Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Game Review

Sunny Day Pond... a puzzle game from Peaceable Kingdom
  • The newest cooperative board game from the award winning designers at Peaceable Kingdom
  • Players work together to complete the three animal puzzles before the rain comes
  • Children learn color matching, fine motor skills and social development skills with no reading required
  • Includes 1 game board, 3 four-piece puzzles, 6 rain drops, 1 spinner and instructions for game play
  • For 2 to 4 players ages 3 years and older; Peaceable Kingdom packaging is all designed to be frustration free - naturally
  • What is a cooperative game? It's a game where everyone plays together, no one is left out, and everyone has fun! In a cooperative game, players work together as a team against a common obstacle, not against each other.
    Cooperative games emphasize play, not competition. Kids work together, they help each other and, most importantly, they play for FUN!
    Cooperative Games foster:
    - Non-stressful play situations
    - Emotional development
    - Shared decision making
    - Creative problem solving
    - A sense of community
    - Positive self esteem
    - Playfulness
    - Cooperation
    This Peaceable Kingdom cooperative game is printed with soy-based inks on FSC paper and includes parts made only with recycled plastics. Games that are good for our planet and good for our kids! Connect with the kids in your life with Peaceable Kingdom.
     

Monday, September 29, 2014

FAQ's

Who Invented scissors?????/





It is most likely that scissors were invented around 1500 BC in Egypt.The earliest known scissors appeared about 3000 to 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia.. These were of the 'spring scissor' type comprising two bronze blades connected at the handles by a thin flexible strip of curved bronze which served to hold the blades in alignment to allow them to be squeezed together and to be pulled  apart when released.
Spring scissors continued to be used in Europe until the 16th century. Pivoted scissors of bronze or iron were invented by the Romans around AD100. These scissors are the direct ancestors of modern scissors.
How were they made?
During the Middle Ages and Renaissance,, spring scissors were made by heating a bar of iron or steel then flattening and shaping its ends into blades on an anvil. The center of the bar was heated, bent to form the spring, then cooled and reheated to make it flexible.


Saturday, September 27, 2014

Boredom Busters

 It's that time of year! 
That's right.... homecoming!
Why not lend a hand and help work on the homecoming float or help design it! Who knows, you may even end up riding on it too!

 How about a creamy dreamy
 Rootbeer float?
We prefer Zuberfizz rootbeer cuz they make it right here in Durango! 
Top that cold fizz beverage with a 
scoop of vanilla ice cream......
Do whatever floats your boat!
What does that mean you ask?
This is a phrase that often means whatever "soothes your soul" or whatever "works best" Aka- Whatever you feel like doing.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Dinosaurs 101

What are fossils?

The only direct way we have of learning about dinosaurs is by studying fossils. Fossils are the remains of ancient animals and plants, the traces or impressions of living things from past geologic ages, or the traces of their activities. Fossils have been found on every continenet on earth and maybe even your neighborhood!
The word fossil comes from the Latin word fossilis, which means "dug up." Most fossils are excavated from sedimentary rock layers . Sedimentary rock is rock that has formed from sediment, like sand, mud, small pieces of rocks. Over long periods of time, these small pieces of debris are compressed (squeezed) as they are buried under more and more layers of sediment that piles up on top of it. Eventually, they are compressed into sedimentary rock. The layers that are farther down in the Earth are older than the top layers.

The fossil of a bone doesn't have any bone in it! A fossilized object has the same shape as the original object, but is chemically more like a rock.


What Do Fossils Look Like?
Fossils have the same shape that the original item had, but their color, density, and texture vary widely. A fossil's color depends on what minerals formed it. Fossils are usually heavier than the original item since they are formed entirely of minerals (they're essentially stone that has replaced the original structure). Most fossils are made of ordinary rock material, but some are more exotic, including one fossilized dinosaur bone, a Kakuru tibia, which is an opal!

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Throwback Thursday!

Let's throw it back to 1996 to when Missy K (second from the right) had her first ballet recital! Now that's what I call a tutu.


Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Weird Science Wednesday


                                             WRITE A SECRET MESSAGE
Write an invisible message on a mirror using a soapy solution and a cotton swab. The secret message will appear only in a foggy room.
What You Need:
  • liquid dishwashing detergent
  • cup of water
  • a few cotton swabs
  • hand mirror or bathroom mirror
What You Do:
Place a few drops of dishwashing detergent into the cup of water. stir to mix well. This is your secret message “ink”.
Dip a cotton swab into the soapy solution. Write a short message on the mirror. When the liquid dries, the message will be invisible. (If not, use a little less of the solution.)
When you take a hot shower or bath, do not get the mirror wet, but get the mirror close enough to the steam from the water so that it gets fogged up. Close the door so the steam stays in the bathroom.
Observe what happens. Can you read the message?
More fun: Write a message and wait until someone else takes a shower or bath. See how quickly they discover your secret.
What’s Going On :
The steam on the mirror is made up of water molecules. These tiny drops of water stick together on the mirror because of a force called surface tension. The liquid dishwashing detergent breaks the surface tension of the water. Wherever there is detergent, the water molecules are unable to form into droplets. The words written with the soapy solution stand out clearly against the foggy background of the mirror.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Game Review

Flux
2-6 players
Ages 8+
5-30 minutes of play

Fluxx is a card game in which the cards themselves determine the current rules of the game. By playing cards, you change numerous aspects of the game: how to draw cards, how to play cards, and even how to win.
 At the start of the game, each player holds three cards and on a turn a player draws one card, then plays one card. By playing cards, you can put new rules into play that change numerous aspects of the game: how many cards to draw or play, how many cards you can hold in hand or keep on the table in front of you, and (most importantly) how to win the game. There are many  editions, themed siblings, and promo cards available.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Did ya Know?

Did you know that duct tape was invented in 1927 by Johnson and Johnson company?


Duct tape is a necessity in any household!

Sunday, September 21, 2014

FAQ's

What's the most popular toy in the store??

I would have to say its probably the Safari Toobs where you can pick out and mix and match whatever creature you want! It is always fun to makes your own collection of safari animals. 


Thursday, September 18, 2014

#tbt

Remember when....
Me & my tea party.....

Me & My thinking face!

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Weird Science Wednesday!

  Weird Science Wednesday! 
This is WacKy Too!

 
SWIMMING SPAGHETTI
Make spaghetti do tricks with this fun and fizzy experiment.
What You Need:
  • uncooked spaghetti
  • 1 cup of water
  • 2 teaspoons of baking soda
  • 5 teaspoons of vinegar
  • tall clear glass
What You Do:
Put water and baking soda in the glass. Stir until the baking soda is dissolved. Break spaghetti into 1-inch pieces. Put about 6 pieces in the glass. They will sink to the bottom. Add vinegar to the mixture in the glass. Observe what happens to the pieces of spaghetti. Add more vinegar as the action starts to slow down.
What’s Going On:
When baking soda and vinegar are mixed together, a chemical reaction occurs. It produces a gas called carbon dioxide, which forms lots of bubbles on top of the mixture and smaller bubbles at the bottom of the glass. These little bubbles stick to the spaghetti and make it float to the surface, just as you do when you sit on a swimming pool noodle! When the spaghetti reaches the surface, the bubbles pop and the spaghetti sinks to the bottom.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Game Review

Spicy Farkel


Spicy! Farkel is a dice game based on regular farkel, but uses special multi-colored Spicy dice which adds a new twist to the game, allowing higher stakes and double scores.
Ages: 8 and up
Contents: 6 Spicy dice, score pad, instructions and a bonus game
 
One of the world's best dice games, Pocket Farkel is a fun, fast-paced, high-score game that takes just two minutes to learn. You roll six dice, remove only the dice you want to use for points, then re-roll the remaining dice. Some scoring dice must be removed after every roll. If you can eventually make all six dice count for score, pick them all up and keep going. If none of the dice you roll count for score, you lose your turn and any points you made during that turn. The first player to score more than 10,000 points, wins.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Did Ya Know?

Lincoln Logs are nearly 100 years old? 


There were invented by John Lloyd Wright in 1916 while he was in Japan. There was a building that used interlocking logs to make it "earthquake proof."

FAQ

How does the Drinking Bird work?

Everyone has seen the drinking bird in all its glory, but how does it work? Well, there is more to it that you would think!



  1. The water evaporates from the felt on the head.
  2. Evaporation lowers the temperature of the glass head (heat of vaporization).
  3. The temperature decrease causes some of the dichloromethane vapor in the head to condense.
  4. The lower temperature and condensation together cause the pressure to drop in the head (by the ideal gas law).
  5. The higher vapor pressure in the warmer base pushes the liquid up the neck.
  6. As the liquid rises, the bird becomes top heavy and tips over.
  7. When the bird tips over, the bottom end of the neck tube rises above the surface of the liquid.
  8. A bubble of warm vapor rises up the tube through this gap, displacing liquid as it goes.
  9. Liquid flows back to the bottom bulb (the toy is designed so that when it has tipped over the neck's tilt allows this), and pressure equalizes between the top and bottom bulbs
  10. The weight of the liquid in the bottom bulb restores the bird to its vertical position
  11. The liquid in the bottom bulb is heated by ambient air, which is at a temperature slightly higher than the temperature of the bird's head.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Boredom Busters


 Have a limbo party!
 See how low you can go and sing along with Chubby Checker! Make it a day at the beach in your own yard!
 Before the flowers fade and fall, press them between
waxed paper and iron them to preserve their beauty.
You can also make a flower press with 
some cardboard and a big heavy book!
Do some reading and get your game on! See what record you can break (or try to break). Some of the records are pretty bizarre! Like the guy who can carry the most eggs! On his head!

Friday, September 12, 2014

Dinosaur 101

Let's be Dinosaur Mythbusters!

Myth #1
Dinosaurs lived alongside cavemen.
Although the image of human cave dwellers hunting dinosaurs is well established in fiction  it is far from accurate. People didn't evolve until about 65 million years after the dinosaurs' extinction. Except for the birds, who are the sole surviving descendants of the dinosaurs, dinosaurs and people are well separated.

Myth #2
All dinosaurs were huge creatures.
There were plenty of small and medium-sized dinosaurs. The smallest dinosaur yet discovered was the size of a chicken!  

Myth #3
Dinosaurs could fly and swim.
All dinosaurs lived on the land; none of them lived in the seas or flew (until the birds)! Neither the flying Pterosaurs, nor the swimming Ichthyrosaurs were dinosaurs, although all were closely related.
Some advanced meat-eating dinosaurs did develop feathers, and evolved into birds.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

#tbt

Remembering when....
We had celebrities visiting!  


                                                                                                                      







Fire Chief Rowdy!



Wednesday, September 10, 2014

WacKy WedNesDay!

WacKy WedNesDay means we can do anything! 
We're gonna make today "Crazy Hat Day!"
If you made a hat, what would it look like?



 Would you wear 
your breakfast?







Would you build a house?
 


Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Game Review

TRIGGER!
Trigger! is a party game testing your reaction and coordination abilities. The game is easy to learn and provides a vivid atmosphere with lots of laughter.
To prepare the game, a plastic disk is placed in the center of the table and each player marks one of his hands "true" and the other "false" (or one can say that the right hand is "true" and the left hand is "false").
In a turn, a question is read out loud and all the players have to answer with "true" or "false" as fast as possible, using their hands. For instance, if the answer is "true", one places his right hand on the plastic disk, as such creating a pile of hands on top of the disk. Please mind that the answer to the question might vary as to who the question is referring to.. Mind that once you've put your hand, you cannot change your answer.
Once all players have answered the question, i.e. have placed one of their hands on the pile of hands, scoring begins. The upper hand scores +1 point if its answer is correct or -1 point if its answer is incorrect. The second hand (from the top) will score +2 if its answer is correct or -2 if its answer is incorrect, and so on. For instance, in a 8 player game, the lower hand (on the plastic disk) scores +8 points for a correct answer or -8 points for an incorrect answer.
Players really have to take risks to improve their score, answering quickly and so having their hand smashed similar to playing "slap Jack."

The game ends as soon as a player has scored a specific number of points, e.g. 30 points in a 8 player game.
We recommend this game for players 8 and up.


Sunday, September 7, 2014

Did Ya Know?

Milton Levine’s Eureka moment came in 1956, when 
he spotted a mound of ants during a Fourth of July 
picnic at his sister’s poolside in Southern California.
Recalling how as a boy he had collected ants in jars at his uncle’s farm in Pennsylvania, he told his brother-in-law and business partner, E. J. Cossman, “We should make an antarium.”
The resulting product (Uncle Milton's Ant Farm) has been a staple in children’s bedrooms ever since. It offers aserene panorama of a farmhouse beside a winding path to a barn and windmill above a network of ant tunnels, all encased in plastic. More than 20 million have been sold.
Selling for $1.98, the original 6-by-9-inch ant farm was an immediate hit, soon selling thousands a week by mail order to children persuaded by commercials on after-school television shows. They were mesmerized by the idea of staring at Pogonomyrmex californicus ( red ants from California) digging those tunnels in boxed-in sand.
But the plastic cases, which two years later included a 10-by-15-inch version, arrived uninhabited. A coupon had to be mailed back to the company so that a vial containing 25 worker ants could arrive several weeks later. Because federal law prohibited shipments of queen ants across state lines, no mating ensued on the farms, so another vial of ants had to be ordered within several months — unless the owner dug some up outside.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Boredom Busters

 
Go Camping

Fall is just around the corner, so try to get out and enjoy the summer weather by going out an camping. It is always so much fun to snuggle up in your sleeping bag and look at stars out in the wilderness. Don't forget the S'mores!


Use a Magnet for Science Experiments
Magents are one of the coolest things out there. Use a magnet to see what is magnetic and what is not. Try to measure the strength of a magnet, or even learn about magnetic fields and polarization




Make a Puppet
Puppet shows are always so much fun and they can be even better if you make your own characters! You can use whatever your want! Paper bags or socks make great puppets. Add some googly eyes and yarn to make a silly face and come up with a story for them to act out.



Friday, September 5, 2014

Dinosaurs 101

Yangchuanosaurus: yan-CHWAHN-oh-SOR-us

Name Means
"Yangchuan lizard"
Type
Predator dinosaur
Lived When
Late Jurassic (154-144 million years ago)
Weight
Up to 3.7 tons
Length
Up to 35 feet long
Diet
Meat: other dinosaurs
Habitat
China
Interesting
Yangchuanosaurus
Facts
Yangchuanosaurus had ridges and a bony knob on its snout.
Yangchuanosaurus was only discovered in the 1970s, and very few of his bones have been found. Scientists are still learning about this large meat eater.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

#tbt

 Not one Perplexus but 2 at once! 
Epic stories to be told about this!
There's magic in everyday!

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Wacky Wednesday!

What do you get when you cross a Tyrannosaurus Rex with Fireworks?


DINO-MITE!

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Game Review

FASTRACK!
Fastrack is a high speed disc-flinging game 
powered by your finger! 
Use the elastic band to fire all of the discs through the tiny slot to the other side of the track. 
Aim carefully but act fast or you’ll be bombarded by your opponent’s zooming discs. 
Ride the fine line between speed and accuracy to win! This fast action game can last anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes!

Monday, September 1, 2014

FAQ's

What is Labor Day?
Labor day is a the first Monday in September and it recognizes the achievements of the American worker. It was first observed in 1882 and became a national holiday in 1886.