Friday 26 March, 2021
The Olympic torch is lit; Venice welcomes dolphins; the Aussie telescope in moon mission; and its tiger keeper Q+A day!
Taronga Tiger Q+A Links:
Watch: Tiger Q+A on YouTube: https://youtu.be/i7ObnWWZ4pY
Watch: Tiger Q+A on Taronga’s website: http://TarongaTV.com
LINKS
Venice’s dolphins
What’s Up Fox?
Reading: Tiger Daughter – https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/childrens/Tiger-Daughter-Rebecca-Lim-9781760877644
Listening: Justin Timberlake – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuZE_IRwLNI
Watching: Superheroes without special effects https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZrSiCso9pU
The Fox’s Spotify Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Y8yJprftjmzIosbZ8pZGh?si=a4aVF8R5Sc2jyOy1wlN_2Q
Q+A Tiger Extra Links
Tiger Cubs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwqwutOSq3A&t=12s
Facts about Sumatran tigers: https://taronga.org.au/animals/sumatran-tiger
Taronga Tiger Cam 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U63FhBdr2E
Taronga Tiger Cam 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHEPDss4Q_s
Squiz Kids Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squizkids/?hl=en
Got a birthday coming up and you want a shout-out? Send us an email at [email protected]
Squiz Kids is proudly supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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A tiny flicker of a flame was held aloft in Japan yesterday, marking the start of the Olympic torch relay and what officials there hope will be the first act in a successful Tokyo Games.
You’ll remember that the Olympics were supposed to take place in Tokyo – the capital city of Japan – in July last year, but had to be postponed because of the coronavirus.
Postponed means pushed back to a later date.
That date is July 23 of this year – so about four months away – when athletes from around the world are expected to arrive in Tokyo to compete for gold.
This year’s Olympics will be like no other. Normally, the stands are packed with eager spectators. But because of coronavirus restrictions, there will be no international crowds in attendance at this year’s Games – and a decision about local crowds attending is pending.
The Olympic torch relay is an important part of Olympic Games tradition. The torch carries what is called the Olympic flame. Which is to say: a fire that has been burning without interruption since the Berlin Olympics of 1936.
That’s a flame that has been kept alight for 85 years straight. The torch will be carried now by no fewer than 10,000 runners, through 859 locations in Japan for 120 days as it makes its way to the Olympic stadium in Tokyo where it will be used to light what’s called the Olympic Cauldron – which is the big bowl of fire that will burn throughout the duration of the Games.
Pretty cool, huh? Or hot, I suppose, depending how you look at it.
SPIN THE GLOBE
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Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a news story from wherever it stops. And today we’ve landed in Italy – in a town called Venice – which is famous for having been built on a series of canals – where the locals are excited at the sight of dolphins back in Venetian waters.
Before COVID, Venice was one of the most popular cities in the world for tourists. Cruise ships docked there, tour boats criss-crossed the harbour and many thousands of people a day rode in gondolas – a long, flat-bottomed boat pushed along by a gondolier. But since the coronavirus has cancelled lots of travel plans for people, it’s been quiet on Venice’s lagoon – and that means more fish have been visiting – and where there are fish, there are dolphins to chase them.
There’s a link in today’s episode notes to video of dolphins in the Venice lagoon.
SPACED OUT
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Fifty odd years ago, a little town in NSW called Parkes played an important role in the massive achievement that was putting a man on the moon.
You see, there’s a massive telescope in Parkes – and back in 1969, it helped the American space agency, NASA, communicate with the astronauts on the moon – and even helped relay the first TV pictures of man walking on the moon. Now – that same telescope is getting ready to play an important role in an upcoming series of new moon missions – whose ultimate aim is to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon. The telescope operators have just signed a deal with the companies in America who are coordinating these experimental flights to the moon, to help them collect the piles and piles of data that will be coming down from space to Earth. Another way Australia is going to play a part in the exciting new era of space exploration. Get your astronaut suits at the ready.
POP CULTURE CORNER
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Are you an Avengers fan? Do you like nothing more than to settle in and watch Thor, The Hulk and Iron Man do their world saving thing? Then you’ll be pleased to know that a release date has finally been announced for Black Widow – the standalone superhero movie starring Scarlett Johannsen. The film was supposed to come out last year, but kept being delayed because … corona. But Disney yesterday announced Black Widow would finally be hitting cinemas on July 9. And in good news for lounge lizards, it will be released at the same time on Disney’s streaming service. Same deal for Cruella – the live-action 101 Dalmatians spin-off – which will have a dual cinema and streaming release on May 28. Pass the popcorn.
IT’S Q+A TIME !
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It’s the moment all of you tiger fans have been waiting for … today is Taronga Tiger Keeper Q+A day. And in a break with tradition, this special edition of Squiz Kids Q+A will be going out on Taronga TV as well as here in podcast land. Meaning you can listen to it, or watch it, or both! There are links to all options in today’s episode notes.
And in another break with tradition, it’s not my voice you’ll hear, but that of the wonderful Amanda – who’s joined the ranks here at Squiz Kids HQ – and who I sent along to Taronga Zoo this week to hang out with the big cats… Amanda, welcome to Squiz Kids!
Thanks Bryce – so excited to be here.
So how did the visit to Taronga go and what can we expect from the Tiger keeper Q+A?
It was amazing! I got to put all those excellent questions from Squiz Kids to tiger keeper, Louise – I hung out with some tamarin monkeys, got a tour of the incredible interactive tiger exhibit and got a fascinating glimpse of a day in the life of a zookeeper.
That sounds roarsome ! I can’t wait to hear it. If you’re listening on a podcast app, the Q+A should play immediately after this edition of Squiz Kids. Otherwise, you can find it on our website – squizkids.com.au.
WHAT’S UP FOX?
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Every Friday we check in with Squiz Kids ambassador, Flynn – known as The Fox to see what he’s been reading, listening to and watching.
The book that has caught his eye this week is Tiger Daughter – by Rebecca Lim – about a young girl’s experience growing up Asian in Australia.
On the listening front, its been a laid-back, throwback kind of a week, with Justin Timberlake’s ‘Mirrors’ on high rotation.
And as for watching: he’s been highly entertained by the Superheroes Without Special Effects videos on YouTube – showing behind the scenes of superhero movies.
As ever: there are links to all of these cool things in today’s episode notes. As well as a link to Flynn’s Spotify playlist – with every tune he’s ever recommended.
THE S’QUIZ
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This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- In which city will this year’s Olympic Games take place?
- Name the city in Italy where dolphins have made a welcome reappearance.
- What’s the name of the zoo in Sydney where today’s tiger keeper Q+A was recorded?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s March 26 … Purple Day for Epilepsy .. a day to wear purple to raise awareness of epilepsy, and show your support for people who live with seizures.
It’s also a Friday.. And you know what that means … an extra long list of birthday shout outs, for which i reckon we need to crank up the Squiz Kids birthday reggae tune ,… hit it …
Happy birthday to … Hussain from Gosford East, Ashleigh and Gus from Belmont, Maddie from Dubbo, Elise, Nell and Jhonny from Sydney, Aisha from Abbotsford, Summer from Albany Hills, Harry from Nedlands, Felix from Mansfield, Delilah from Kariong, Joshua from Haberfield, Xanthe from Mitchelton, Alyssa from Karalee, Emily from Forest Lake, Nicholas from NSW, Chelsea and Gurjaap from Glendenning, Flavius from Belmont, and Annabelle from Mackay.
And a belated birthday shoutout to … Olivia from Sydney
Weekend birthday shoutouts…Alexis and Mia from Goomalling, Chirathi (Cheer-a-thee) from Jindalee, Bede from NSW, Naomi from Rochedale South, Evan from Dover Heights, Isabella from Yamanto, Tait from Table Top, Ruby from Broken Hill, Macy from Petersham, Ruby from Narellan Vale, Georgia from Forest Lake and Connie from Abbotsford.
Happy birthday one and all.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Tokyo
- Venice
- Taronga Zoo