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Published by Carmen Eckard, 2017-09-24 12:05:14

Foothills Kids Fall 2017

KidsMagazineWebflip

foothills
The Space
Edition kids

Fall 2017

foothills

Foothills Digest

619 2nd St NE
Hickory NC 28601

Phone: 828.475.1323
E-mail: [email protected]

Website: foothillsdigest.com



EDITORIAL

CARMEN ECKARD JON ECKARD

Chief Editor Principal Photographer

CONTRIBUTORS

Rochelle Walton
Special thanks to our models, the Walton and Eckard Children.

SUBSCRIBE ON LINE

www.foothillsdigest.com/shop/

2

Letter from Editor

FALL 2017

I’m happy to bring you this magazine. I’m a mom
and I used to be a teacher, and I love outer space.
When I decided to make a magazine, I knew I’d

need to make a kid’s magazine too!

I hope you’ll learn a Next quarter we will
lot about space and have a new topic-if you
have fun while you are have a great idea, you
doing it! This magazine can tell me at editor@
has arts and crafts foothillsdigest.com.
as well as tricks to help
you understand space, I hope you love this as
plus games and stories! much as I love it!

With love,
Ms. Carmen

Visit our site, foothillsdigest.com!

Outer Space

Max was so excited! This was the week that his class
was going to learn about outer space! The class had
just come back in from recess, and he and his best
friend had been pretending they were astronauts,
playing basketball on the moon. Max wasn’t sure if he
wanted to be an astronaut or a basketball player when
he grew up, or maybe something else altogether, but

4

he knew he was having fun. Normally he’d be sad to come
in from recess, but he couldn’t wait for science class! His
teacher walked to the front of the class room and smiled.

“Class-for homework last night, you were supposed to lay
on your back and look up at the sky. What did you see?”

Ten hands shot up in the air. Nevaeh was called on and
she said, “The sky was dark, and there were a lot lot lot of
stars. And a moon, which was just a sliver, and my mom
pointed at something and said it was Venus but I thought it
looked like a star too.”

“Very good Navaeh! Venus does look like a star! It’s usually
brighter than the stars around it though. When we look up,
we see more stars than we can count. And to us they look
like tiny dots of light, but they are actually enormous and
very hot-quite like our sun. It’s just that they are so far
away that they seem small. You also saw the moon, which
you said was a sliver. We call that a crescent moon-the
moon has lots of phases, and after today, you’ll understand
why!”

“When you laid on your back, it looked like the stars and
the planets and even the sun revolve around the earth. But,
it isn’t so. We are on earth, which is a planet, and all 8
planets revolve around the sun. The paths they follow are
called their orbits.”

She paused and picked up a round pan that had two
lumps of modeling clay. She rolled both lumps of clay
into circles-a large yellow globe she stuck in the center
of the pan. The other, smaller lump was green and blue
and Max realized it was the earth. The teacher placed
the earth in the pan and started gently moving the pan
so that the earth went in circles around the “sun”. “This
is how the earth orbits the sun. Other planets also orbit
the sun, but at different distances. Closest to the sun is
Mercury, then Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus
and finally, Neptune. There are other objects out there too,
like dwarf planets Pluto and Eris, and many asteroids.”
Max was so curious, and he raised his hand. “But what is
the sun?”

6

The teacher smiled at the question. “The sun is the most
important part of our solar system. Because it’s the center!
The sun is very large, and very hot, and very far away. It’s
so large you could fit one million earths inside of it. The
sun is about 10,000 degrees! That’s so hot we can’t even
imagine it. When it is 100 degrees, we sweat and complain
about the heat. The sun is so hot that you’d burn up before
you could even get close to it! And it’s very far away-
almost 93 million miles away! Our earth is about 25,000
miles across, which means you could line up almost 4,000
earths between here and the sun. That’s a long, long way!

Max’s hand shot up again. “But what is it made of?”

“Great question! It’s made of plasma, which is a 4th state
of matter. Do you remember when we learned about solids,
liquids and gasses? Plasma is a tricky 4th state, and it
usually happens when it’s very hot. The sun is made of
gasses like hydrogen and helium that get so hot they turn
to plasma.”

A girl across the room raised her hand with a great question
Max hadn’t thought of. “So then, is the moon also made of
plasma? It shines bright like the sun!”

The teacher smiled. “Actually, no. The moon is mostly made
of iron and rock, like the earth, but without oceans. The
moon doesn’t make any light of its own. The moon actually
reflects the light of the sun, like a giant mirror! Did you

know that even though sometimes the moon looks like
a sliver, like it did last night, it’s actually always round?”

The class looked confused, but curious. The teacher
explained, “The moon orbits the earth the same way
the earth orbits the sun. So the moon is making circles
around the earth as the earth is making circles around
the sun. What we see is the part of the moon that is
getting light from the sun. Most of the time, the earth
is in between the sun and the moon, and what you
see as the dark part of the moon is the part that is
in shadow from the earth. As the moon orbits and the
earth orbits, the parts of the moon that are in shadow
change, and that makes the moon look different at
different parts of the month. The patterns repeat
every 29.5 days. Who is ready for snack time?”

Oh, everyone was ready for snack time. The teacher
handed out cookies to each table, and a paper plate.
She explained the phases of the moon, saying that
“waxing” meant getting bigger and “waning” meant
getting smaller. Each table got to work with their paper
plates and cookies, eating different parts of the oreo
to leave the different shapes of the moon. This was
the most delicious moon Max had ever eaten!

After they made the cookie moons, class was over.
Max was so sad, because he had a lot of questions
that he didn’t even have time to ask! He went home
and told his mom how he felt, and she suggested that

8

he ask an astronaut! So he
did-he found a website on
line where kids could ask
questions, and he was full
of them.
“What does it smell like in
space?”
“What does space taste
like?”
“What’s it sound like?”
“How do you take a shower?”
“How do you use the
bathroom?”
“How do you keep from
floating away?”

As he was typing out his questions, he was imagining himself
strapping himself in and blasting off into outer space. He
sniffed. He thought it smelled like a NASCAR race, but he
couldn’t put his finger on why. The astronaut responded
that it smelled like cooking meat and burning fuel-Max was
satisfied because that’s just what a race smells like.

In his imagination, Max lifted his space helmet just enough
to stick out his tongue and taste the air. He was surprised to
see it tasted like raspberries! The astronaut typed that space
was filled with ethyl formate which tasted like raspberries
and smelled like rum!

Max was also surprised to discover that space was silent.
There were no sounds to be heard at all. Even if he clapped

his hands, or shouted out, no sound!! He was a little scared,
but the astronaut explained that there is no air in space and
air is required for sound. Max hadn’t known that!

The astronaut explained that living in space was tricky-when
you take a shower, there is no gravity, so the water doesn’t
fall to the ground and go down the drain like it does on
earth. Instead, the water drops just float around. To fix this

10

problem, space showers have doors, so the water stays in, and
when you are done, a vacuum sucks the water down the drain.
Using the bathroom is pretty similar-it requires a vacuum to
keep things tidy!

Max thought the most important question of all was “How do
you keep from floating away?” The answer was so simple! They
stay tied to their ship when they are in space.

Max was satisfied-he couldn’t think of any more questions, but
he couldn’t wait to tell his school friends, and his teacher, what
he had learned!

Neptune
Earth

Venus Jupiter Uranus

Mars Saturn
Mercury

or·bit

ôrb it
noun
1.
the curved path of a celestial object or
spacecraft around a star, planet, or moon,
especially a periodic elliptical revolution.
verb
1.
(of a celestial object or spacecraft) move in
orbit around (a star, planet, or moon).

12

You can get a feel for how orbits
work by making a clay sun and
earth. Stick the sun in the center
of a pan and put the earth
loosely in the tray then give it a
gentle rocking motion. The earth
with orbit your sun!

The moon orbits the earth, which is orbiting
the sun. Because of the way light of the sun
shines, reflects, and makes shadows, the
moon looks a little bit different each of the
29.5 days of its cycle. After 29.5 days, the
process starts over. You can use cookies to
show the phases of the moon, then have a
great snack afterwards!

Sometimes our moon is called “LUNA”.

14



Find 10 ways these pictures are different!

16

What do these pictures have in common?

18

NASA has announced a manned mission
to Mars! That will be a first. Help the
spaceship find Mars by following the
correct path!

What do you think it’s like on Mars?

You’ll need: Wax Paper A Grown-up
Scrap paper
Old Crayons Sharpie String
A Crayon Sharpener Scissors Tape
Cups Iron

1: Gather old and broken crayons 2: Select crayons that match the
and strip the paper off of them. color of the planets. Use the
You may want to get 9 cups and sharpener to create shavings that
write the planet’s names on them, you’ll catch in your labeled cups.
20 and don’t forget the sun.

3: Use the template on the next 4: Layer a sheet of paper, then
page, the wax paper, and a per- your wax circle. Sprinkle your shav-
manent marker to trace circles ings into the center of the circle
onto sheets of wax paper. and cover it with more wax paper
and paper.

5: Have your mom use her iron on 6: Let your paper cool then cut
the very lowest setting to heat the planet along the circle you
your paper. Be quick about it. drew. Repeat for the other planets
then attach to your window using
strings and tape.

Notes: This project is a bit messy-make sure you put a sheet
or paper down to protect your table, and be sure to have a
grown-up to help you!

22

Space

Riddles

What did Mars say to Saturn? Why didn’t the sun go to college?
(Give me a ring sometime!) (Because it already had a million

What type of songs do the planets degrees!)
sing?
What kind of plates do they use in
(Nep-tunes!) space?

What do you call an alien with three (Flying saucers!)
eyes?
Where do astronauts keep their
(An aliiien!) sandwiches?

How do you get a baby astronaut to (In a launch box!)
sleep?
What do you get if you cross San-
(You rocket!) ta Claus with a space ship?
(A u-f-ho-ho-ho!)
Have you heard about the cow astro-
naut? How do you organize a space par-
ty?
(He landed on the mooooooon!)
(You planet!)
When is the moon the heaviest?
(When it’s full!) We hope you enjoyed these riddles!
We know we did.
How does the man-in-the-moon cut
his hair? Courtesy of:
(Eclipse it!) Enchanted Learning

Catawba Meadows
Photos and Article by Rochelle Walton

When I think of all of the family oriented activities to do
in the foothills, Catawba Meadows park, located in Burke
County, ranks up there as one of the most fun!
My friend and I recently met with our children for a playdate
at this amazing playground, which is a mix of an oversized
play structure and challenging obstacle course. We have
kids ranging in age from two to eight, and everyone found
plenty to keep them busy. The playground consists of
a beautiful wooden, two level tree-house structure which
offers some shade on sunny days and a second area with
balance beams and multiple rope challenges to navigate.
Our kids were quickly drawn in by the novel and open-
ended spaces, which provide multiple opportunities to
slide, swing, climb, balance and spin.

On the second level of the playground, we discovered
fantastic, suspended cargo nets to jump and lie on. Our
kids loved the feeling of floating in air! There is a ramp
to the second story, meaning that wheelchairs can easily
make the trip up to the top. Kids can get back downstairs
via the ramp, any one of the three twisty slides, or for the

24



really adventurous- a rope hanging off the side! The entire
play area seems to be wheelchair friendly, with an area
dedicated to two wheelchair swings. It was wonderful to
see how engaged everyone was- from adults to teens to
little ones, this playground begs to be played on!

We had packed a picnic lunch, and were pleased to find
well-kept picnic shelters available. Our children quickly
ate, and then headed right back over to the playground!
Aside from the hours of entertainment provided by the
play structures, the massive 230 acre park that makes

up Catawba
Meadows is host
to wonderful
paths for walking,
a large green
space for running
and playing group
games, and two
well-kept picnic
shelters. There is
an 18 hole disc
golf course, sand
volleyball courts,
and baseball

26

fields. We didn’t wander
over to see it on this trip,
but there is also a Living
History Center featuring a
Native American village that
I can’t wait to check out.
Across from the playground
is the Beanstalk Zip Lines,
which looks like amazing
fun for teens and adults.

701 Sanford Drive,
Morganton, NC
28655

PLAYfitness Room at

the Hickory Foundation
YMCA

Stretch-n-Grow is now providing a va-
riety of fitness opportunities for chil-
dren, including fitness, dance, yoga and
more. Whether you are two or twelve,
we have classes to fit your needs. We

28



are also offering family fitness oppor-
tunities for everyone.

Stretch-n-Grow has been teaching and
equipping Catawba County’s children
with healthy habits for the past 10

years. Please join us!
For More Information:
www.stretch-n-grow-foothills.com
Hilary May, Owner and Program Director
828-302-5236, hmay@stretch-n-grow.

com

30

You’ll need a die and a friend. Take turns rolling
and moving your piece(use a penny and a dime).
Your mission is to get from earth to save your

astronaut friend who is stranded in space!

32


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