April 30, 2012
Today is El Día Del Niño (Children’s Day), celebrated in many Latino cultures around the world. April 30th is also widely celebrated here in the U.S. as El Día de los Libros - Children’s Book Day.
I am so pleased to be able to tell you that in honor of El Día Del Niño, today I have published my first Spanish-language eBook for Kindle Fire. It is called LOS PLANETAS ALREDEDOR DEL SOL, and it is available for English language readers, too, as PLANETS AROUND THE SUN.
This book is one of my SeeMore Readers series, and it has been newly updated, since what we know about our solar system is constantly changing.
And, we have created great looking trading cards for both books, which you can download and print out. Click here to get yours!
¡Feliz Lectura! Happy Reading!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 26, 2012
Will you, your family, or your class be in the Washington, DC area this weekend? If so, please come to the USA Science and Engineering Festival at the Walter E. Washington Conference Center. It is a huge, free event with so many exciting things happen. You can see presentations from the MythBusters (Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman) and Bill Nye the Science Guy, meet astronauts and explore the inside of a rocket…..step inside an electronic cloud chamber, or watch a robot basketball competition! I was very proud to be chosen as one of their featured authors this year, and I will be speaking at 10am on Saturday (Room 145AB) and signing books afterward.
If you are not lucky enough to be in Washington this weekend, you can still watch this video, which was created by the organizers of the Festival. I think it is absolutely thrilling, and they are talking to YOU, the readers of the Seymour Science blog! Check it out and let me know what you think.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 26, 2012
Many of my readers were interested in yesterday’s "Writing Wednesday" story about the soccer ball belonging to a Japanese student that washed up on an Alaskan island more than a year after the big tsunami.
This is a photograph of Misaki Murakami, the teenager whose ball traveled nearly 3,500 miles (5,600 km) across the Pacific Ocean, from Rikuzentakata, Japan to Middleton Island, in Alaska.
In fact, it is not surprising that the ball showed up on the U.S. coastline - scientists expect that we will see even more debris in the coming weeks and months.
The reason is that when water rises or falls very quickly, it often creates a whirlpool. Think about what happens in the bathtub when you pull the plug and water starts emptying quickly out of the tub - you see a spinning whirlpool above the drain. This is what happens, on a much bigger scale, when a huge tsunami wave rushes in, and then pulls back from the shoreline.
This is a photograph, taken from a helicopter, of one of the massive whirlpools that appeared off the Japanese coast in March, 2011 after the 6.9 earthquake and tsunami. The water was rotating clockwise, which means it was pushing debris away from the coastline, into the Pacific Ocean, and toward the U.S. coast.
And that explains why Misaki’s soccer ball washed up on a beach in Alaska.
Seymour Simon’s new book, EXTREME EARTH RECORDS, is full of information and photographs about the biggest tsunamis, earthquakes, and many more Earth record breakers. It will be available in September, 2012.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 26, 2012
Last week, when I visited Middle Gate Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, one of the first graders made a special shirt. Look at the drawings - these are jokes from my book SILLY ZOO ANIMAL JOKES AND RIDDLES. I love it!
And when I turned him around, the back of his shirt was a list of my books! Thank you, Stephen, for creating this wonderful fan shirt - you made my day! And thanks to Stephen’s teacher, Michelle Roudenis, for sending these photo.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 25, 2012
Welcome to Writing Wednesday! Every week there is a new opportunity to publish your own creative writing on the Seymour Science blog. This week, we are asking you to read a science news story about a long-lost soccer ball, and then answer a question about that story.
The Facts:
It is a good thing that Misaki Murakami’s name was on his soccer ball. He thought it was lost in last year’s tsunami in Japan, but it was returned to him after it washed up on an island in Alaska last weekend.
15-year-old Misaki Murakami was home when the tsunami struck Japan in March 2011, and he grabbed his pet dog and ran to safety on higher ground. His family lost everything, including their house, and have been living in temporary housing ever since.
Misaki and his family members have been looking for their belongings, but the soccer ball is the first thing that has been found. His name and the name of his school were written on the ball with a Sharpie because this was not just any old soccer ball. It was a goodbye gift from his teacher and classmates when he had to change schools seven years ago. He has kept it next to his bed ever since.
Your Assignment: Once you have read and understood the story above, answer this question. Why was it so surprising that Misaki got his soccer ball back, and why was it important to him? Click "comments" below to write your answer.
Photo: NOAA - Jiji Press / AFP
Educators: Today’s Writing Wednesday is designed to use in support of CCSS Anchor Standard W.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
Posted by: Liz Nealon
April 24, 2012
Scientists studying Orcas in the seas off eastern Russia have spotted an all-white killer whale, and have named him "Iceberg."
Baby white orcas have been spotted in the past, including in Iceberg’s pod, but no one has ever seen one that grew to adulthood. Iceberg was photographed while he was swimming with 12 members of his pod off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.
"In many ways, Iceberg is a symbol of all that is pure, wild and extraordinarily exciting about what is out there in the ocean waiting to be discovered," said Erich Hoyt, co-director of the Far East Russia Orca Project. "The challenge is to keep the ocean healthy so that such surprises are always possible."
Photo: E. Lazareva/FEROP via AFP
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 22, 2012
Happy Earth Day, everyone! Your Earth Day Promises are wonderful. Anyone who reads your writing for the past 22 days on this blog is sure to feel good about the prospects for our environment, and the future of our planet!
The winners were randomly chosen by a true random number generator on the website www.random.org. First we listed all the entries in order of when they were received. Then we used the random number generator to pick the winners from among the hundreds of entries.
The "individual student" winner was actually a pair of students who wrote, so they will each win a personally autographed copy of my book EARTH: OUR PLANET IN SPACE. Those winners are Baylee Y. and Austin P., from Mrs. Stewart’s class at Midway Elementary in Holt, Michigan. Baylee and Austin wrote:
Survival of Polar Bears is threatened by the melting of the Arctic ice because polar bears eat a lot of food and the more the ice melts the less food Polar bears have to eat. Global Warming has been around since 1995 so you should care now, not later. Global Warming doesn’t only affect animals, it also affects humans. Polar bears are threatened by Global Warming.
The second prize goes to the student who uploaded a photograph of his poster, called "Promise Island." This student is a homeschooler from Ohio named Will B., and Will will receive a personally autographed copy of my book BUTTERFLIES. He wrote:
I promise to recycle with my dad. I promise to not run the water when I brush my teeth. And I promise to sleep my computer when I am not using it to save electricity. Thank you.
And finally, I asked classes to write and tell me their Earth Day Promises, and I was so pleased to receive many great entries! The randomly selected winning class entry was one of Mrs. Houck’s second grade library classes at JB Blayton School in Williamsburg, Virginia. When Mrs. Studdard’s class was in the library, they came up with this list:
~ using water bottles that can be reused instead of plastic water bottles.
~ picking up trash that we see outside.
~ plant a tree to help clean up our atmosphere.
These are excellent promises, and for making them, Mrs. Studdard’s class has won a free Skype session. I can’t wait to "meet" you all over Skype!
We had a number of schools whose students entered often, and one school, in particular, posted many more entries than any other. We decided to add one more winner, to recognize the participation by all the students from Mrs. Maggio’s Library Classes at James Fallon School in Wayne, New Jersey.
Ryan A. was the randomly chosen winner from this class, and he will also win a personally autographed copy of EARTH: OUR PLANET IN SPACE. Ryan wrote:
This Earth Day I promise to re-use paper and recycle plastic bottles.
Thank you, again, to everyone who wrote in with your Earth Day Promises. You have made Earth Day 2012 very special, indeed.
Take a moment to reflect on Earth Day today, and what it means to you. If you have a few minutes, go back to April 1 on my blog, and read all the student "promises" which were posted as comments on the stories between April 1 and today. I guarantee you that you will be inspired by the hundreds of commitments to protect and honor our home planet.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 20, 2012
Another Earth Day is almost here! This Sunday, April 22, we will celebrate Earth Day and take a moment to reflect on the elegant beauty of our planet. And we will think about how to protect it for future generations.
My wife, Liz Nealon, and I do many things year round to help reduce our impact on the environment around us. We recycle, we plant trees to help cleanse the air, grow our own vegetables so that we can "eat local" as often as possible and eat meatless meals a couple of times a week. We use fluorescent light bulbs and drive a car that reduces our carbon emissions. These are all good choices that most people can make not just on Earth Day, but every day.
But I think I can do more. So, my Earth Day promise is not only to love our home planet, but also to keep writing, visiting schools, talking with students and doing everything I can to inspire my readers to take action on behalf of our planet, Earth.
Because, as a reader named Jackie wrote on my blog last year, "it takes one step at a time and if we start now the Earth will get better sooner. If we don’t start….who will?"
This is your last chance to enter Seymour Simon’s YOUR EARTH DAY PROMISES contest. Prizes include personally autographed books and a free classroom Skype session with Seymour. Click here for details about how to enter. Tomorrow, Saturday, is the last day!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 19, 2012
Check out this wonderful video biography (click "Play" below) made by the fourth graders at Middle Gate School, where I visited last week. I love the fact that every page is unique, handmade, and signed. Thanks so much, everybody, for your great work. I really loved our visit together, and I hope you did, too. Please stay in touch with me here on the blog and let me know what you are reading and thinking about.
Be part of Seymour Simon’s celebration of Earth Day 2012 by commenting on blog stories like this one, and telling Seymour about YOUR Earth Day Promises! How are you going to make a difference for the Earth? What will you do to make it be Earth Day / every day? Each time you leave a comment between today and April 22, you will be entered into a drawing to win a free, personally autographed book from Seymour Simon. You must enter by midnight Saturday night, April 21, so get started by clicking "comments" below, and tell us about Your Earth Day Promises!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 19, 2012
The second graders at Middle Gate School in Newtown, Connecticut made a wonderful powerpoint in which they contributed all the things they learned during my visit last week. I know that this was really a lot of work, and I love it! Check out the video below to see their wonderful report.
Be part of Seymour Simon’s celebration of Earth Day 2012 by commenting on blog stories like this one, and telling Seymour about YOUR Earth Day Promises! How are you going to make a difference for the Earth? What will you do to make it be Earth Day / every day? Each time you leave a comment between today and April 22, you will be entered into a drawing to win a free, personally autographed book from Seymour Simon. You must enter by midnight Saturday night, April 21, so get started by clicking "comments" below, and tell us about Your Earth Day Promises!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
