Hansen Observatory

Hansen Observatory

"Jump into the car, everyone," cried Dad.

"Where are you taking us?" inquired Brynne. "It's practically dark outside."

"Exactly," replied Dad. "We're headed up to the mountains. You'll be amazed at what you will see."

As Dad drove, Brynne wondered what he wanted to show them. Brynne spotted a large sign as her Dad turned into a driveway. It read, "Hanson Observatory." Observatories were always up high in the mountains. The view of the sky was much clearer there. The dust and lights of the city were way down below. Dust and lights interfered with a telescope's ability to see.

Brynne jumped out of the car. Dad was right. She was sure she was going to be amazed at what she would see.

N.C. Wyeth

N.C. Wyeth

N.C. Wyeth was a painter. He is known most for his paintings of classic children's stories such as Treasure Island and King Arthur.

N.C. had five children. Three of them grew up to be painters, too. Henriette painted pictures of people. Carolyn painted pictures of the land by her house.

Andrew was often sick when he was a child. He stayed home from school. N.C. taught Andrew how to paint. Andrew painted pictures of people. He also painted pictures of places around this home. He is now the most famous painter in the family.

Andrew had two children. Can you guess what his son Jamie grew up to be? Yes, there is another painter in the Wyeth family! Jamie paints pictures of animals and people.

A Roar in the Woods

A Roar in the Woods

Quinn stepped out of his cousin's van and looked around. He'd never been out of the city. The landscape before him was huge. He and his cousin put on their backpacks and headed down the trail.

The first thing Quinn noticed was the silence, but then he listened more closely. There were the sounds of crunching sticks and leaves under his hiking boots and different birds chirping high in the trees. He could even hear his lunch rustling in his backpack.

Slowly, the trail turned and got steeper. Quinn heard a new sound. The trail turned again, and suddenly the sound became a loud roar. He wondered if there could be a subway train or a big truck this deep in the woods. Quinn looked and listened even more carefully.

At the top of the hill, Quinn and his cousin stopped. The roar was so loud that they had to shout over the sound. All the noise came from water. The water flowed down over some rocks from a river above and became a white, foamy pool below them. Quinn discovered the cause of the roar. It was the roar of a beautiful waterfall.

Volcanoes

 Volcanoes

Volcanoes are made when melted rock inside the Earth grows. The hot rock fills holes under the ground. When the rocks on the surface can no longer hold the hot rock below, the volcano blows. Fire shoots up and smoke comes out. Hot rock flows down the mountain. It covers everything in its path. It is dangerous and beautiful.

A live volcano is an amazing thing to see. Few people in the United States have seen one. Yet there are 50 live volcanoes in this country.

Most of these volcanoes are in Alaska. There are 40 volcanoes on islands in Alaska. These are far from people. One or two of them erupt each year.

Most volcanoes are near the Pacific Ocean. Some are under the sea. Hawaii has many live volcanoes. Hot rock quietly flows from them.

In 1980, a volcano erupted in Washington. That volcano was Mount St. Helens. Gas, smoke, and very hot rocks filled the air. It was so hot that snow and ice melted. Ash filled the sky. When it was over, the mountain was smaller.