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Did you know that the word volcano comes from the island Vulcano which is off the coast of Italy?

Centuries ago when people worshiped gods like the Roman god Jupiter (same as Zeus in Greek mythology), they looked upon a mountain that emitted red hot fragments and clouds of dust. They believed that this was a chimney for the blacksmith Vulcan. The Roman legend said that Vulcan would work at his furnace crafting thunderbolts for Jupiter and weapons for Mars (the god of war). What they were really looking at was the volcano, Vulcano!

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Those volcanoes just can’t sit still. Look at some of the volcano events that have happened just during the year 2002.

January 2002 - In the Democratic Republic of Congo red-hot lava began pouring out of Mount Nyiragongo down through the eastern town of Goma. Up to 300,000 people were driven from their homes as molten lava swept through Goma.

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Combine steep mountains with abundant snow and you have the makings of an avalanche. An avalanche or snow slide is a mighty force of nature. Imagine tons of snow hurtling down a mountain slope! Within 5 seconds the snow reaches a speed of 80 miles per hour!

As the growing force of the snow roils downhill, trees are snapped in two like matchsticks and everything in the way is buried under layers and layers of snow. Within seconds the layers are as hard as concrete. Obviously, the best and safest way to see an avalanche is on TV!

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It is a quiet joy and delight to stand in the silence of a gentle snowfall with the world hushed and gray around you. The soft white snowflakes tickle your face as they land and promptly melt. You hold out your mittened hands and a delicate bit of lace lands there only to disappear in the blink of an eye. A magical gift of nature, no two snowflakes are exactly alike. Some look like pointy stars, some like a flower with six simple petals and others like intricate lace.

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Have you ever been sleeping in your bed at night and then suddenly you start to feel your room shaking, pictures fall off the wall and things start falling off your shelves?

If you live on the coast of California you are probably familiar very familiar with this phenomenon called an earthquake. But do you know what causes the ground to shake? Also, imagine living on our planet thousands of years ago before our modern technology and knowledge of science… how do you think these ancient civilizations explained the shaking and rumbling of the ground beneath. Continue reading and learn about some ancient myths and legends that attempted to explain earthquakes and learn what causes these ground-shaking events.

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We all know that the earth is round, right. But way back in time our ancestors believed that the earth was flat and that if you reached the end-you would fall off!

Well let’s say that you had to prove to somebody that the earth was round. How would you do that? But, before you go pulling out your handy map of the world- you have to prove your point with no tools and no maps. You can only use simple logic. Take some time and think about it before you read the answer in the last part of this article.

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In this article we’re going to explore the life of a honey bee, so let’s find out what the buzz is about.

Honey bees are social insects that live together in a colony. Within the colony, there are very strict guidelines as to what each bee does. There are three types of bees, the queen bee, the drone bee and the worker bee, and all have a very important function within the colony. The first kind of bee is the queen bee.

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Some people call it an underwater wonderland. Others call it the most magical place on our planet. We are talking about one of the great wonders of our natural world-the beautiful and amazing Great Barrier Reef located off the East Coast of Australia. People travel from all over the world to see and explore the Great Barrier Reef and the wonderful creatures that live in the area.

The Great Barrier Reef is not just one reef but actually a series of over 2000 individual reefs stretching for more than 2300 kilometers. It stretches from Papua New Guinea in the north down the Queensland coast to Lady Elliott Island in the south. In addition to the reefs there are also over 500 islands in the Great Barrier Reef.

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We all know that the earth is round, right? But way back in time our ancestors believed that the earth was flat and that if you reached the end-you would fall off! Well let’s say that you had to prove to somebody that the earth was round. How would you do that? But, before you go pulling out your handy map of the world- you have to prove your point with no tools and no maps. You can only use simple logic. Take some time and think about it before you read the answer below.

The easiest way to prove to somebody that the earth is in fact round is to take him or her down to the beach. There, you could watch a tall ship as it sails away from you. If the earth were flat, the tall ship would slowly become a faint dot as it vanished in the distance. But that is not what happens. Instead, a tall ship sailing away disappears from the bottom up (you see the bottom disappear first, then the top of the ship). If a ship was approaching the beach you would see the opposite- the top of the ship first, then the bottom. Interesting, huh?

Have you heard about the powerful hurricanes that have been occurring in the past few weeks? If you watch the weather, then chances are you’ve heard of Hurricane Dennis, and the most recent one, Hurricane Floyd. How do they happen, and what can you do to prepare for one? Let’s find out.

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Here is a great way to see how an earthquake happens.

What you’ll need:

• A flexible rubber band
• A stapler or other heavy object
• A carpeted floor or other rough surface

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Spring makes itself known not only by new sights but also through new sounds. One unmistakable Spring sound is the croaking and calling of frogs, which will soon raise a chorus in the wetlands, stream sides, and woodlands across North America.

One of the first frog species to start calling in the Eastern U.S. and Canada is the Spring Peeper. They’re tiny frogs, between 1 and 1 1/4 inches in length. Because they are so small, Peepers are nearly impossible to see, yet they can ALWAYS be heard whenever they’re singing. The voice of one Peeper sounds like a short, high-pitched whistle. But when a group of Spring Peepers is calling together they sound like jingle bells on a winter sleigh.

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