December 2023 – FutureEd 4 Kids

English Learning Material Science

Efan Duan

The Hubble Telescope – Photographing Worlds Beyond

December 19, 2023

Telescopes have been used for centuries to explore the vast and dark night sky, allowing us to see faraway objects like stars and planets. The first telescopes used lenses, curved clear pieces of glass, to focus light from stars into an image our eyes can see. Nowadays, most telescopes are built with curved mirrors, which are lighter and easier to make.

However, Earth’s natural and man-made elements, such as rain clouds, lights, and the Earth’s atmosphere, interfere with seeing into space. In the 1920s, scientists began discussing the possibility of launching a telescope into space. After decades of research, fixing problems, and getting enough money, the Hubble Telescope was launched into space on April 24, 1990. The telescope has been used daily to observe our universe and take photographs, uncovering many secrets of the universe.

One photograph from 1995 showed a part of the sky that looks empty to our eyes but actually contained more than 3,000 galaxies. A galaxy is a massive collection of gas, dust, billions of stars, and planets held together by gravity. The Milky Way galaxy, shaped like a massive flat spiral, is home to our Solar System and the Sun, one of its many bright stars.

**Interacting Galaxies;** Arp 273 is of a pair of interacting galaxies that form a shape resembling a rose

The “Pillars of Creation” capture colourful gaseous blobs from which new stars are being born, something we would never be able to see with our naked eye. With advancements in technology, we can continue to study, share, and admire the wonders of the universe.

Vocabulary

potential – possibility or promise

You have the potential to reach the top of your profession.

telescope – a cylinder-shaped device to make objects look closer and larger

With a good telescope, you can see craters on the moon.

interfere – Something or someone that spoils a situation or prevents its progress.

Even a little noise interferes with my concentration.

astronomy – the scientific study of the universe and of objects that exist naturally in space.

My brother is interested in astronomy so he bought a small telescope.

iconic – widely known and recognised

Leonardo da Vinci is known for his iconic paintings and scientific drawings.

6:00 pm 19Dec, 2023

English Learning Material

Efan Duan

Gingerbread Houses

December 12, 2023

Gingerbread has been delighting taste buds worldwide for centuries. Gingerbread likely came from the middle East or Asia, where people have been making it for over a thousand years. Legend has it that gingerbread arrived in Europe in the tenth century where a monk named Gregory Makar brought the recipe from Armenia to France.

As the treat became more popular throughout Europe, gingerbread shaping became an art form. People would carve a picture into a piece of wood and press dough into the mold, and their cookies would look like the picture.

After the Brothers Grimm wrote the story of Hansel and Gretal, Germans began to make gingerbread houses just like the one in the story. Later, when Germans immigrated to America, they brought this tradition along with them for many Americans as well.

Every winter, in the city of Bergen Norway, children ages eleven and under are invited to build an entire city of gingerbread. This magical display is called Pepperkakebyen, which means gingerbread town.

Candy architects can also participate in the National Gingerbread House Competition in Asheville, North Carolina. Contestants have gone way beyond houses, too, building castles, barns and birdhouses!