Zoe: August 2014

Sunday, 31 August 2014

America's Favorite Giant Panda Celebrates First Birthday

1. Every animal turns one so why was Bao Bao's first birthday so special?

First bithdays are always special, this one was even more so, given that only one other giant panda born at the National Zoo, Bao Bao's brother Tai Shan, has survived to celebrate this all-important milestone. Both, are offspring of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian - giant pandas on loan from China as part of the conservation effort to revive thedwindling population of these beautiful animals. The zoo's first panda couple, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing that were a gift from the government of China, bore five cubs. Unfortunately, all of them perished within a few days.

2. How did the zookeepers celebrate it?

The zookeepers made bamboo sticks were not the only treats in store for this cutie-pie whose name means 'precious' or 'treasure'. The zoo's nutrition department had also made adelectable tiered cake that was crafted from frozen diluted apple juice and dyed various shades of pink, with beet juice. Frozen in between, were slices of Bao Bao's favorite fruits - apples and pears. Flower appliques carved from carrots and sweet potatoes adorned the top and a large number '1', carved from frozen apple juice, completed the perfect treat. Like any one-year-old, Bao Bao attacked his birthday cake with a vengeance and kept it in a tight embrace, until it was all gone.

In keeping with ancient Chinese tradition, the party commenced with the young panda being offered a choice of three honey-dipped bamboo shoots. Next to each, was a colorful hand-painted poster labeled 'Long Life,' 'Good Health' and 'Many Cubs'. Given that the panda's first choice is believed to predict its future, it was fortunate that Bao Bao immediately gravitated to the 'Long Life' bamboo.

3. What are some of the things Bao Bao has learnt during his first year? What are some of the things in store for her before she turns two?

While Bao Bao may still look tiny, the cub who spends her days wrestling with a blue cylinder-shaped buoy filled with sand and sleeping on her favorite hemlock tree, has come a long way from the wriggling pink baby who was the size of a stick of butter, when born. The smart panda who now weighs a healthy 44lbs, has even learnt to respond to her name and stand tall on the scale, during her monthly weigh-ins.

Bao Bao's keepers are now hoping to teach her to present her paw when she needs to get her blood drawn and lie down, during her monthly ultrasound. As the year progresses, she will gradually stop drinking her mother's milk and then just like pandas in the wild, move away from 'home', which in Bao Bao's case means shifting to a separate enclosure. Of course, this will only be a temporary home. That's because at the age of five, Bao Bao will follow her brother's footsteps and head to the special giant panda breeding program at the Wolong Nature Reserve in China's Sichuan Province.

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Sunday, 24 August 2014

Dangerous Decibels

Today we had a lesson with a lady call Toni about Dangerous Decibels to tech us about what our limits should be and how to our ears safe. A safe decibel is 85 or lower. 90-120 decibels may result in hearing loss, that is suff like lawn mower and loud rock concert. 125 decibels plus pain can begin. 130 decibels can cause instant hearing loss stuff like firecrackers and heavy metal concerts.

We did a lot of testing with a tuning fork. We had to bang it down on the ground then put close to our ear we heard a ringing noise that was the energy that came from the vibration from when we hit it. We also put it on our hand and it almost felt like it stung our hands. Then we did it with a ping pong ball attached to string. This showed that the more you hit the tuning fork on the ground the more energy and the higher the ping pong ball went.

We also learnt that sticking Q tips in your ear can make your ear drum break. Your ear drum is so delicate its like tissue paper. And ear wax is how our ears naturally cleans our ear canals.

Mining Cavern Transforms Into World's Largest Underground Trampoline Park

1. How is Bounce Below different from other trampoline parks?

Its the world's biggest underground trampoline park that opened in the historic slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales. Nestled in a massive cavern that is located inside a 100ft deep and 60ft wide former slate mine, it provides visitors with a bouncing experience like none other.

2. What are some of the things visitors will experience at Bounce Below?

Visitors to Bounce Below begin their journey with a safety briefing, after which they all don overalls and safety helmets and embark on an old mine train for the short ride into the mountain. Upon arrival, the guests encounter a sight that makes even the most seasoned trampoline park visitor, gasp in awe - a series of trampolines spanning a whopping 10,000 square feet, all connected by slides, the biggest of which is a mind-blowing 60-foot plunge, as well as, chutes and ladders. The whole experience is made even more surreal, by the vibrant colours that illuminate the cavern.

3. What are the two zip lines called? What is special about each one?

1.) Zip World. These include traveling deep underground using Britain's steepest cable railway, to check out the old mines and observe quarryman demonstrating slate mining.

2.) There are also above the ground activities, there is the choice of two ziplines - Velocity or Titan that lie within 45 minutes of each other. As you may have guessed, neither is ordinary.