact as well. Even one quick glance into his or her eyes would assure anyone of being in the same boat with the poor kid.

So, is this medical condition, conjunctivitis, commonly known as pink eye, really spread from human to human, with just one rapid look into the infected eye?

“A child can get pinkeye by touching an infected person or something an infected person has touched, such as a used tissue. In the summertime, pinkeye can spread when kids swim in contaminated water or share contaminated towels. It also can be spread through coughing and sneezing. Doctors usually recommend keeping kids diagnosed with contagious conjunctivitis out of school, day care, or summer camp for a short time.

Someone who has pinkeye in one eye can also inadvertently spread it to the other eye by touching the infected eye, then touching the other one.”
Source: (2007, January). Pinkeye (Conjunctivitis). Retrieved September 1, 2008, from KidsHealth Web site: http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/
bacterial_viral/conjunctivitis.html

So, as long as there’s no direct contact with the infected eye, water droplets or nasal fluids, spreading of the pinkeye condition will not occur.

For more information, here are some recommended library books on eyes:

sight.jpg
Sight by Mandy Suhr
Publisher: London : Wayland, 2007
Call No.: J P 612.8 SUH

eyes.jpg
Eyes : injury, illness and health by Carol Ballard
Publisher: Oxford : Heinemann Library, c2003
Call No.: Y 612.84 BAL

why-my-eyes-itch.jpg
Why do my eyes itch? and other questions about allergies by Angela Royston.
Publisher: Oxford : Heinemann Library, 2002
Call No.: J 612.8 ROY

eyes-and-ears.jpg
Eyes and ears by Seymour Simon
Publisher: New York : HarperCollins Publishers, c2003
Summary: Describes the anatomy of the eye and ear, how those organs function and some ways in which they may malfunction, and how the brain is also involved in our seeing and hearing.
Call No.: J 612.8 SIM

All websites were last accessed on 1 September 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use. All book summaries were taken from the book descriptions. All images were extracted from www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Liz_ASK_Pic.JPGAnswered and posted by Ms Elizabeth Lee
Children’s Librarian
Children’s Services

Found this post interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

Filed under ..Children, Health & Fitness, Myths & Facts Comments (2)
82 views
August 30th, 2008

How many galaxies are there in the universe?

Kids ASK! about Science & Technology

There are billions of galaxies in the universe! Each galaxy consists of stars, gas and dust held together by gravity. The galaxy that we are living in is called the Milky Way and it is just one of the billions of galaxies in the universe.

Scientists have predicted that our galaxy, the Milky Way, has about 400 billion stars. Therefore, our solar system is only a tiny part of the Milky Way.

Just imagine - if you are given a chance to travel beyond the Milky Way, how does our Milky Way look like? It will probably look like a gigantic pinwheel with a bright center and a thin disk of stars spiraling outward. Our solar system will only look like a tiny, almost invisible speck.

Source: Berry, R. (2008). Milky Way. The New Book of Knowledge®. Retrieved August 26, 2008, from Grolier Online http://nbk.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assetid=a2019280-h

Read more about galaxies and the Milky Way:

the-milky-way-other-galaxies.jpg

The Milky Way and other galaxies by Dana Meachen Rau
Call Number: J 523.1 RAU

earths-journey.jpg

Earth’s journey through space by Trudy E. Bell
Call Number: Y 525 BEL

space.jpg

Space by Alan Dyer
Call Number: J 520 DYE

every-galaxy.jpg

Astronomy: every galaxy has a black hole by Bryson Gore
Call Number: J 520 GOR

galaxies.jpg

Galaxies by Dan Elish
Call Number: J 523.1 ELI

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue. 

All websites were last accessed on 26 August 2008. All images were extracted from www.bn.com.

azizah.JPGOriginally answered by Azizah Osman, Librarian, Children’s Services.

adeline.jpg

Posted by Adeline Tan, Librarian, Children’s Services.

 Found this post interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email to
ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

Filed under ..Children, Science & Technology Comments (0)
2,460 views
August 22nd, 2008

When was the Internet Created?

Kids ASK! about Science and Technology

The Internet has changed the way we do things—it has become so much a part of our lives that it is nearly impossible to imagine living without it. But tell me, have you ever wondered how the Internet came about? Sure, you have read about the invention of computers but how about the Internet specifically, what inspired it and when did it become reality?

I picked up this question from a fellow librarian (Chee Boon – you can read about him here) and remembered a dusty article I had from a long time ago (ok not that long – 4 years) about the history of the Internet. After some sneezes and digging through piles of information, I found what I was looking for… Here is the story of what we call the Internet.

The Internet is a product of war technology, more specifically, nuclear war. In the early 1960s, the U.S. authorities were worried that in the event of a nuclear war, the various command posts in the various cities will lose their ability to communicate as switches and wiring can and will likely be damaged by atomic bombs. They would need a command-and-control center that can withstand the atomic bomb and had no specific location so that it cannot be targeted. It was a strategic problem.

That was when RAND Corporation (America’s Cold War think-tank) came up with a proposal, the brainchild of one of its staff, Paul Baran. The year is 1964. The proposal is to have a network that is inherently unreliable. The network will have multiple nodes that have the exact same ability to be a beginning or an end point for the transmitting and receiving of messages. The messages themselves are made up of many packets and each packet will find its way through the network to the end point it is addressed to. The route taken by the packet is inconsequential. What matters is the final destination. Having such a system means that even if pieces of the network is destroyed by a bomb, the message packets in the air will still find its way to its destination with whatever nodes that are left.

In 1969, the first node was installed in UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) and by the end of the year there were 4 nodes in total. The first version of the Internet was formed and it was called ARPANET.

It was good. Scientists could share one another’s notes and soon enough, it became an electronic post office. So much for military technology… ARPANET was used for exchanging research, for chatting and even gossiping. The first mailing list had nothing to do with the military, it was, “SF-LOVERS”.

Through the 70s, the network grew and grew. The message packets switching system also became streamlined and more sophisticated. Eventually, for reasons of control and security, the military segment broke off and became MILNET. The technology was replicated and ARPANET became one network of many though they were all linked. As the 80s came, computers became more common and there was nothing to stop people from linking up to one another as the very nature of such a network system is anarchic and decentralised.

ARPANET died officially in 1989, consumed by its own success, taken over by what we now know as the Internet. The rest, they say, is history.

Reference:
Sterling, B. (Feb 1993). Short History of the Internet. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

If you want to read more about the Internet, here are books you can check out at our libraries.

For Children:

computers.jpg
Image retrieved from www.amazon.ca

Computers then and now by Rebecca Weber
Publisher: Minneapolis, Minn. : Compass Point Books, c2005
Call Number: J English 004 WEB

The incredible story of computers and the Internet by Greg Roza
Publisher: New York : Rosen Pub. Group’s PowerKids Press, 2004
Call Number: J English 004.67 ROZ

The computer : passport to the digital age by Joanne Mattern
Publisher: New York : PowerKids Press, c2003
Call Number: J English 004 MAT

All websites are last accessed on 22 August 2008. Please refer to the terms and conditions on the homepages for use.
For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Felicia_ASK_w100.jpgAnswered by Felicia Chan,

Librarian, Children’s Services

Filed under ..Adults, ..Children, ..Teens, Computers & IT, History, Science & Technology Comments (1)
5,398 views
August 18th, 2008

The Legendary City of Gold – El Dorado

Kids ASK! about Anything & Everything

I must confess that part of my motivation for this post is an undying fascination with the exotic and mysterious. I first heard of El Dorado as a teenager, when I watched the cartoon movie, The Road to El Dorado, and for a time, I wondered very much if such a city really existed. It was a city believed to be made completely of gold. A few times every year, there would be a ceremony where the natives would coat their chief with gold dust and he would make offerings on their behalf to the gods by throwing gold and jewels into a lake.

Fascinating is it not? To have so much gold to throw into the lake and so much wealth… the idea of boundless gold captured the imagination of the public and the western explorers of the 1500s. In the hope of striking rich, many people have risked their lives to find this legendary city of gold.

Historically, the term El Dorado, refers to a person—el hombre dorado—not a city. It means the Golden Man. The tale of the golden man and the ceremony of throwing gold into the lake was first recorded by a Spanish Monk by the name of Pedro Simón. However, this was fairly late as by the early 1500s, the Spanish were already robbing the Indians in the New World. Large amounts of gold were stolen from the Incas of Peru and the Aztecs in Mexico.

Imagine when word of a city of gold got out, teams of explorers were just racing to get to all that gold first. There were three initial teams of explorers and they all endured terrible hardships that included falling ill to diseases from mosquito bites, snake bites, dangerous animals and Indians with arrows coated with poison. The rain, which never seemed to end, also caused their clothes to rot away. The first team took 10 months to reach Lake Guatavitá, the lake the chief of El Dorado was believed have held his gold-throwing ceremony, and only 166 people were left alive out of 700 who set out on the journey.

There was no city of gold. There was some gold dust and emeralds in the Lake Guatavitá, but not enough to justify all the hard work getting to the place and the lost of lives. When they discovered there was no city of gold at Lake Guatavitá, the teams tried to look elsewhere. Some thought the city was in Venezuela but that too turned out to be false. More and more teams tried to look for the city in the 50 years that followed but none came back with gold and most were fortunate if they even got back alive.

Not too long ago in 1965, after a few attempts of trying to drain the Lake Guatavitá to retrieve any gold that may be at the bottom of it (one company did manage to drain the lake and find a few golden ornaments), Colombia turned the lake into a historical site and henceforth, all efforts to find the treasure of the Golden Man became banned.

Does the city exist? To read the full version of this story, you can check out this book from the library,

legends-or-lies.jpg
Image retrieved from www.amazon.ca

Legends or Lies by Gary L. Blackwood
Publisher: New York : Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, c2005
Call Number: J English 398.2 BLA -[FOL]

Reference:
Blackwood, G. L. (2005). The City of Gold. Legends or Lies. New York : Marshall Cavendish Benchmark

If you want to read more about El Dorado and Lost Cities, here are books you can check out at our libraries.

For Teens & Children:

lost-cities.jpg
Image retrieved from www.amazon.co.uk

Lost cities by Sue Hamilton
Publisher: Edina, Minn. : ABDO Pub. Co., c2008
Call Number: Y English 398.234 HAM

cities-of-the-dead.jpg
Image retrieved from www.amazon.ca

Cities of the dead: finding lost civilizations by Denise Rinaldo
Publisher: New York : Franklin Watts, c2008
Call Number: Y English 930.1 RIN

lost-cities-2.jpg
Image retrieved from www.amazon.ca

Lost cities by Neil Morris
Publisher: London : Franklin Watts, 2007
Call Number: J English 930.1 MOR

All websites are last accessed on 18 August 2008. Please refer to the terms and conditions on the homepages for use.
For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Felicia_ASK_w100.jpgAnswered by Felicia Chan,

Librarian, Children’s Services

Filed under ..Children, Anything & Everything, History, Myths & Facts Comments (0)
6,278 views
August 14th, 2008

How are those amazing fireworks patterns produced?

Kids ASK! about Anything & Everything

Source: www.fireworks.com.sg Besides New Year’s Eve, August is the eagerly anticipated month when we get the opportunity to crane our necks, looking up in the night sky as a myriad of patterns and colours explode before our eyes. With the National Day Parade and the Singapore Fireworks Celebration, we have more than enough opportunity to feast our senses on this age-old practise that still gives people goose bumps.

Before they go up in smoke, pyrotechnicians prepare the fireworks which consist of different parts. Simply put, one of the parts is a tube containing gunpowder, a fuse and the firework. The other part is the firework which consists of chemicals, more gunpowder and another fuse. When the first fuse is lit, it ignites the gunpowder, which blasts the firework up into the sky. This explosion lights the second fuse which burns slowly as the firework flies up, which then sets off the gunpowder, causing the firework to explode. When this happens, it mixes the chemicals and depending on which chemicals are used, different colours and effects are produced. If the fireworks display is complicated, the firework might contain different elements like star pellets or smaller shells which make smaller bursts, to add more variety (such as spark or light patterns) to the display.

References:
- Thomas, Isabel. (2007). Fireworks!. Oxford : Raintree.
- Brain, Marshall. How Fireworks Work. Retrieved August 13, 2008, from HowStuffWorks Web site: http://people.howstuffworks.com/fireworks2.htm

Want to read more about fireworks? Here are some recommended books:

fireworks.jpg
Fireworks! by Isabel Thomas
Publisher : Oxford : Raintree, 2007.
Call No. : J 662 THO

pyrotechnician.jpg
Pyrotechnician, by Mary Firestone
Publisher : Philadelphia, Pa. : Chelsea House Publishers, c2006.
Call No. : J 662 FIR

gunpowder.jpg
Gunpowder, by Trudi Strain Trueit
Publisher : New York, N.Y. : Franklin Watts, c2005.
Call No. : J 662 TRU

fireworksvc.jpg
Fireworks, by Vicki Cobb
Publisher : Minneapolis, Minn. : Millbrook Press, c2006.
Call No. : J 662 COB

fromrockfireworks.jpg
From rock to fireworks : a photo essay, by Gary W. Davis
Publisher : New York : Children’s Press, c1997.
Call No. : JP 662 DAV

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

All websites were last accessed on 12 August 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use.Book covers were extracted from www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.

Galv.JPGPosted by Galvin Soh
Librarian
Children’s Services

Found this post interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email it to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

Filed under ..Children, Anything & Everything, Science & Technology, Singapore Comments (0)
5,242 views
August 10th, 2008

Which country won the most medals for the past 10 Olympic Games?

Kids ASK! about Health & Fitness

The 2008 Olympics is in full swing! Want to know which countries won the most medals for the past 10 Games? Read on…

Beijing is the host nation for the Games of the 29th Olympiad, and this coupled with their sporting prowess make them the favorite to top the medal standing this year. This table shows the top three countries with the highest medal tally for the past 10 Olympic Games held:

Medal Tally
Year Host Country Top 3 countries Gold Silver Bronze
2004 Athens USA 36 39 27
China 32 17 14
Russia 27 27 38
2000 Sydney USA 37 24 31
Russian Federation 32 28 28
China 28 16 15
1996 Atlanta USA 44 32 25
Russian Federation 26 21 16
Germany 20 18 27
1992 Barcelona Unified Team (ex USSR) 45 38 29
USA 37 34 37
Germany 33 21 28
1988 Seoul USSR 55 31 46
German Democratic Republic 37 35 30
USA 36 31 27
1984 Los Angeles USA 84 61 30
Romania 20 16 17
Federal Republic of Germany 17 19 23
1980 Moscow USSR 80 69 46
German Democratic Republic 47 37 42
Bulgaria 8 16 17
1976 Montreal USSR 49 41 35
German Democratic Republic 40 25 25
USA 34 35 25
1972 Munich USSR 50 27 22
USA 33 31 30
German Democratic Republic 20 23 23
1968 Mexico USA 45 28 34
USSR 29 32 30
Japan 11 7 7

(Source : http://www.olympic.org)

Past Olympics games are full of interesting trivia and make fascinating history, such as the suspension of the Munich Games of 1972 due to a terrorist attack which killed two members of the Israeli team, and the drug disqualification of American sprinter Ben Johnson in the 1988 Seoul Games.

To read more on the Olympics, you may be interested in these books:

FlamingOlympics.jpg
Flaming Olympics, by Michael Coleman
Publisher : London : Scholastic, 2008
Call No. : J 796.48 COL

ModernOlympicGames.jpg
Modern Olympic games, by Hadyn Middleton
Publisher : Oxford : Heinemann Library, 2008
Call No. : J 796.48 MID

GreatOlympic.jpg
Great Olympic moments, by Haydn Middleton
Publisher : Oxford : Heinemann Library, 2008
Call No. : J 796.48 MID

AmazingPace.jpg
Amazing pace : the story of Olympic champion Michael Phelps from Sydney to Athens to Beijing, by Paul McMullen
Publisher : Emmaus, Pa. : Rodale, c2006
Call No. : 797.21092 MAC -[REC]

CrisesOlympics.jpg
Crises at the Olympics, by Haydn Middleton
Publisher : Oxford : Heinemann Library, 2008.
Call No. : J 796.48 MID

OutstandingOlympics.jpg
Outstanding Olympics, by Clive Gifford
Publisher : Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2007.
Call No. : J 796.48 GIF

GoldMedalWeird.jpg
Gold medal for weird, by Kevin Sylvester
Publisher : Toronto. Ont. : Kids Can Press, c2007.
Call No. : J 796.48 SYL

All websites were last accessed on 9 August 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use.
All images were extracted from www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Galv.JPGPosted by Galvin Soh
Librarian
Children’s Services

Found this post interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

Filed under ..Children, Health & Fitness, History Comments (0)
1,430 views
August 5th, 2008

Why do zebras have stripes?

Kids ASK! about Pets & Animals

[Editor speaks: We know zebras have special markings called stripes on their bodies. But what exact function do they serve, those stripes? Are they a special calling to zebras from other herds? Or are they for aesthetics’ purposes? Hmmm, something for your mind to chew upon…]

“Because zebras spend so much time eating, they are an easy target for predators, and some zoologists have suggested that zebra stripes act as a protective camouflage. According to this theory, their bold markings break up their body outline, making them difficult to see from far away. Another explanation for zebra markings is that in a herd, zebra stripes confuse would-be attackers by making it hard for them to single out an individual animal from a backdrop of constantly shifting stripes.

To many experts, a more convincing explanation for zebra stripes lies in their social life. Like most members of the horse family, zebras are highly gregarious, and they constantly seek out each other’s company. Their stripes may act like an identity badge, helping individual animals stay in contact with one another. Very occasionally, unstriped zebras do occur, and these animals tend to stay isolated from their own kind—suggesting to some scientists that zebra stripes act more as a way to develop social relationships than as a form of camouflage.”

Source: Burnie, D Zebra. In Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia [Web]. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved July 29, 2008, from http://encarta.msn.com/
encyclopedia_761575094/Zebra.html

So, there are 3 possible reasons for zebras having stripes:
1) The stripes act as protective camouflage from predators.
2) The stripes would confuse predators during their attacks as they make it difficult to single out one animal from a background of changing stripes.
3) The stripes are an identity badge for zebras and help them stay in contact with each other.

For more information, here are some recommended library books on zebras:

zebras.jpg
Zebras by Catherine Ipcizade
Publisher: Mankato, Minn. : Capstone Press, c2008
Summary: Discusses the characteristics and habits of zebras.
Call No.: J P 599.665 IPC

endangered-zebras.jpg
Endangered zebras by Kelley MacAulay
Publisher: New York, NY : Crabtree Pub. Co., c2007
Call No.: J 599.665 MAC

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Zebras by Amelie von Zumbusch
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : PowerKids Press, 2007
Call No.: J P 599.665 ZUM

zebras-3.jpg
Zebras by Sandra Markle
Publisher: Minneapolis, Minn. : Lerner Publications Company, 2007
Call No.: J 599.665 MAR

If you would like to visit websites on zebras, here are some good sites to check out as well:

1) National Geographic’s profile of zebras - http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/
mammals/zebra.html
2) Zebra at Animal Corner - http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/wildlife/
zebra/zebra_about.html
3) Animal Diversity Web’s (University of Michigan) profile on Equus grevyi - http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/
accounts/information/Equus_grevyi.html
4) Oakland Zoo’s profile on zebras - http://www.oaklandzoo.org/meet_the_animals/zebra,-grant’s-(common)

All websites were last accessed on 5 August 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use. All book summaries were taken from the book descriptions. All images were extracted from www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Liz_ASK_Pic.JPGAnswered and posted by Ms Elizabeth Lee
Children’s Librarian
Children’s Services

Found this post interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

Filed under ..Children, Pets & Animals Comments (3)
5,071 views
August 4th, 2008

Do you remember the traditional games played in Singapore?

ASK! about Singapore 

Do you feel a sense of loss or nostalgia when you watch children playing? It could be that you lament how ‘traditional’ games have been replaced by technology like computers, or simply feel sadness that children today are not privileged to the simple joys you had long past.

For the youths who are reading this blog, their reactions are probably more of curiosity, a keenness to find out how people in the past could have possibly entertained themselves in the absence of technology like today’s.

Fortunately, information and books have been compiled to preserve the history of games played during early times. Below are some suggested sources:

1. Gateway to Asian Games (Call No.: J SING 790.15095 GAT) 
Inside the book, Gateway to Asian Games, you will find concise information of various games played in Asia, many of which belong to the fond memories of our childhood and parents’ days.  Accompanied by coloured pictures and step-by-step instructions, the book is a user-friendly game guide as well.

The book is packed with surprises as it contains many unknown facts. For instance, you will discover, that a number of games played in Asia, such as Hopscotch, originated in non-Asian countries . It was actually first played in Britain during the early Roman Empire. In Malaysia, it goes under the name ‘ketengteng’ or ‘ting-ting’. Some of the games such as playing swings and kite flying, are followed by a comic strip to explain their origins.

Games you will find inside: Dayam & Paramapadam, Weiqi, Cherki Cards, Paper Dolls, Gasing, Tangram etc.

2. Gateway to Eurasian Culture (Call No.: SING 305.804 GAT)
This book is a collection of the history, culture and lives of Eurasians in Singapore, from the past to the present. Under the chapter ‘Daily Life’, is a mention of Eurasians playing the Peranakan card game Cherki.

Games you will find inside: Cherki, sports like softball, tennis etc

3. Gateway to Malay Culture (Call No.: 305.89928 GAT)
What did the villagers play during the Kampong days? They had no Nintendo or Playstation then, but life in the village was still just as fun. Described in section ‘Home and Attire’, are games like kite flying, chapteh, and congkak.

Games you will find inside: Gasing, kite flying, chapteh etc.

4. National Library’s Infopedia
The Infopedia articles below were compiled base on research from various books and electronic sources:
- Five stones by Bonny Tan (1999)
- Gasing by Zaubidah Mohamed (2004)
- Wayang kulit by Endon Salleh (1999)

Contributed by Ng Cheng Soon, Librarian, Adult & Young People’s Services

Found this question interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

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August 3rd, 2008

Do blue moons really exist?

Kids ASK! about Science & Technology

[Editor speaks: I’m sure most of you have heard the phrase “once in a blue moon”, which is used to describe an usual occurrence. But has this “blue moon” ever been seen or witnessed by anyone? Does it even exist? Read on to find out…]

“The time was 1883, the year an Indonesian volcano named Krakatoa exploded. Scientists liken the blast to a 100-megaton nuclear bomb. Fully 600 km away, people heard the noise as loud as a cannon shot. Plumes of ash rose to the very top of Earth’s atmosphere. And the moon turned blue.

Krakatoa’s ash is the reason. Some of the ash-clouds were filled with particles about 1 micron (one millionth of a meter) wide–the right size to strongly scatter red light, while allowing other colors to pass. White moonbeams shining through the clouds emerged blue, and sometimes green.

Blue moons persisted for years after the eruption. People also saw lavender suns and, for the first time, noctilucent clouds. The ash caused “such vivid red sunsets that fire engines were called out in New York, Poughkeepsie, and New Haven to quench the apparent conflagration,” according to volcanologist Scott Rowland at the University of Hawaii.

Other less potent volcanos have turned the moon blue, too. People saw blue moons in 1983, for instance, after the eruption of the El Chichon volcano in Mexico. And there are reports of blue moons caused by Mt. St. Helens in 1980 and Mount Pinatubo in 1991.

The key to a blue moon is having in the air lots of particles slightly wider than the wavelength of red light (0.7 micron)–and no other sizes present. This is rare, but volcanoes sometimes spit out such clouds, as do forest fires.”

Source: Phillips, M. (2004, July 7). Blue moon. Retrieved July 29, 2008, from NASA - Science@NASA Web site: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/
07jul_bluemoon.htm

So, blue moons really do exist occasionally and the reason why blue moons can be seen is because the air has lots of particles that can scatter light into different colours. And when the white moonbeams shine through this air, the moon may appear blue or green.

You can also read the article, “Once in a blue moon” by Science@NASA here, http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/
headlines/ast26feb99_1.htm, for more interesting information about blue moons.

For more information, here are some recommended library books on the moon:

moon.jpg
The moon by Elaine Landau
Publisher: New York: Children’s Press, 2008
Call No.: J 523.3 LAN

exploring-moon.jpg
Exploring the moon by Peter Grego
Publisher: London : QED, 2007
Call No.: J 523.3 GRE

moon-exposed.jpg
The moon exposed by Allison Lassieur
Publisher: Oxford : Raintree, 2007
Call No.: J 523.3 LAS

earth-and-moon.jpg
The Earth and its moon by Chris Oxlade
Publisher: London : Wayland, 2007
Call No.: J 523.3 OXL

If you would like to visit more websites on solar systems, here are some good sites to check out as well:

1) Solar System Exploration: Kids - http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/kids/index.cfm
2) StarChild: A Learning Centre for Young Astronomers - http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/
StarChild/StarChild.html
3) Astronomy For Kids - http://www.kidsastronomy.com/index.htm

All websites were last accessed on 3 August 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use. All book summaries were taken from the book descriptions. All images were extracted from www.amazon.com.

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Liz_ASK_Pic.JPGAnswered and posted by Ms Elizabeth Lee
Children’s Librarian
Children’s Services

Found this post interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

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