Remembering The Space Shuttle Challenger

Its hard to believe that its been 30 years since that fateful Tuesday Morning at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

Photo credit: NASA. 

January 28, 1986: It was the 25th Space Shuttle Mission, and the 10th mission of the Challenger. It had launched like any other of the previous 24 missions, including 9 previous launches of the Challenger. 73 seconds after blast-off the unthinkable happened. The Shuttle exploded, along with 7 passengers, including Christa McAuliffe, a High School Teacher from New Hampshire that had been selected from 11,000 applicants to become the first Teacher in Space.

 The crew aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986.
Crewmembers were (left to right, front row) Michael J. Smith, Francis R. (Dick) Scobee and Ronald E. McNair; (back row) Ellison S. Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis and Judith A. Resnik. Photo: NASA

The 113th Space Shuttle Mission of the Columbia also exploded, breaking up on re-entry on February 1, 2003 scattering debris over a 100 mile stretch of Texas and Louisiana.

There were a total of 135 Space Shuttle Missions spanning over a period of 30 years. The first being the Columbia lifting off on April 12, 1981, and the last was the Atlantis lifting off on July 8, 2011.

Snapshots Across America features the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. In June of 2013, the New Space Shuttle Atlantis Exhibit opened up at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex featuring the actual retired Atlantis Shuttle as the centerpiece.

A video from NASA about the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Jonas Blizzard Buries Northeastern U.S.

    WEATHER ALERT!    

Snow Blizzard Buries Northeastern U.S.

Winter Storm Jonas buries Washington D.C.
Statue of James Garfield with U.S. Capitol Building in the Background.
Photo taken January 23, 2016 by Geoff Alexander via Flickr. CC BY-2.0

If you have watched the Weather Channel at all the past day or two, you should know that the Snow Storm they have named "Jonas" has buried the Northeastern United States. As of Saturday evening (Jan. 23), the Weather Channel is reporting that Washington DC, Baltimore, New York and many other cities in the Northeast have had over 2 feet of snow.

Here are some other photos:

Queens, New York.

Photo taken January 23, 2016 by John Gillespie via Flickr. CC BY-SA-2.0

Howard Street in Baltimore, Maryland.
Photo Taken January 23, 2016 by Seth Sawyers via Flickr. CC BY-2.0.

But after all, weather happens. It’s been happening for thousands and even millions of years, and depending upon the physical geography of where you are, sooner or later you are going to experience some type of severe bad weather. Whether that weather (pun intended) is a brutal blizzard in the Northeast, upper Midwest or Rocky Mountains, a hurricane along the Gulf or Atlantic coast, a tornado in the Great Plains, flooding along the Mississippi River, a heatwave in the South, or a draught in the West leading to devastating forest fires: weather happens. Yes, WEATHER HAPPENS! And so far all we can do about it is try to predict it, be prepared for it, respond to it and basically just deal with it.

When my wife and I were creating the Dr. Toy Award Winning educational board game Snapshots Across America, we wanted to have a fun “gotcha” factor to create interactive competition with players. Since players are “traveling” across a game board map of the United States to visit tourist attractions from all 50 States, we thought what if your “vacation” got ruined by “bad weather”.

So we introduced “bad weather” cards like this one that would cancel another players vacation to any of the States shown on the card.

Snapshots Across America features other different “Weather Alerts” for different regions around the United States that can be played to “spoil” another player’s vacation to one of the States affected by that bad weather. 

But one of the real benefits of this aspect in our game is it also gives families an opportunity to start talking with their children about what happens if you face or have to experience bad weather. What types of potential bad weather happen in your area? How do you protect yourself in a storm? Do you have an emergency plan? Do you have backup power, heat or water? Do you have an emergency kit with flashlights, food, water and other necessities that might be needed?

A good source of information for what you may need in an the event of an emergency or severe weather is:

http://www.ready.gov/build-a-kit

Snapshots Game Review by Love To Learn.

Here's what Love to Learn says about Snapshots Across America:

Buy Snapshots Across America at:
http://www.lovetolearn.net/Snapshots-Across-America

http://snapshotsusagame.com/

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Snapshots Across America is the Dr. Toy Award Winning Game where players learn U.S. Geography while "travelling" across a game-board map of the United States to "visit" actual places from all across America.

Great for helping families learn U.S. Geography as well as about many great Landmarks, National Parks, Museums, National Monuments, Memorials, Historical Sites, and many other fun and educational attractions all across America.

Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.

Snapshots Spotlight: Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Site in Atlanta, Georgia.

Tribute to MLK created by Spanish sculptor, Kavier Medina-Campeny near the entrance
 to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Site in  Atlanta, Georgia.
Photo by Matt Lemmon, CC-BY-SA-2.0

Today, January 18, 2016, we honor one of the most influential persons who helped bring about racial equality in the United States, Martin Luther King, Jr. 

The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Site in Atlanta, Georgia is a 23 acre Historical Site with over 1 million visitors each year, administrated by the National Park Service. It features many important historical locations including:

The Boyhood home of Martin Luther King, Jr. Atlanta, GA
Photo: Jeff Clemmons CC-BY-3.0

The Visitor  Center at the MLK National Historical Site in Atlanta
features many exhibits on the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Photo: National Park Service

The Ebenezer Baptist Churh in Atlanta, GA where MLK was baptized and gave
his first sermon there at the age of 19.
NPS Photo by Gary Tarleton

Martin Luther King, Jr. Tomb at the King Center
Photo by George Paul Puvvada CC-BY-SA-3.0

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. and delivered one of the most famous speeches of his life,

The words of that speech have became known as the "I have a Dream" speech, and include the following excerpt:

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed - we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.

"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood...

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character...

"With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day." (Source: BBC News)

The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical site is one of the attractions featured in the educational board-game Snapshots Across America on one of the cards in the American Historical Sites Expansion Deck.

For more information visit the National Park Service Website at:
http://www.nps.gov/malu/index.htm

And the King Center website at
http://www.thekingcenter.org/

Snapshots Spotlight-Remembering Pearl Harbor

Remembering the Attack on Pearl Harbor

and the USS Arizona.

It started out as a quiet Sunday in Paradise, exactly 74 years ago today. On December 7, 1941.

The Naval Base at Pearl Harbor as it looked prior to the attack on December 7, 1941.
(Photo by US Navy on October 13, 1941, less than 2 months before the attack)

The Japanese Empire had made several successful conquests on the Eastern half of the Pacific. They viewed the United States as their primary obstacle to dominating the entire Pacific Ocean region. The Japanese fleet, including 6 aircraft carriers loaded with around 450 aircraft, departed Japan on November 26, 1941. Radar from an American Army outpost had detected a large aerial formation shortly before the attack, but it was disregarded as they thought it was incoming flight of friendly planes from the mainland that they were expecting that day.

The forward  weapons magazine on the USS Arizona explode shortly after 8:00 am after being hit.
(Official U.S. Navy Photo)

The first wave of Japanese places attacked at 7:55 am, local time, and caught the U.S. Pacific Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor completely by surprise. The enemy attack concentrated on “Battleship Row” and the six airfields nearby. Eight U.S. Battleships were put out of commission. 2,335 U.S. soldiers and 68 civilians lost their life in that attack

The USS Arizona sinking after being hit.
(Source U.S. National Archives and Records Administrationfrom the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library)

The USS Arizona suffered the worst damage of the entire fleet when its artillery magazine was hit, causing a chain reaction of explosions on the ship. 1,104 servicemen aboard it lost their lives in that attack, accounting for almost half of all the casualties from that day.

An aerial view of the USS Arizona Memorial straddling the sunken hull of the Battleship that sank in the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
(US Navy Photo by  Jayme Pastoric Cropped from original)

The USS Arizona Memorial is one of the most visited National Historical Sites in the United States. The next day, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed Congress and the Nation. "Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

In these troubling times, let us always remember the resolve and commitment that the generations who have gone before have done to protect our Great Nation and the Freedoms we have.

The USS Arizona Memorial, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is one of the popular attractions featured in the latest edition of Snapshots Across America.

For more information on Pearl Harbor visit:

National Parks Teaching With Historic Places Lesson Plans

http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/18arizona/18arizona.htm

http://www.pearlharbor.org/

www.SnapshotsUSAgame.com

The Good Dinosaur... & the really Good Dinosaur Museum

The Good Dinosaur...

and the really good Dinosaur Museum

Left: Clip from Disney/Pixar The Good Dinosaur
Official US Trailer
Right: The entrance to The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Photo by Dell Hunt

I would have to say that this has been the “year of the Dinosaurs” for my family. This past week we went to see the new Disney/Pixar movie, “The Good Dinosaur”. And this past Summer we visited The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, which I call the “really Good Dinosaur Museum”.

The Disney/Pixar Official US Trailer for The Good Dinosaur

The Good Dinosaur movie was a very pleasant surprise and not at all what I expected. Its based upon the question what would Earth be like if the asteroid that is thought to have hit 65 million years ago and destroyed the dinosaurs… missed? It is a premise that somewhat conflicts with my personal worldview that God has a purpose in creating the Earth and all life on it. However it had a powerful story that was based upon the values and principles of overcoming adversity and fear, forgiving and showing compassion to others, and the strength of family values.

The young Apatosaurus named Arlo, doesn't quite fit in and is afraid of most everything. When he captures a pesky caveboy critter in a trap, he lets him go. After Arlo loses his father in a flash flood, he also wanders off and is swept away in the river away from his family. The caveboy, who answers to the name Spot, returns the favor and saves Arlo, and the two wanderers develop a close relationship as they both search for their long lost families. It is touching when after everything they have been through, they part ways to reunite with their respective families, which sends a great message about family values.

The Dinosphere where a Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops engage in battle. Photo by Dell Hunt

Now on to the really Good Dinosaur Museum. The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the largest childrens museum in the world. While there are far more exhibits than just dinosaurs, I do have to say it is has the best Dinosaur exhibit of any museum I have ever been too, and is especially true from a children's perspective. The Dinosphere (above) features one of the largest displays of dinosaur skeletons in the U.S.

The Dino Dig is where kids can use tools to dig away at soft stone to reveal casts of dinosaur bones from an actual dinosaur excavation project. Photo by Susan Hunt

Leonardo, the mummified young "duckbill" dinosaur at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the best preserved dinosaur in the world. Much of this dino's skin, muscles, scales, tendons and even what he ate at his last meal was preserved.
  (Photo by Dell Hunt)

My son with one of the Paleontologists that works at the Children's Museum with a real triceratops skull that they are working on there. Photo by Dell Hunt.

The Alamosaurus family "escaping" from the Dinosphere exhibit area. They must have been "scared" by all the skeletons inside. Photo by Dell Hunt.

That's just the highlights of what we saw on our trip there. They have many other exhibits ranging from an Egyptian tomb exhibit, Chineese Terra Cotta soldier's exhibit, a working carousel and other exhibits on science, technology, history and more. (Photos by Dell Hunt).

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So if you are ever passing through Indianapolis, take a chance to see the largest Children's Museum in the World, as well as a Really Good Dinosaur... Museum.

For more information about the Children's Museum of Indianapolis visit their website at:

http://www.childrensmuseum.org

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is one of the popular tourist attractions featured in the education board-game, Snapshots Across America.

www.snapshotsusagame.com