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