James Watt

James Watt was born in 1736 in Scotland.  He is a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist.  He worked at the University of Glasgow.  He was interested in the technology of steam engines.  He made a new device which was an early copying machine in 1780. He improved Newcomen’s Steam Engine in 1781 which was a big step for the Industrial Revolution.  He had trouble commercializing his product because he had financial issues until he partnered with Matthew Boulten.  His partnership with Boulten was successful and James Watt became very wealthy.  In his retirement, Watt made many inventions but none of them were as popular as his improved engine.  The SI unit (International System of Units) of measuring power, the watt, was named after him because he developed horsepower.  He is my favorite inventor because I have a board game that uses batteries to power things like lights.

The Importance Of Wolves In Yellowstone National Park

In 1492 Europeans began to settle in America. Before the Europeans discovered the Americas, Native Americans thought wolves had healing powers, they were not feared.  The wolves ate the North American settlers’ livestock (cows, goats, pigs, sheep and chickens).  The settlers killed the wolves because they needed to protect their livestock because it was a major source of their food.  The killing of wolves continued for hundreds of years and even sometimes came with a reward.  As the wolf population decreased, the elk population skyrocketed.  In Yellowstone National Park the cotton tree and many other plants dying and endangered because there were so many elk and no predators to keep their numbers down.  Their was no vegetation to feed the animals of the park, Warblers (a type of small bird) and Elk (deer) suffered the most.  When they reintroduced wolves back into Yellowstone National Park in 1995 everything went back to a healthy environment for many animals.  If you remove one bit of a balanced ecosystem, it can have major effects, even rivers had changed course due to the wolf population.

Sources:                                                                                      http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/outlines/history-1994/early-america/the-first-europeans.php

https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/wolves.htm

 

Crayfish Care

Crayfish are intriguing creatures!  Most people opt for a fish if they get an aquarium, getting a crayfish could be more pleasing.

They are hunters so you could observe them stalk fish or feeder shrimp.  They are also cool animals because they have their own personality, some are sassy and some are shy.  They are weird creatures too (in a good way) because they jet backwards when they are frightened!  Plus decorating their tank is fun.  They need around 2 ½ gallons for one crayfish.  They need lots hiding areas, each tank should have slightly more hiding areas than crayfish.  You can feed them sinking fish food pellets but they can eat meats and veggies (a little bit of grape acts as a nice treat once in a while).

They are very amazing creatures.

(Picture of crayfish by me and my awesome photography skills)

My Journey Of Snorkeling

I had a sleep over with my friends, Hunter (Middle) and Autumn (Left).  We went snorkeling in Jupiter, Florida and the water was so clear that you could see 20 feet down easily!  We saw a baby barracuda (It was so cute, I wouldn’t have minded if it bit my toe off, but luckily it didn’t).  I found a pufferfish and I named him Mr. Puff Puff.  We also saw huge schools of bait fish (A bait fish is a common sandy-colored fish)  and that sums up my first time snorkeling.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

Anton van Leeuwenhoek is most known for being “The Father Of Microbiology” (microbiology is the study of microscopic organisms), but was also a business man.  He was born in 1632 in The Dutch Republic.  He worked as a draper (a person who sells cloth) throughout his childhood.  In 1654 he opened his own fabric shop.  Unlike most scientists he did not go to college, however, he handmade microscopes in order to observe microorganisms.  He was influenced by Robert Hooke, who was a philosopher.  Anton van Leeuwenhoek first discovered microorganisms in a drop of water he had collected from a lake.  Because of his extensive contribution of knowledge and understanding of bacteria, scientists today improve crop production, disease treatments, water quality and many other things.  He is my favorite person this week because around a year ago I went to a museum and saw objects under microscopes. I really thought it was cool because you wouldn’t know anything was there with your naked eye, but microscopes help you see little things that can have a big impact.

Great White

This is a great white shark that I drew. I feel like it is to skinny to be a great white but it turned out to look like a thrasher porbeagle mix

A Penguin

I drew a penguin for homework purposes, I think it looks good

Fishing Trip

Didn’t catch anything…but, it was really cool on the pier.  I enjoyed our fishing trip.  We saw a manatee and a couple of dolphins.   It made up for not catching anything.

How Fish Eat

Fish have very complex jaws so I’m going to try to explain how they eat.

Fish have a retractable buccal cavity that lets them suck prey in from a short distance. Fish use a vacuum like force to eat prey. They suck in their food and open up their gills to let the water out of their mouth creating a vacuum. Operculum flaps cover the gills so water doesn’t flow into the gills, but they open it to get water out.

Snowy Owl

The snowy owl or Bubo scandiacus is a large white owl found mostly in Tundra. The snowy owl is aslo a true owl not a farm owl. The female snowy owl is white white with black spots and the male is mostly white but has parcel black spots. The snowy owl eats 8-12 mice or rodents a day and hunt night and day to feed there famiy. The snowy owl can not eat for 40 days. Snowy owls are fasinating birds.