Thursday, June 22, 2023
Big day for Aussie sport; Robots roam an airport; India’s pigeon police force; and meet 11 year old Farmer Joe.
LINKS
Squiz Kids Classroom Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Classroom
Carrier pigeons
Singapore police robots
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/18/asia/police-robots-singapore-security-intl-hnk/index.html
11 year old Farmer Joe
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/11-yo-farmer-joe-dreamed-of-being-farmer/
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Mums, Dads, and Teachers – check out VisitCanberra for some great ways to inspire and entertain the kids on your next trip to the nation’s capital.
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THE LOWDOWN
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It’s been a bumper bonanza of sport in the past 24 hours, and there’s a lot more to look forward to tonight.
First up and in Rugby League, the Maroons have won bragging rights in State of Origin for a second year in a row. That’s right the trophy remains up in the Sunshine State after coach Billy Slater’s team beat New South Wales in the second game of the series.
And It was down to a knife’s edge, but the cricket gods were on our side, with a huge win for Australia in the Ashes.
As the unlikely batting duo of Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyons pulled the Aussies back from the dead to secure the victory in the first test.
It really was an incredible feat from our two bowlers who were stand out batsmen, achieving a combined 55 run partnership beating England by just two wickets.
Tonight all eyes will be the women’s teams. When Australia takes on England in the Women’s Ashes. Now, the Aussie are on an impressive streak, winning the trophy for the last 8 years.
And back to League; the Women’s State of Origin kicks off tonight in Townsville.
Go Girls.
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 Singapore, where real robots now patrol the country’s International airport.
Imagine a cartoon robot, just on wheels, where its head can turn a full 360 degrees. That means it can swivel its head all the way around, in one full rotation. I’ll put a link in the episode notes, so you can see what they look like.
There are two of these robots who roam the terminals, they have multiple cameras serving as extra eyes on the ground, supporting the police team.
In the event of an incident, they have flashing lights and can sound an alarm. Members of the public can press a button on the robot’s front to seek help.
When a passenger accidentally left a bag behind, the robot was able to cordon off the area, check the luggage and return it to the owner.
Singapore is in Asia, it’s a tech savvy nation, where cleaner robots have been working at the same airport for years, as well as in train stations. They are even working on prototypes for flying taxis in the future. How cool is that?
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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From futurist tech, to harking back to the old days before the internet, before emails and before phones. A local police force in India has been preserving the old form of communication using carrier pigeons, in the event that disaster strikes and all forms of modern communication fails.
Do you know what a carrier pigeon is? They are regular pigeons trained to carry messages, where the message is written on paper and attached to the bird’s leg. They then fly to a particular destination to pass on the note.
Carrier pigeons were used all the way back in the Middle Ages and were widely used during the First and Second World War.
Not that long ago, but back in 1999, so 24 years ago, a powerful cyclone hit India and brought down vital communication infrastructure. Guess what was used to pass on information? The carrier pigeons.
The police officers keep around 100 of these skilled birds, who have learnt to fly as far as 800 kilometres to pass on messages, they say they also love preserving the history of this ancient practice.
SQUIZ KIDS SALUTES
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11 year old Joe Trofer from England loves farming so much he’s turned his dreams into reality.
When Joe was just 7 years old, his grandfather built him a garden bed, where Joe learnt to grow vegetables, and that’s where his love of agriculture began. He started selling these veggies from a cart outside his home.
He used the money to buy some chickens, so he was able to start selling their eggs too.
He was given 4 sheep for his birthday, which he named Rhubarb, Strawberry, Pumpkin and Radish. Joe learnt to breed these animals, and even spin wool. With the profits from breeding his sheep, Joe has been able to rent his own plot of land, and buy more animals.
Joe’s mini farm has grown, so now owns 37 sheep, 12 chickens, two cows and a dog called Spud.
Joe said he was born to be a farmer and that he loves driving tractors, spending time with animals and being outside.
Remember he’s just 11 years old and working hard to follow his dreams.
// CANBERRA //
Imagine if your day at work meant feeding cheetahs, playing with monkeys and looking after sharks.
Because that’s what zookeeper Russell Jackson does pretty much every day at the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra.
We’ve done a great Squiz Kids Q+A with Russell on what it’s like to work with monkeys. Something I know a little bit about here at Squiz Kids …
And if you’re heading off on a road trip to our nation’s capital these school hols – have a listen – because the pod is packed with other great ideas for kids’ entertainment, Canberra-style.
The Q+A should play immediately after this ep if you’re listening on a podcast app – otherwise search for it in whatever podcasting app you use or via the Q+A page on our website. Enjoy!
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 country is a police force preserving the old form of communication using carrier pigeons?
- Hopefully you were listening hard for this one… If you turned around in one full rotation, how many degrees would that be?
- 11 year old Farmer Joe, now has a host of animals, but do you remember any of the cute names he gave his first four sheep?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s June 22 – World Camel Day, but don’t be confused, as hump day was yesterday. Hump day, that’s every Wednesday, when you have to get through the middle day of the school week, before it’s a downhill slide to the weekend.
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today … Olive from Cannon Hill, Aren from Flagstaff Hill, Ayanna from Forest Lake, Lachlan from Pearce, Rafael from Kings Langley, Laura from Capalaba, Carter from Pitt Town, Jarrah from Cambridge Gardens, Janika from Altona Meadows, Billy from Gulgong, Mary-Rose from Holsworthy, Angus from Denmark in WA and Piku listening over in Calgary, Canada.
And belated shout outs go to… Parker from Exeter, Indigo from Ryde, Oscar from Redfern, Maia, Christy and Ollie from Narraweena, John from Broome, Evie from Darlington,
Classroom shout outs go to… Miss Sloane’s class at Llandilo Public School, class 3/4B and Mrs Wylie at Glen Dhu Primary School in Launceston, class 6W and Miss Woodley at Holsworthy Public School, Room 30 and Ms Rolls at Woodend Primary School in Sheidow Park, class 6C and Ms McKenzie at Bellarine Christian College in Drysdale and lastly to Stage 3 Enrichment Class with Mrs Hampton at Mittagong Public School.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- India
- 360 degrees
- Rhubarb, Strawberry, Pumpkin and Radish.
Don’t forget .. if you’ve got a birthday coming up and you want a shout out – or if you want a classroom shout out – drop us a line at [email protected] or fill out the form on our website.
That’s all we have time for. Thanks for listening to Squiz Kids Today – we’ll be back again tomorrow.
In the meantime, get out there and have a most excellent day. Over and out.