World's Largest Flower

 World's Largest Flower

    The Titan Arum is called the "world's largest flower." It is often called something else, though. Some people call it "Mr. Stinky."

    The Titan was first found in Indonesia. It has one large leaf shaped like an umbrella. But this is not a leaf you would see growing in most gardens. It can grow to be 20 feet high and 15 feet across. The stem of the leaf is as big as a person's thigh! But the leaf is not the most interesting part of the plant. It's the flower of the Titan that gets all the attention.

    The Titan has only one flower. What an amazing flower it is. The flower is more than 7 feet tall. That's taller than most grown men! The flower only lasts two to three days. It's not a flower anyone would want to sniff, though. The flower of the Titan Arum gives off a strong odor. The smell has been described as "rotting fish with burnt sugar." The stinky odor lasts about eight hours.

Team Colors

 Team Colors

    Madison's favorite coach was Ms. Acosta. Madison wanted to give Ms. Acosta a gift, but she didn't have any money. Madison sat with her head in her hands. She twirled her necklace on her finger. Then she had an idea.

    Madison stirred salt, flour, and water. She cooked the mixture until it was thick. Then she rolled the dough into little balls. She used a toothpick to make a hole through the middle of each ball to make beads. Then she baked the beads in the oven.

    Madison spread newspapers outside. She waited for the beads to cool. She painted half the beads green and half the beads gold. Madison placed a gold bead on a string. Then she added a green bead. She filled the string with gold and green beads.

    Finally, she tied the string in a knot. Madison had made a necklace for Ms. Acosta in the team colors of green and gold.

 

My Penguin Summer

 My Penguin Summer

    "Here you are Elizabeth," said Dr Uribe. "I believe you're ready." After just three days, I had become a penguin washer. I walked into the washing room. I held a toothbrush and a pair of gloves.

    At first I was a bit nervous. Then I remembered what Dad had told me earlier. "Just treat them like the animals back home. Keep the penguins calm and handle them gently."

    I put on my gloves. Then I was paired with a girl named kali. "Washing a penguin is a two-person job," she told me.

    I quickly learned that washing a penguin takes about 30 minutes. If a penguin is covered with lots of oil, it takes much longer, though.

    First, the handler picks up a penguin from a pen and carries it to the washing room. Then the handler puts it in a little tub of warm water. He or she tries to keep the penguin calm so it won't bite or die of shock.

    As the washer, it was my job to clean the oil from its body. I used a special soap. First, I picked up a toothbrush. Then I used it to gently clean the sticky oil from the penguin's face and head.

Living in the Dark Zone

 Living in the Dark Zone

    There are some creatures most people have never seen. These creatures never see you, either. They live in the dark zone. The dark zone isn't a place in outer space. It's the area deep within a cave.

    This cool, dark zone is home to all sorts of animals. Sunlight never reaches the dark zone. Many of these animals, such as the blind crayfish, cannot see. Yet this is not a problem. Animals that live here use other senses to stay alive.

    Some dark zone animals have no eyes. The Texas blind salamander is one example. The Texas blind salamander has two small black dots under its skin where eyes would be found. It hunts in cave water for tiny snails and shrimp.

    How can it find food if it can't see? It hunts for food in a special way. A snail or shrimp makes small waves when it moves in the water. The salamander can feel where the waves come from. Then it knows that dinner is close by. Watch out, snail!

A Gecko's Tale

 A Gecko's Tale

    If a gecko could talk, it might tell you an amazing tale. What's the story? Why, it's about a tail—a gecko's tail.

    A gecko is a kind of lizard. Geckos live in war places such as rain forests, deserts, grasslands, and marshes. Many people also keep them as pets.

    Geckos come in all sizes. Some kinds are only the length of your fingernail, and others are longer than your foot.

    Geckos hunt for food at night. They move quickly and silently, so they can catch crickets and roaches. Sometimes they eat small birds and mice.

    A gecko has a short, thick tail. Its tail helps it survive. What happens when another animal catches a gecko?

    The gecko lets go of its tail and escapes! Later, it grows a new one. Now that's an amazing, but true, tale!

Beauty at the Beach

 Beauty at the Beach

    "Have you ever seen a photograph of Earth taken from space?" asked Aunt Cammy. "You see that Earth is mostly blue because most of Earth is water. The mighty oceans cover a large part of Earth."

    "I'd like to see the ocean," Keith said. "Can we go?"

    Aunt Cammy said, "Great idea! Let's take a 'beauty walk' at the beach. We'll stop and look at things we find beautiful. Too many times we just right by." Keith ran to get his bathing suit.

    When they got to the beach, Aunt Cammy said, "Isn't the white sand beautiful? It is smooth and sparkles in the sun like diamonds."

    Keith and Aunt Cammy walked along the ocean's edge. Keith stopped and gazed at a seashell that was the color of the moon.

    Aunt Cammy pointed to a starfish. Keith bent down. Suddenly, a wave washed it away! Aunt Cammy grabbed Keith's arm so he wouldn't wash away, too.

    They played in the surf, sat in the sun, walked, and looked. They talked about each beautiful thing they found. They didn't pick anything up. They left things for someone else to enjoy.

Waiting to Bloom

 Waiting to Bloom

In April 2003, people at the Beardsley Zoo saw a very unusual sight. This zoo in Connecticut is home to an 80-year-old mother of pups. An animal, you ask? No, not at all. It's an 80-year-old plant. It makes young plants called "pups."

This desert plant is called a century plant. It takes a long time for the plant to bloom. Most don't take 100 years, though. The century plant uses all of its energy to bloom. It blooms only one time and then, unfortunately, it dies.

This century plant was given to the zoo in 1956. One day in 2003, a zoo worker noticed something. A flower spike had started to grow from the 4-foot plant. Soon, the spike grew an amazing 25 feet in the air.

In April, beautiful yellow and green flowers had bloomed, and the plant had lived its full life. Don't worry, though. New pups are ready to take its place.