Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2024 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

DRESS CODE SOLVED In 2013, an archaeologist on holiday bought an old brown silk dress in an antique store. When she got it home, she discovered a paper in a hidden pocket covered in odd words: Bismark, omit, leafage, buck, bank. Spring, wilderness, lining. What could it mean? Was it a code? She posted the note on code-breaking sites, but for 10 years no one cracked it. Until one clever coder had an idea. Maybe it was a telegraph code? In the 1880s, when the dress was made, telegraphs charged by the word to send messages. To save money, companies had books of single words that stood for common phrases, such as “Blue” to mean “The box arrives Tuesday.” Librarians finally found a code book from the National Weather Service…

How does a ballet dancer balance delicately on the very tips of her toes without falling over? How do ice-skaters and breakdancers spin faster and then slower and then faster again without any extra push? Why does a gymnast swing his arms high before jumping up into a flip? It may look like magic, but their balance, spins, and flips use the same basic forces that make a seesaw balance, speed up a tether ball, and turn a pancake tossed into the air. Balance on Tippy-Toes To stay balanced, a dancer must hold her body very precisely, to make sure her center of gravity is always directly above where her toe meets the floor. The smaller this supporting point is, the more difficult it is to balance. That’s why balancing…

My name is Carrie. I am Navajo, born into the Bitter Water Clan. I live in Arizona on the Navajo Nation near Tuba City. This part of the reservation is called Tsh Naees Dizi, or “the place of many springs.” While attending grade school in Tuba City, I decided to become a fancy shawl dancer. Dance is important to my people. Dance is a way of praying, healing, celebrating, and even laughing. The traditional dances were given to us by our ancestors. The oldest dances are for prayer, not for performing. Social dances, like the shawl dance, are for powwows and celebrating. (A powwow is a big gathering that includes music and dancing.) I chose to learn the shawl dance, a fancy dance. At a powwow, the drums start beating…

Send your letters to Ask ask@cricketmedia.com. Dear Marvin,I have 4 little brothers and 1 older sister. So is there any prank that does not use a lot of material and is not too messy? If there is I’d like to play it on my siblings. Do you have any siblings?Titus S., Pennsylvania Dear Titus,Do you have different kinds of cereal at your house? Sneak into the pantry when no one is looking and and swap the plastic bags inside, so they’re all in the wrong boxes. Then enjoy an April Fools’ breakfast! Have fun!Your brother in pranks,Marvin Dear Ask,I would like to know why you need to brush your hair? And how do you decide what to be when you grow up? Also how do frogs keep on jumping without…

Dances often start with a set of basic movements or steps that dancers combine to build a dance. Sometimes dances follow a written-down sequence of movements. Other dances are made up by the dancers as they follow the music. You can use dice to make up your own brand-new dance, or a whole new style! First, play some music you like. Get two (or more) different-colored dice. One will be for “what to move” and the other “how to move it.” Roll both dice 5 or 10 times and write down the sequence of movements. Now, dance challenge! Add more dice for how many times to repeat a movement, or things to wear while dancing! Add your own movements to make it perfect for your kind of dance. Actions: 1…