Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2017 i Faces People, Places, and World Culture for Kids and Children

1. Few civilizations were more powerful than the ancient Aztecs. They built immense temples, shrines, and pyramids, and their capital city of Tenochtitlan (where modern-day Mexico City now stands) was one of the world’s largest cities. 2. Mexican food is more than tacos and burritos. In fact, UNESCO bestowed Mexico with the first-ever award for “intangible cultural property” based on its rich cuisine. For more than 5,000 years, corn, beans, and pumpkins, called the “Three Sisters,” have provided the foundation of Mexican cooking. 3. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s 60 million Monarch butterflies! Every October to mid-November, millions of Monarch butterflies fill the sky as they migrate to Mexico to roost in fir trees for the winter. 4. Mexico is one of the most active earthquake regions in…

Drop into a Mexican restaurant and you’ll be greeted with tantalizing aromas and a menu chockfull of tasty options. Will you try the spicy chicken burritos or the crunchy beef tacos? Nibble on coconut camarones or have a handful of carnitas? There are always the cheesy enchiladas and crispy chalupas. And you’d better leave room not only for the chips and salsa, but sweet desserts of churros, guava pudding and of course, candied pumpkin. From handmade tamales that take hours to prepare and delicate slices of fish bathed in lime juice (ceviche) to spicy patties of birria (goat) and pachola (ground beef), the food throughout Mexico is vibrant, robust, and yummy. It’s no surprise that UNESCO bestowed upon Mexico the first-ever award for “intangible cultural property” based on its unique…

Developed in the 1930s, the Richter scale is a tool scientists use to measure the intensity of earthquakes. Earthquakes are classified on a scale of 1 to 10, but each number on the scale is 32 times stronger than the previous number. A quake measuring 2 on the Richter scale is barely felt. The largest, most damaging quake ever recorded was a 9.5 on the scale. Even smaller earthquakes can cause widespread panic in Mexico. As in the state of California, geologists have long warned Mexicans that “the big one,” meaning a quake of a greater magnitude than ever seen before, will happen eventually. When a 7.2 magnitude quake hit Mexico in April 2014, it caused only minor damage, but terrified vacationers fled into the streets in resort areas north…

A farmer in the small town of Paricutin was working in his fields in February 1943 when he saw a huge crack appear in the ground. The crack caused the ground to swell several feet into the air, and foul-smelling smoke poured out of it. When the farmer returned the next day to investigate, he discovered a volcanic cone jutting 164 feet (50 meters) into the air. The cone grew at an alarming rate, and it took just 10 weeks to reach 1,000 feet (330 meters). By the time it stopped growing, it measured 1,391 feet (424 meters), just a few feet shorter than the Empire State Building. The new volcano was named Paricutin. Within the first week of its formation, Paricutin began to spew ash onto the village that…

Frida Kahlo is one of Mexico’s most beloved artists. When she was a young woman, she suffered a terrible accident. As a result she had to undergo many surgeries and spent much of her life in pain. Frida lived a lot of time alone and in bed. To pass the time, she began sketching and painting. She became known for her many self-portraits that often included her pets that kept her company. She loved to have flowers in her hair and used bright colors in her backgrounds. Sometimes, she would include something shocking or personal to communicate the hardships she had experienced in her life. When Frida died, her house became a museum in her honor. Most of us will probably not spend a lot of our lives in bed…

What looks like a toad, eats like an anteater, and wears a spiky crown like the Statue of Liberty? The answer is not an amphibian, mammal, or monument, but rather the short-horned lizard. Found in the deserts of North and Central America, this lizard is flat and squatty with a short, blunt snout that makes it look toadish. In fact, some call it a horned or horny toad. It has a crown of solidly filled horns on its head and numerous spines across its back that discourage predators such as snakes, dogs, and wolves that can easily outrun the little lizard. The short-horned lizard eats mainly ants; most species prefer the black harvester variety. The stealthy lizard waits for an unsuspecting ant to crawl by, snaps it up with its…

It is no wonder the ancient Aztecs believed that Monarch butterflies were the spirits of fallen warriors dressed in battle colors. Every year, from October to mid-November, 60 million Monarchs paint the skies in a fluttering kaleidoscope (ka-lie-doh-scope) of orange and black. The beating of their wings fills the air with a soft pattering like a light rainfall. They have come to the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Michoacan (Mee-cho-a-cahn), 60 miles west of Mexico City, to roost in Oyamel (Oh-yah-mill) fir trees for the winter. Monarch butterflies are the only insect to make a round-trip migration to and from warmer climates, much like birds and whales do. Butterflies east of the Rocky Mountains travel to Mexico. Flying from different routes in the north and east, they merge into one…

Have you ever wondered where people worshipped long ago? Today, on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico , you can visit the ruins of one of these ancient places. It is Tulum, a sacred city of the Maya. Built in the 1200s, it is believed to have been home to 500 to 600 people. As you climb the steep steps that lead through the narrow entrance, you can see that the city was once walled on three sides. The fourth side was protected from invaders by the high cliffs along the Caribbean coast. The building in the center is the Temple of the Frescoes. In the three shelves above the pillars, you can see figures of Maya gods. The statues are made of stucco. Chac is the god of rain. Itzamna…

Popping Facts about CORN compiled by Carolee Miot McIntosh • Corn, or maize as it is called in Mexico, is a large grain plant that was domesticated (adapted for human use) by the indigenous people of Mexico, perhaps as far back as 5600 B.C. • European explorers and traders brought maize home from their voyages in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. • Maize’s ability to thrive in diverse climates makes it easy to grow throughout the world. There are five major types of corn: Dent corn: Named for the dent in the top of the kernel. It is yellow and white in color and often used for animal feed. Flint corn: Sometimes called “Indian corn.” Comes in a wide variety of colors. It’s usually decorative in use, but…

More than 200 different Indian groups settled in Mexico over the course of thousands of years. Although most of the groups were small, some grew significantly in size and power. The Aztecs were a large and powerful civilization. They ruled a vast empire during the 15th and 16th centuries and developed a sophisticated system of agriculture and a powerful military. They constructed beautiful temples, shrines, and pyramids, and their capital city of Tenochtitlan became one of the world’s largest cities. Mexico City is located where Tenochtitlan once stood. Although the Aztecs had many enemies, it was the Spanish who brought an end to their powerful empire in 1521. Spain ruled Mexico for the next 300 years, but their oppression of the Mexican people led to the Mexican War of Independence…

Chances are you’ve seen a disaster movie in which an earthquake devastates a city, toppling buildings and opening chasms in the streets. Earthquakes can be huge, frightening events, but earthquakes actually occur every single day. Most of them are small, mild tremors that people don’t even feel. Only sensitive seismic equipment can register them. The ground under our feet may feel solid and unmoving, but it is really shifting all the time. Earthquakes occur because the earth’s crust, which varies between five and 45 miles deep depending on where you are, is made up of tectonic plates. These plates are always moving and shifting and sliding, and sometimes they run up against each other and get snagged on rough sections of rock. When tectonic plates get stuck, they build up…

La Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) is a whole day dedicated to the dead that is celebrated in Mexico and parts of North, Central, and South America. In these countries, death is not a stranger to be feared, but an everyday companion. Never sad or scary, the Day of the Dead is a celebration to remember and honor family members who have died. It is a happy, colorful fiesta (party), complete with music, dancing, spirits of both kinds (alcohol and the souls of dead people), and food — lots of food. Celebrated on November 2, the Day of the Dead, harks back to early peoples such as the Maya and Aztec, so some of the symbols and practices have been around for at least 3,000 years.…