THE PYRAMID AT CHICHEN ITZA YUCATAN PENINSULA , MEXICO

Chichén Itzá, the most famous Mayan temple city, served as the political and economic center of the Mayan civilization. Its various structures - the pyramid of Kukulkan, the Temple of Chac Mool, the Hall of the Thousand Pillars, and the Playing Field of the Prisoners – can still be seen today and are demonstrative of an extraordinary commitment to architectural space and composition. The pyramid itself was the last, and arguably the greatest, of all Mayan temples.

PETRA , JORDAN

On the edge of the Arabian Desert, Petra was the glittering capital of the Nabataean empire of King Aretas IV (9 B.C. to 40 A.D.). Masters of water technology, the Nabataeans provided their city with great tunnel constructions and water chambers. A theater, modelled on Greek-Roman prototypes, had space for an audience of 4,000. Today, the Palace Tombs of Petra, with the 42-meter-high Hellenistic temple facade on the El-Deir Monastery, are impressive examples of Middle Eastern culture.

MACHU PICCHU , PERU

In the 15th century, the Incan Emperor Pachacútec built a city in the clouds on the mountain known as Machu Picchu ("old mountain"). This extraordinary settlement lies halfway up the Andes Plateau, deep in the Amazon jungle and above the Urubamba River. It was probably abandoned by the Incas because of a smallpox outbreak and, after the Spanish defeated the Incan Empire, the city remained 'lost' for over three centuries. It was rediscovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911.

WISCONSIN DELLS

Soaring high above you the cliffs of the Wisconsin River are the Wisconsin Dells. You see the tourist trap ahead and wonder, how and when did this start out? What did this place, now full of motels and water parks, used to be home to? Well, I shall tell you. The Wisconsin Dells started out as a small village by the name of Kilborn. The land which it stood on, which was a mile long and half a mile wide, was purchased in 1855 by the Wisconsin River Hydraulic Company. A man by the name of Mr. Holly was the first to settle there. The lots of the city were put into sale in 1856, and the sale was attended by many people from other cities close by. The lots were sold in a price range of $50 to $1,450.
Another important thing began in 1856. The first school was built. When opened, the first session was a class of 14. Later on, though, a new school house was built and more people came, making the total of all attending about 335.
Eventually the residents of Kilborn asked for better water supply. Even though a well 1,300 feet deep was drilled, more water came in. It ended up that they fixed up the old pipes.
On a different subject, the first steamboats on the Wisconsin River, came partway up in 1835. They were, besides the Indians, or Native Americans, the first to see the wonder of the cliffs and the deepness of the murky Wisconsin River. That is how the Dells got started.

REDHOOD TREES

 Have you ever seen a redwood? They are tall! They are also called Sequoias which is a common name for a group of big, majestic evergreen trees of the cypress family. They can grow up to 100 feet tall or more! The sequoias are so big, that they are even bigger than the whale! If you saw a picture of a full grown Sequoia with a person standing next to it, that person would only be a large dot! Even if you saw the person well enough to identify him, the Sequoia would be like a big, huge background and you wouldn't know that it was a tree! It would take about ten people to all hold hands around a Sequoia because the circumfrence is so big!
The Giant Sequoia is found on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada . A Sequoia is estimated to weigh as much as 2500 metric tons! If you wanted to know how old a tree was after it had been cut down, you could look at the stump, and count the number of rings it has. Once you figure that out, you'll know how old the tree is (was). Some trees have been 2300 years of age. However, some other trees have lived up to 4000 years!
The leaves on a Giant Sequoia are scale like and lie close to the branches. The bark is spongy in texture. The wood is light, and highly resistant to insects and fire.
At one time, the most popular Sequoia was the dawn redwood. Its height is just about 100 feet and its diameter is about 6 feet.
Do you see that picture next to this. That little red dot is actually a person standing next to the Giant Sequoia! Can you believe it?

BUTTERFYL MIGRATION

The butterfly is one of the most beautiful of all the insects. People love these pretty creatures. The beauty and grace of the butterfly inspired many artists and poets. The Greeks of the ancient world believed that a person's soul left the body after death and formed itself into a butterfly.
A butterfly begins as a little egg, which soon turns into a caterpillar. The caterpillar spends most of the day eating and growing. Only the caterpillar's skin doesn't grow with them. The caterpillar's skin then sheds and they form a larger body of skin. It repeats this at least several times. After the caterpillar is fully grown it forms a shell for protection, then it forms inside the shell. When this finishes it is a lovely butterfly.
I bet you knew that birds migrate, but it might be hard to believe that butterflies migrate too.
Spring comes and goes, but what do butterflies do over the winter when they have no shelter? They migrate! The big question is where do these creatures migrate? Some butterflies migrate in the south, central America, or they may even go to Mexico, to escape from the harsh and cold winter. In the spring they flutter back to their warm homes in the United States and Canada. Such a fast movement is called migration. One of these butterflies that migrates is monarch. It is the winner of long distance. The monarch can travel as far as 2000 miles, from Canada and the Northern States to California, Florida, and Mexico. The butterflies spend most of their winter time resting and saving up energy for their flight to return in the spring. Very few of the adults might not even make it to fly back. Female monarchs lay eggs as they fly back during the spring. Other butterflies that migrate include the painted lady, the cabbage butterfly, the red admiral, and the clouded yellow.
A group of kids want classrooms from around the world to made thousands of paper butterflies that will "migrate" to Mexico for the winter. Then they will be sent back in spring. To find out more about what this all means please visit Send a Monarch to Mexico.

RAINBOWS

Rainbows are awesome. Have you ever looked at them right after it rains, or through the water outside? Well, I have and I think that they are interesting.
A rainbow is an arch of light showing the colors of the light spectrum. The colors are seen in order with red on the outside, followed by orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
Rainbows are caused by drops of water that are falling through the air. They are usually seen in the sky opposite to the sun at the end of a shower. They can also be seen in the spray of waterfalls.
When the sunlight enters a raindrop it is bent by and reflected from the drop. When this happens the light appears as a spectrum of colors. But, the colors can only be seen when the angle of reflection between the sun, the water drop, and the observer's line of version is between 40 degrees and 42 degrees.
The rainbow appears high when the sun is low in the sky, the rainbow is lower, when the sun is higher. When the sun is up higher than 42 degrees above the horizon, a rainbow cannot be seen because the required angle passes over the head of the observer. Do you think that the rainbows in the pictures are pretty and neat? I hope so!