London is Calling

Welcome to London! 

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to explore Europe? Well for roughly the next 30 days we are going to travel across this beautiful continent. I hope you brought your walking shoes because today we are going to be visiting some of the most iconic sites in London by foot. Our journey begins in London, England. Some of you may know England as home to the royal family, Big Ben and heart throb Ed Sheeren. If any of those sparked an "Ah ha" moment then you already know a little about this beautiful country. Let's get a little bit of background before we begin! Watch the video to find out what the name of the bridge displayed below is called? 

If you said London Bridge you are not correct! This famous bridge is actually called Tower Bridge. Tower Bridge was build between 1886 and 1894 and crosses the Thames River. The London Bridge is actually just .80km upstream. Explorers its time for a question...

How far away is the London Bridge from the Tower Bridge in miles? 

Not too far away and actually close enough for us to take a stroll over to view it. What do you think is the London Bridge as impressive as the Tower Bridge? I think the Tower Bridge is much more appealing than the London Bridge, but that is just my two pounds. In England their currency is called British Pounds. Majority of Europe uses the Euro as currency, but in England they use the British Pound. For every US $1.00 we receive .77 British Pound (GBP). 

$20.00 US dollars is equal to approximately how many British Pounds? 

There is so much more to do and see! Let's head over to Buckingham Palace. Buckingham Palace is the headquarters of the Monarch. What is a monarch you ask? A monarch is another name for a king. Long ago England was ruled by a monarch and he was the sole decision maker for the entire country. That is a lot of responsibility for one person! England didn't like this style of government very much so now the country is ruled by Parliament which is over seen by a Prime Minister. This style of government is referred to as "Her Majesty's Government." Here at Buckingham Palace many government sponsored events are held. Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms. This includes 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. Wow! That is a lot of rooms! But how many rooms did I not account for?

There are 775 rooms in Buckingham Palace. How many rooms did I not describe?

Enjoy exploring London for the day! Click EXPLORE to learn more about London with me!

I'll be walking over the Shakespeare's Globe Theater to watch the play Hamlet!

Cheers,

Ms. Crummet 

Land of the Deep Dish Pizza

YUM! 

Hello Explorers! Today we are going to take a pit stop in one of my favorite cities in the USA. This city is known for its deep dish pizza, its architecture, famous sports teams like the Bears and Chicago Cubs, Lincoln Park Zoo, the Shed Aquarium and so much more! Our first stop in Chicago is Pizzeria Uno home of the first deep dish! No one knows exactly who made the first deep dish pizza but we know that it was first made by a chef that worked at Pizzeria Uno in 1943. The main difference between a deep dish pizza and most other pizzas is just like the name suggests, the crust is very deep. This allows for more cheese, tomatoes and extra toppings! My favorite topping is mushrooms. Yum! As my friend Matt and I walk into Unos I only have $60.00 to spend and it is 6:00pm. We wait for 20 minutes for a table because there is such a long wait. We decide right away that we are getting two individual  "Numero Uno"it has sausage, fresh mushrooms, pepperoni, onions and green peppers. For one individual pizza it is $9.79. Okay explorers put your thinking chef hats on..

How much money do I have left?

Okay not a lot of cash left, but Matt decides he wants to order some garlic bread since it takes 30- 40 minutes to cook one deep dish pizza. The garlic bread is $4.99. We decide to order just one so we can save money for dessert later. I check my watch and realize it is 15 minutes until 7:00pm after we order all our food.

Approximately, what time will Matt and I get our deep dish pizzas?

The garlic bread is delicious and we wait exactly 40 minutes for our deep dish pizza! This is cheesy and everything I have ever dreamed of. We savor every last bite, but unfortunately I could only finish one third of my pizza and Matt finished three thirds. It about 7:50pm when we finish.

Question time! How much of the pizza is left?

I box up the remaining slices of my Numero Uno and we take a look at the dessert menu. Mmmm Chicago Cheesecake or a Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie. Both sounds delicious, but we have to go with the deep dish cookie for $5.99. Luckily the cookie only takes 10 minutes and we get our cookie at 8:00pm. We take our time and enjoy this decadent dessert. I get the check and there is $3.37 added for tax.

How much is the bill?

I always tip 20 percent so I add that to the check as well. Explorers..

How much is the bill with tax and tip?

What a great meal that was! I am so excited to check out the bright green river in honor of St. Patrick's Day weekend.

Explorers thank you for helping me solve those math problems. As a reward I am giving you $20 to spend at Unos in Chicago. Click PIZZA to create your order! Write your order in the comments and what your total bill is. Everyone gets what they want from Unos!

Save a slice for me!

Love,

Ms. Crummet

Watch out for that .... LAVA?!

WHAT?! 

Wow! I am so thankful that we didn't decide to visit Hawaii about seven months ago. I can't believe how much damage one volcano can cause. Today we are going to explore Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which is home to two volcanoes. Here we have one of the worlds' most active volcanoes, Kīlauea and the worlds' largest volcano, Mauna Loa. Mauna Loa is 3 miles from the ocean floor to sea level then extends an additional 2.6 miles above sea level. 

Explorers how tall is Mauna Loa? Post your results in the comments.

That is the world's largest volcano for a reason and no way to I wanna be near Mauna Loa when it decides to erupt next! What causes an volcano to erupt? What do you think? Take a moment to pause and brainstorm.

Hawiian legends indicate that Pele, the goddess of fire, lightning, wind, dance and volcanoes causes the volcanic eruptions. Legend has it that Madame Pele was born on the island of Tahiti, but was sent away by her father due to her violent outbursts. Pele set out on a canoe built brothers and landed on the island of Kauai. Pele is attacked and left to die on the island. Somehow Pele survives and burrows a tunnel to Oahu. Her fury creates a massive creator called Diamond Head. Pele loved the island of Oahu, but it wasn't long until her love wasn't accepted by a local and she exploded in anger. Pele continued to canoe to all the islands causing disruption and anger. It is believed that this anger caused the volcanoes to erupt. The Hawaiians believe that every time a volcano erupts Pele is exploding with anger because her love is unanswered from her lovers and father. This is just one explanation of why the volcanoes erupt. Scientists have their theory.

Watch the video to discover what causes a volcanic eruption. 

Explorers its time that you get a closer look at the Volcanoes National Park. Make sure you have your hiking shoes on! Click "Volcanoes" to discover then press "START EXPLORING"

Volcanoes

Stay Safe,

Ms. Crummet

Aloha!

Aloha! Welcome back to the USA and Hawaii!!

I hope you all enjoyed your time exploring Australia. What an unforgettable trip!! Plus.. our next adventure awaits us. For the next week we are going to be in Hawaii exploring the tropical rain forests, surfing and volcanoes. Hawaii was formed thousands of years ago after an increased volcanic explosion. The state of Hawaii consists of eight main islands: Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and the Big Island of Hawaii. Here on the beautiful island of Oahu are the famous beach of Waikiki. You can learn to hang ten and catch some waves with the locals. Do you want to seek out bigger swells? Let’s head out to the north side of the island. Explorers its time to make our first discovery! Take a look at the map below. For these questions I want you to focus on the Big Island. Which one is that? Well just find the largest land mass in the chart and you have found it!

Use the chart to solve the questions!

1. What is the height the waves to the west of the Big Island?

2. What is the height of the waves north of the Big Island?

3. What is the height of the waves south east of the Big Island?

4. What is the tallest wave found on this chart?

6. If you wanted to surf in Hawaii what part of the island would you go to and why?

Great work Explorers! Watch this video of surfers catching some swells!

Wow! After watching that video I really want to get out there and try surfing. Before we can hop in the water we have to first choose the perfect surf board. Since majority of us are beginners we are going to be choosing the longboard. The longboard ranges from 8 feet to 12 feet long. The reason the beginners use the larger boards instead of the smaller boards is because longboards are easier to balance and paddle on. Time for another question before we hit the waves..

How much taller is the longboard than you? 

 Now its time for the moment we've been waiting for!! Find an open area and let's practice how to stand on our longboards!  Watch the video below and comment two facts you learned about surfing. 

Cowabunga!!

See you out there Explorers!

Ms. Crummet