Tuesday, 14 July, 2020
Wild weather alert; Pink snow on the Alps; Mars missions aplenty; and the penguins’ big day out.
LINKS:
Penguins’ museum visit:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCYyfrZD1-k/?utm_source=ig_embed
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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Send in the army! That’s the offer from Canberra as more than one thousand military personnel are set to be sent to Victoria to help the state take control of the coronavirus outbreak there.
It’s expected the thousand member defence force team will help the almost 300 troops who are already in the southern state helping local authorities with border monitoring and COVID testing. They might also do some door knocking to make sure people in the locked down areas of Melbourne are doing what they’re meant to be doing – and that’s staying at home for the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, school kids in Victoria will have to wait until the middle of August before they are allowed to return to school. Which might sound like a good thing: but seriously, how much more home schooling could you, or your parents, take?
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Batten down the hatches if you live along the coast of NSW – as wild weather and torrential rains are predicted to slam the state today.
The weather bureau was yesterday warning anyone living in coastal NSW to tie down any loose items in their backyard with gale force winds predicted. And with the huge winds is expected to come massive seas: meaning today might not be the best day to learn to boogie board
Stay safe out there Squizzers!
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 … where pink snow has landed on the Alps.
The Alps is a snow-covered mountain range that runs through the continent of Europe.
And while it’s summer over in Italy right now, there are some sections of the Alps that are so high – there is still snow on some mountain tops.
And some of that snow is distinctly pink in colour.
It’s all thanks to an algae – which is a sort of plant – that has started growing in the snow. Algae quite often grows in water: so scientists say it’s not that unusual for it to also grow in the frozen form of water.
Local researchers say that pink snow makes a regular appearance in the Alps most years – and is nothing too serious to worry about. Looks a bit like a strawberry flavoured snow-cone even so …
SPACED OUT
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Welcome to a new Squiz Kids segment – where we put on our space suits, jump in a rocket and explore the magical world of outer space …
And today it’s all about Mars. A planet you’re going to hear a lot about this month as three separate missions are launched sending rocket ships to the red plant.
The rocket launches – one from America, one from China and one from the United Arab Emirates – are all expected to lift off some time this month – and none of them have any people on board.
And it’s not just a coincidence.
It’s because between mid-July and mid-August, planet Earth and Mars are as close to one another as both of their orbits around the Sun allow them to be. Which means the spacecraft will take the shortest amount of time to get from Earth to Mars.
Even so, it’s going to take each spaceship at least six months to reach its destination. That’s one very long flight … wonder how many in-flight movies you’d have to store on your iPad to make that trip bearable?
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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Welcome back to another new Squiz Kids segment as we celebrate all things marvelous in the animal world … and today’ it’s all about Izzy and Darwin, the Insta-famous penguins from Shedd Aquarium in Chicago in the United States, who have cemented themselves as the coolest little waddlers on the internet, having just spent a day visiting dinosaur skeletons at a neighbouring natural history museum.
Since their aquarium has been in lockdown – and without regular human visitors to keep them entertained and exercising – Izzy and Darwin have been let out on day trips by their keepers. And the latest day trip has been to the Field Museum – famous for its T-rex skeleton called Sue and its Titanosaur called Maximo. And if the penguins were even slightly overwhelmed at the sight of a T-rex – they weren’t showing it – waddling by with hardly a head turn. There’s a video of the pair on their museum adventure in today’s episode notes.
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 …
- What is the name of the mountain range in Europe that has pink snow?
- Which planet is the destination for no fewer than three separate space missions lifting off this month?
- What sort of flightless birds paid a visit to a museum in Chicago this week?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s July 14 … France’s national day, also known as ‘Bastille Day’ – where all good French men and women celebrate the storming of the Bastille prison and the start of the French Revolution.
It’s also the birthday of AFL star Cyril Rioli and Aussie Olympic gold medal swimmer, Kieran Perkins.
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today… Tarnui from Lowanna, Kate from Brunswick West, Presley from Freshwater, Emily from Petersham, Beth from Richmond, Matilda from Millthorpe, Devna from Marsden, and Alexa from Perth.
And some belated birthday shoutouts… Georgie from Thirroul, Elena from Manly Vale and Luka from Cannon Hill.
Happy birthday to you all.
Today’s classroom shoutouts…to Year 6 at Karalee State School, Years 3 to 5 at St Andrew’s Catholic College in Cairns, to the Year 5 kids Bundaberg North State School, and to Years 4, 5 and 6 at Proserpine State School.
How good is winter in Queensland, eh kids?
The S’Quiz Answers:
- The Alps
- Mars
- Penguins