Faces People, Places, and World Culture for Kids and Children April 2017

1. You will hear about 250 different languages spoken in Sydney, Australia’s biggest city. For about 30,000 years, indigenous Australians have lived in and around Sydney, which is home to almost five million people. The first European settlers arrived in the late 1700s. The city boasts citizens with roots from around the world. 2. Try to imagine Sydney Harbour without the iconic “sails” of the Sydney Opera House. Designed by Jørn Utzon, the building was very controversial during construction. Over budget and running behind schedule, Utzon was fired without ever having laid eyes on the completed opera house. 3. Feeling brave? A climb up the Sydney Harbour Bridge might be your kind of adventure. Businessman Paul Cave opened Bridge Climb in 1998. Since its inception, more than three million people…

Location: Southeastern Australia. It is the state capital of New South Wales. Climate: Located in the Southern Hemisphere, Sydney’s summer months are December through February, with January usually being the hottest month. In general, Sydney experiences mild winters and warm summers. Population: 4.9 million (2015 estimate) People: Nearly half (49.1 percent) of Sydney residents were born overseas. Visitors: 610,000 people visit the city on any given day, according to the City of Sydney government web site.…

Fifty million years ago, a giant plant-eating mammal as tall as a human, and weighing more than 500 pounds roamed eastern Australia. As the climate became drier, the huge herbivore, Phascolonus gigas, was deprived of food. About 40,000 years ago, Aboriginal people had hunted the slow-moving animal to extinction. Fast-forward to 1798, when a European explorer called the much smaller descendant of the giant mammal a “whom-batt.” This was based on the name wambad given to the creature by Aboriginal people who lived in the area that is now Sydney. The common (or coarse-haired) wombat looks like a small, pudgy bear with coarse sandy, dark brown, or black fur. It is the largest burrowing animal in Australia, with strong feet and long claws, which make it a master digger. The…

It’s one of the most visited cities in the world, and landmarks like its famous opera house are familiar to almost everyone. It’s also a multicultural city, in which 250 different languages are spoken daily by people who have moved there from many other places. And if you’re a Sydneysider, then you also call this city of almost five million people home. Have you guessed where you are? You’re in Sydney, Australia, the capital of New South Wales and the biggest city in Australia and Oceania. Indigenous Australians have lived in and around Sydney for 30,000 years. These ancient people migrated from northern Australia and southeast Asia, and remnants of stone tools found near Sydney suggest that there may have been humans living there even 50,000 years ago. By the…

The Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge are two of Australia’s most iconic landmarks. The bridge offers spectacular views of the opera house, one of the most famous works of architecture in the world. A harbor bridge to connect Sydney to North Sydney was first proposed in 1815, but it wasn’t until 1900 that the government invited engineers from around the world to submit bridge design proposals. All designs were rejected due to “cost, structural defects, or other features.” In 1923, the government once again asked for proposals, and a design created by an engineering firm in England was chosen. Work on the bridge began in 1924, and foundations for its four main bearings were dug to a depth of 39 feet (12 m) and set into sandstone.…

Danish architect Jørn Utzon spent nine years working on the design and construction of the Sydney Opera House, one of the world’s most spectacular works of modern architecture. Sadly, his association with the project tarnished his reputation and damaged his career. Utzon was just 38 when he was chosen as the architect for the Sydney Opera House. His winning design was little more than a sketch, and Utzon himself said everything about it was “on the edge of possible.” Designing such a complicated structure would take years, but the government insisted construction begin before Utzon had a clear concept of how the complicated and elaborate roof shells would be constructed or supported. As a result, work had to be redone to accommodate the design. Utzon was blamed for this as…