Bear 40 YEARS!
January 2022 • Tucson Edition • www.bearessentialnews.com
essential news
®
SPECIAL
STEM ISSUE!
12 PAGE Pull-Out Section!
See pages ?? thru ??
Starting on page 9 In This Picture: Find a New Year’s hat, 2022, a balloon, the name NOVA, a hot chocolate mug, a snow cap, a lightbulb, an hourglass, STEM, and the initials MLK.
FAMILIES
FUN
FEATURE
NEWS
AZ S ciTech Festival!
Telescope Launches Good Eating in Vegas Breakfast Tips Make But ter!
Amazing STEM events cover AZ Pages 9 thru 20
Spotlight on ancient footprints News Highlights page 5
NEWS & more news kids can use! Scoops pages 7, 22, 24 & 25
a fun granola recipe Page 23
It’s science you can eat. Back Cover
2 • Bear Essential News • January 2022
New Year’s Safety Shopping Shelly and Tomás are going shopping for some home safety items. They need your help. Look at the pictures below. Circle all of them that you think should be on their “safety shopping list.”
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Now put your math skills to work to answer these questions. 1. Which costs more money, the first aid kit or the flashlight? ______________________________ How much more? ___________________________________ 2. How much will it cost to buy the toy chest and the phone? _____________________________ 3. Tomás and Shelly know they need to have one carbon monoxide detector for their basement and one near the bedrooms. How much will two carbon monoxide detectors cost? ________________
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4. Tomás has a five dollar bill and eight quarters. Does he have enough money for two packages of batteries? _________________________________________ 5. Tomás and Shelly need to buy two smoke alarms and one package of batteries. How much will it cost? _____________________________________________ 6. Tomás has $30.00. He buys a pesonal flotation device. How much change will he get back? __________________________________________________ 7. If Shelly has $8.00, how many light bulbs can she buy? __________________ Answers: 1.) first aid kit–$14.52, 2.) $50.00, 3.) $49.94, 4.) No, 5.) $23.98, 6.) $2.15, 7.) 3 bulbs
January 2022 • Bear Essential News • 3
s at U n i o J
BEAR’s 2022 SUMMER CAMP EXPO Mark Your Calendar
TMC’s Annual
Be Safe Saturday
WIN a FREE week of camp from local Tucson camps and Great Prizes!
Reserve space for your Summer Camp NOW!
Saturday, March 5 • 9 am–2 pm Meet with representatives from camps around the Tucson area! Free booster seats • Free bike helmets Fun health & safety education and demonstrations • Food vendors & fun!
4 • Bear Essential News • January 2022
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News Highlights
SciTech Festival Revs Its Engines! For the first time, the Arizona SciTech Festival will kick things off at the world-famous Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale on Jan. 22 & 23. As Barrett-Jackson celebrates its golden anniversary, one of its concourses will be dedicated to the Pennzoil STEMFest powered by the SciTech Institute. There will be 40 STEM-related booths to visit, a ribboncutting ceremony to start the two-month-long statewide festival, and kids 12 and under get in free as part of the auction’s Family Day! This is the 11th year of the Arizona SciTech Festival, a grassroots effort to get young and old excited about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Currently, the festival is highlighting STEM hobbies, which include fans of classic wheels and those who might be more interested in what the future holds for transportation. Most of the festival’s 3,000 events happen in February and March throughout Arizona. Last year, it had to be NIMBLE as it all went virtual, but this year is different. “We’ve decided to do a hybrid model that includes online interactions and in-person so people can attend based on their comfort levels,” explains Kelly Greene, Chief Operating Officer for the SciTech Institute. “Our team supporting those in-person and online (events). Most are outside, but safety
precautions still need to be in place. We’re excited to be back out in the community,” she says. The STEM concourse will feature major automakers and electric-vehicle manufacturers displaying their latest cars and technologies, live science activities, a STEM bus, a mobile STEM lab, robotics and other hands-on activities. “Whether you’re a NOVICE or an expert in any area, you can come out and explore at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction at STEM Fest. Anybody’s invited from 0 to 103,” Greene encourages. The ribbon-cutting to kick off this year’s Arizona SciTech Festival happens at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 22. Hours are 8 a.m.–5 p.m. that day and 8 a.m.–3 p.m. on Sunday. This kick-off event is at WestWorld of Scottsdale, 16601 N. Pima Road. For a list of AZ SciTech events in your area or to order tickets to Barrett-Jackson, go to AZSciTech.com.
Huge Space Telescope Sent 1 MM Miles Away!
Webb’s mission of seeking out heat signals from The James Webb Space Telescope, the largest the early universe requires the observatory’s instruand most powerful astronomical observatory ever, ments to remain extremely cold. One of the obserlaunched into space on Christmas Day from Europe’s vatory’s tools is the sunshield. For the launch, the Spaceport in French Guiana. sunshield was folded up, origami style, to fit inside Webb is now traveling nearly 1 million miles to its destination, the second Lagrange point or L2. Accord- a rocket. The sunshield was unfolded shortly after ing to NASA, Webb’s mission is to “seek the light from launch, and it will help Webb maintain its temperature goal by reflecting and RADIATING away solar enerthe first galaxies in the early universe and to explore gy. The sunshield measures 69.5 feet long by 46.5 our own solar system, as well as planets orbiting other feet wide—roughly the size of a tennis stars, called exoplanets.” court! “The James Webb Space The unfolding of the sunshield is Telescope represents the part of a six-month process called ambition that NASA and our commissioning. That deployment partners maintain to propel sequence is human-controlled, which us forward into the future,” allows the team the flexibility to pause said NASA Administrator and adjust as needed. At the end of Bill Nelson. “The promise of that six months, Webb is expected to Webb is not what we know start returning images back to Earth. we will discover; it’s what we NASA GSFC/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez don’t yet understand or can’t The $10 billion telescope is an yet fathom about our universe. I can’t wait to see what international joint effort between NASA, the European it uncovers!” Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency. If you’d like to check out what’s going on with Webb, Webb is the scientific SUCCESSOR to the Hubble NASA is providing regular updates on its Webb teleand Spitzer space telescopes. According to NASA, Webb carries four state-of-the-art science instruments scope blog and posting updates on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. with highly sensitive infrared detectors.
Ancient Footprints Fossilized footprints discovered in New Mexico indicate that early humans were walking in North America more than 20,000 years ago! The footprints were first spotted by local scientists in a dry lake bed around 15 years ago in the White Sands National Park. They saw “ghost tracks”—footprints that would appear when the ground was wet only to disappear again as it dried. Eventually, scientists were able to track the footprints and conduct carbon dating testing on seeds found above and below the footprints to determine their age. This helped determine when the footprints were made, approximately 22,800 to 21,130 years ago! There were previous indications of early human habitation in the national park area, including stone tools and similar artifacts. FOOTPRINT FACTS: • Age of the footprints: 21,130 to 22,800 years • Where were they found: White Sands National Park • How the footprints were tested: carbon dating
Image: shutterstock.com
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But experts DISPUTED their age. “A footprint is a really good, unequivocal data point,” said Matthew Bennett, a professor of environmental and geographic sciences at Bournemouth University in the UK, to NBC. “That’s the importance of this site—we know they were there.” The footprints vary in size, and some of the smaller footprints led scientists to believe that at least some of them were left by children and teenagers. Scientists say that their activities likely included everything from playing games to doing chores like gathering food and carrying water. The White Sands National Park contains the world’s largest-known collection of Pleistocene age (ice age) fossilized footprints in the world. This isn’t the first impressive find in the park either. Tracks from the Columbian mammoth, saber-toothed cat and dire wolf also have been discovered there! White Sands is now mostly a desert, but back then it was a lush wetland with ice-age mammals and humans. The team working on these ancient human footprints included scientists from White Sands National Park, the National Park Service, USGS, and several universities—including the University of Arizona! The scientists also worked with the park’s Native American partners as well. January 2022 • Bear Essential News • 5
Bear Hugs:
Engaging With the Grandkids by Mary DeStefano
Where Does Rain Come From? CURIOSITY is a wonderful thing! Correct? However you may know a child who never tires of asking questions. In this busy world it’s easy to just answer the question and move on. Often that is all that’s required but occasionally with a bit of patience that question can become a wonderful teachable moment. Let’s observe a child looking out the window as it rains and asking, “Where does rain come from?” Depending on the child’s age one response might be to return the question to the child. Better still, it might be time to don raincoats and head outside to make some observations. I imagine this will spark more questions. I suggest making a list of those questions. Next decide a best method to find and prove answers. Creating a daily log booklet to record the sky, the clouds, and other weather encourages the child to find the answers as well as learning scientific methods. Note cloud shapes and colors as well as noting days with no clouds. It might encourage an interest in watching The Weather Channel together. Learning to make critical observations to answer questions about clouds might just lead to a meteorologist in the family.
There are many wonderful books about the weather cycle to enhance the learning. The Great Big Water Cycle Adventure by Kay Branham Drop:An Adventure through the Water Cycle by Emily Kate Moon Water is Water by Miranda Paul
Enter To Win The Reading Pig Adventures! a hardcover anthology of 4 The Reading Pig books by Nicholas I. Clement, Ed.D.
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Address: _______________________________ ZIP: _______ E mail: ____________________________________________ Mail your entry by Feb. 28, 2022 to Bear Essential News 2525 E. Broadway Blvd. #102 • Tucson, AZ 85716 6 • Bear Essential News • January 2022
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Eating at Gordon Ramsay’s Restaurants by Reporter Lizzy Barrett, Old Vail Middle School
In December, my family and I went on a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. We stayed at Caesars Palace Hotel and ate at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants. Ramsay is a world-renowned chef who currently holds 16 Michelin stars. We ate at Gordon Ramsay Burger, Hell’s Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay’s Steak and Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill. While at his restaurants, we met Season 20 winner Trenton Garvey from the hit show Hell’s Kitchen. Ramsay also has a TV show called Masterchef Junior where children compete by cooking a variety of dishes with a chance to win a trophy and $100,000. They can pursue their dreams of being a chef. I would recommend this show for children who love Gordon Ramsay and who love to cook. The first restaurant we went to is Gordon Ramsay Burger, located in Planet Hollywood. I thought the onion rings with parmesan had a lot of flavor. I loved his burgers because the meat was juicy, had a bunch of flavors, and the bun is really puffy. The service was excellent, but his restaurants were extremely popular so we had to wait in a long line since they didn’t accept reservations. The second restaurant we went to is Hell’s Kitchen which is located right outside Caesars Palace. People could see the chefs cook and they could see the red and blue chef jackets. They cook most of the signature dishes that appear on the TV show, like Beef Wellington. If people get lucky, they can see famous chefs that have appeared on Hell’s Kitchen working there. The dishes were delicious and it was my second favorite restaurant ever. My favorite dishes are the baked mac n’ cheese and the scallops. However, what I didn’t like about it was that people could only get in by making reservations months in advance using the Open Table app. The third restaurant we went to was Gordon Ramsay’s Steak, located in Paris Las Vegas. I found it cool that when you are entering the restaurant, there was an arched MORE RESTAURANTS, page 22 ➧
Coach Rubio Reaches 30 Year Milestone With the COVID pandemic, many things changed. One thing that changed was the way that sports were influenced. Whenever people think of sports, they think of teamwork and everyone together. However, that was something that COVID changed. COVID brought many problems upon volleyball coach David Rubio and his team. Rubio is the head women’s volleyball coach at the University of Arizona and has been in that position for 30 years. During Rubio’s sophomore year of high school, his school introduced boys volleyball. Rubio, along with a group of boys who are still to this
Image: arizonawildcats.com
by Reporter Camilla Valdez, La Paloma Academy Lakeside day his friends, joined the team. “The coach who was coaching me in high school has been my mentor throughout the years” Rubio says. After graduating in 1981, Rubio went into teaching. Then in 1987, Rubio was asked to coach at a school in Bakersfield. During his time there, he and his team won a national championship. He coached there for about five years. Then in 1992, he was hired at the University of Arizona to coach the women’s volleyball team. He has been coaching there since then.
News Stories Written by Kids— for Kids
Solar Probe Flies Through Sun’s Corona by Reporter Madison Hernandez Arizona Virtual Academy For the first time ever NASA’s Parker Solar Probe flew into the sun’s corona taking samples. This marks just one of the major steps for NASA. It will help scientists discover how our sun influences our solar
Image: NASA.gov
system. The sun, not having a solid mass, is hard and dangerous to get to by humans. With robots like the solar probe, we can discover much more. As it flies closer to the surface, Parker is finding new discoveries that were too difficult for other solar probes. Parker Solar Probe launched in 2018 and reached the sun in 2021. Parker Probe is revolutionizing modern space science.
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8 • Bear Essential News • January 2022
compared to STEM events attended before.
r u o Y
n w O
Catapult! e k a
M
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Wrap rubber band around top to fire your catapult.
Make a Catapult Activity:
The children should be given some rubber bands to play with and explore their properties carefully. (Thickness, stretchiness, etc.) 5th/6th Grades: Make a triangular-based pyramid using the popsicle sticks, using one as a base. Tape together. Then make the arm of the catapult by taping two sticks end to end and reinforcing with a third stick behind where the two come together. Glue the bottle cap a half inch from the end of the arm. This will act as the “bucket”. Attach the arm to the pyramid as follows: Step 1) Wrap one end of the rubber band just beneath the bottle cap several times. Step 2) Then attach the other end of the arm to the base where the three triangles meet. Secure this firmly with tape (which acts as a kind of hinge). Step 3) Lastly, attach the other end of the rubber band to the top of the catapult. Now roll up the piece of paper into a tight ball and fire! (by placing the paper in the bucket, pulling back and then letting go.) You will need to hold the base with the other hand or secure it to a base. Cardboard may work.
More Math:
Measure the distance the paper travelled. This can be done a number of times, the distances recorded and the average distance taken. Various distances and heights of the paper bullets can be measured.
Can the children experiment with various angles of the arm to see how to get the longest distance? The length of the arm, the length and strength of the rubber band can be varied, data should be recorded and any conclusions drawn.
You Will Need:
For each catapult: 12 popsicle sticks, masking tape, pencil, rubber band, scissors, glue, bottle cap, paper about 6 inches square
Background Information:
• When a force acts on an object that cannot move, it may change its size or shape. • Some things (ex. modeling clay) stay in the new shape when the force is removed. But some substances, like rubber, return to their original form when the force is removed. The latter are called
ELASTIC substances, • Elastic materials store energy when they are stretched, and release the energy when the force is removed. So energy is stored in stretched rubber bands (this is the energy which you have put into it to stretch it). This energy is released when the rubber band is let go and it goes back to its original size.
This lesson compliments of the Arizona Renaissance Festival. January 2022 • Bear Essential News • 21
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Continued from page 7
Continued from page 7
walkway that symbolizes the journey from Paris to the United Kingdom. The restaurant had an Old English style. We were lucky to have Head Chef Trenton Garvey cook the steaks. He was extremely friendly and he came over to our table to take pictures with us. My favorite food was the Pacific Salmon— it was so delicious that I ate all of it. I also tried the filet mignon, which was cooked by chef Garvey himself, which was also really good. The fourth restaurant that we went to is Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill, and it was located inside Caesars Palace. This restaurant was the least busy, but we still needed reservations to get in. I ordered the fish and chips and I thought the fish was really good. The fries were made perfectly and it tasted really good with tartar sauce. I would recommend going to all of Ramsay’s restaurants and I would love to go and eat at them again. Even though it is extremely crowded and hard to get in to his restaurants, it is worth the wait to eat at his restaurants. I enjoyed all the food his restaurants offer and thought it was delicious. MORE SCOOPS, page 24 ➧
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phoenixchildrens.org • 602-933-0935
Making Healthy Breakfast Choices
Written by Denelle Martin, RDN, CDCES Endocrinology Pediatric Dietitian at Phoenix Children’s
Try the following easy baked granola recipe.
For other healthy recipe ideas, visit the Recipes and Nutrition section of the American Diabetes Association’s website at https://diabetes.org/healthy-living/ recipes-nutrition
Homemade Granola
O
ne way to excel at work and in the classroom is to eat a healthy breakfast. Whether hot or cold, breakfast cereals can be part of a nutritious breakfast if you and your family follow some simple guidelines and learn together about the choices you are making:
Ingredients:
• 3 cups rolled old fashioned oats • 1-1/2 cups of chopped nuts or seeds • 1/2 cup of dried nuts or seeds (e.g., almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds) • 1/2 cup of dried fruit (e.g., cranberries, raisins, cherries, mangos or apricots) • 1/4 tsp. salt • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon • 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey • 1/4 cup of coconut oil • 1/4 cup shredded coconut
1. Look at the “added sugars” listed on the nutrition facts label. Aim for a breakfast cereal with less than 10 grams added sugar. 2. Aim for high fiber—again using nutrition facts label, and choose breakfast cereals with 3 grams of fiber or more.
a. Try adding fresh sliced fruit, dried fruit or berries to boost the fiber and the flavor!
3. Watch the serving size—aiming for no more than 2 servings of cold cereal. 4. Pair cereals with 1% or skim milk. 5. Consider adding a protein food with cereal such as an egg, slice of ham or low-fat string cheese. Protein helps kids feel fuller longer and can sustain them until lunchtime.
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Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. 2. Line a sheet pan with foil or baking parchment paper. 3. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until the maple syrup and coconut oil have coated everything. 4. Spread out the mixture onto the sheet pan. 5. Bake for 30 minutes. 6. Remove from oven and let it cool. 7. Store in an airtight container.
Volume 43 • Issue 4
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b. Add a small amount of chopped nuts, which will provide protein, fiber and heart-healthy fats to any bowl of hot or cold cereal.
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with... S Y A D H BIRT Our readers celebrate over 4,000 birthdays every month!
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Sushi, Math and Science? by Reporter Rori L. Divijak, Dove Mountain CSTEM K–8
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Preschool–8th Grade 9415 E. Wrightstown Rd. Tucson, AZ 85715 PS • 520-795-7161 K8 • 520-885-8400
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Continued from page 7
High School & Central Services 7525 E. Speedway Blvd. Tucson, AZ 85710 HS • 520-298-5817 CS • 520-901-5499
WWW.DESERTCHRISTIAN.ORG 24 • Bear Essential News • January 2022
Recently I read the book “Travels with Sushi in the Land of the Mind” by Eduard Shyfrin and Tomisalav Tomic. This book combines the concepts of math and a love of sushi. The two main characters, Aaron and Stella, are children who love to eat sushi and play on the beach. Aaron always eats sixteen pieces of sushi and Stella always eats ten. When the siblings try a special sushi, they are taken to an alternate universe (The Land of the Mind). In this alternate universe, the Supreme Ruler created the Land of the Mind and ten Great White Rulers and a Great White Queen. The Black Queen (who is evil) imprisoned six of the Great White Rulers and the Land of the Mind slowly fell into the hands of her evil ways. The Dark Lords of Despair, Intolerance, Fear, Pride, Betrayal and Indifference rule the Land of the Mind. Aaron and Stella are destined to restore the Book of Understanding, defeat the Black Queen, and bring peace back to the Land of the Mind. Using their understanding of math and science as well as the from friends they meet along the way, Aaron and Stella work to restore the peace in the Land of the Mind. This book received the 2020 Independent Press Award. I loved this book and for the people out there who love eating sushi and are passionate about math I recommend this book for you. The book also comes with a set of chopsticks, which are fun to use.
Mr. Rattlesnake Tells a Story by Reporter Elizabeth Gleeson, Legacy Traditional School “A Rattler’s Tale: When Wild Animals Encounter Humans” is a book written by Nancy Marshall, an author who resides in Phoenix. The book is full of stories narrated by Mr. Arizona Black Rattlesnake, who shares his point of view about how animals and humans interact with each other in a National Forest. The book is illustrated by Lauren Sarantopulos and the illustrations are magnificent and sometimes hilarious which brings the characters to life. The stories teach people to be considerate of other species in our forest and if we must take something from the forest, to take only what we need. “If you can follow the golden rule, then you’re welcome to visit. But remember it’s the animals home,” says Marshall in the book. The book is 112 pages and suggested for ages 7–11, but teens and adults might enjoy it, too. Visit www.nuggetpress.com to order a copy of the book.
More Rubio
Continued from page 7
“I love teaching and I love the opportunity to influence young people, it’s been a passion of mine since, you know, back when I first was playing.” Rubio states. Rubio also states that the best volleyball players are always the best students, and are always on top of their academic studies. “Those players tend to be high achievers,” he explains. It was amazing getting to know a little bit more about Coach Rubio, as I also play volleyball. Rubio has led the Wildcats to fourteen 20-win seasons. In 2001, he was honored as Coach of the Year by ASICS/ Volleyball Magazine. He has also become the second coach in Pac-10/12 history to win 500 career matches. If you would like to learn about volleyball and are interested in attending a camp, you can visit www.davidrubiovolleyballcamp.com to see all the upcoming camps.
They May Seem Gross, But Remember, We Need Insects by Reporter Sophia Bradley, BASIS Tucson North We all know that insects are all over the place—in your backyard, in your homes and all over the world. But we normally do not worry about how we are killing off those bugs slowly. One question that not a lot of people wonder...why are we killing bugs? I know it’s gross that these creatures are walking in your kitchen, but we could ask why are they so important? Some bugs don’t seem to do any good to the Earth, but we all know of some insects that are good and benefit the planet like butterflies, ants, and locusts...yes, I said locusts. How are they good for us? In ways we wouldn’t imagine. That is because many are actually edible, and are mostly eaten in Africa, the Middle East and some Asian countries. So, how many insects do we kill in total? Well, somewhere I read that people killed 32.5 trillion insects last year! That is more than the number of people in the world many times over! The types of insects that people kill the most are beetles, bees and ants, all because people think that they are dangerous. Bugs are good for helping with composting, and some are also why we have fruits and veggies to keep us healthy. Some people like to kill dragonflies that also help humans by eating mosquitos. The different dragonfly species are old, existing for 65 million years. Without these insects, the earth would not be the same because there would be no bugs to help decompose dead things, and no bees or butterflies to pollinate flowers to make fruits and veggies. Also, other animals like birds and frogs would be gone because of their insect diet. But if insects are good for you, then why do they hurt you? They don’t hurt you because they hate you, they hurt you because they are protecting themselves from you. For example, if you accidentally hit a beehive with a ball, they are all going to be upset and come to find the person that smashed their home, just like an ant is going to bite you if they can, because you’re huge and scary to them! But then we end up smashing these creatures when they try to hurt us. So, how can we save them? Well, if an insect is drowning in water, then use an object that is flat to save them, or if you catch a bug, put them back where you found them when you are done playing with them. If you find a bug in your house, just put them outside where they belong. Let’s all be aware that the world needs creepy crawlies, and we need to help take care of them! We have all seen common insects like crickets, lentulids (a type of grasshopper) and flies around. Some of their species are close to being endangered and then extinct! So please remember; save the insects! January 2022 • Bear Essential News • 25
26 • Bear Essential News • January 2022
January 2022 • Bear Essential News • 27
Let’s Pause for a Moment of SCIENCE! in a jar!
How to Make
Did you know that turning milk into butter is a physical change because milk is changed from a colloid (milk/cream) to a solid (butter) without altering its chemical composition?
Ingredients and Materials • 2/3 cup cold heavy whipping cream • 2/3 measuring cup • 1 canning jar (1 cup) with lid and ring
Images: shutterstock.com
Prep: 15 mins. Ready in: 15 mins.
Now, design and cut out a label for your jar of butter.
STEP 1
Pour cream into the jar, and screw on the lid.
STEP 2 Shake jar until butter forms a soft lump. 15 to 20 minutes. Continue to shake until butter separates out of the lump and the jar contains a solid lump of butter and liquid buttermilk.
Butter m
ade by:
KEEP SHAKING... TIME IS ALMOST DONE While shaking the jar, what do you see?
STEP 3
Pour contents of the jar into a fine mesh strainer, and strain out the buttermilk, leaving the solid butter. Remove the lump of butter and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until needed. 28 • Bear Essential News • January 2022
BUTTER
www.arizonamilk.org