January 29, 2012

One of Seymour Simon’s first books, THE PAPER AIRPLANE BOOK, is still one of his most popular, with kids AND adults. A few years ago, when we were designing his website, we came up with the idea of making a paper airplane pattern - a piece of paper with folding instructions - for readers to download. "Let me take a picture of you dressed up like an aviator, flying a paper airplane," I said to Seymour. "We can put the photograph on the pattern so that when kids fold it, your photo will be on the wings. It will be a Seymour Plane!"

You have seen the drawing of Snoopy when he’s pretending to pilot a fighter plane, right? I thought that was exactly the right look for the Seymour Plane! I dug through my drawers and pulled out a white silk scarf, and found a pair of swimming goggles on the shelf in the garage. Seymour, always willing to be silly for the sake of science, put it all on, folded his airplane and we snapped this photograph. 

When Seymour visits schools, like he did this week, he always talks about paper airplanes and shows kids his silly photo.

After his visit to the elementary school in Center Moriches, NY, we received this letter from a mother named Christine Buff. Christine wrote:  

My twin sons, Spencer and Stephen, LOVED your visit. Thank you for making such an amazing impression on two 5-year-old boys. They are in Mrs. Engelhardt’s Kindergarten class.  Spencer came home telling us all about your paper airplane book and that we could go onto your dot.com and visit you on FACEBOOK!  We made our airplanes last night.  We have airplanes flying all over my house and Spencer wanted me to write you to tell you his did a loop-de-loop! He also wanted to know why we did not have your train book!!  They are BIG train fans.  Off to borrow from the library! 

Don’t they look just like Seymour?! That is Stephen on the left and Spencer on the right. How great to see them with their paper airplanes, scarves and goggles! We now declare Spencer and Stephen official members of the Paper Airplane Club!

January 11, 2012

Welcome to Writing Wednesday! Every Wednesday you can publish your own creative writing on the Seymour Science blog.

Writing Wednesday has two simple rules: 

1. Give us the best you’ve got in 5 minutes. That’s right - five minutes of creative writing. Think of it as a word extravaganza to warm up your brain for the rest of the day!
2. Tell us your first name, the name of your school, and how old you are.

This is one of the new species they found. It is called a VAMPIRE SQUID, and it lives in Monterey Bay, off the coast of Northern California. Click the "Comments" button below and take five minutes to write about what you see in this photograph. Use descriptive words and strong verbs to describe the animal and the dark waters where it lives. You could use a comparison to help your reader imagine this creature….or appeal to the reader’s emotions to set the scene (how does it make you feel when you look at a Vampire Squid?).

What you write is up to you. Have fun with it!

November 30, 2011

Wow! After I spoke at the morning assembly at Craig Elementary School here in Niskayuna, NY, Ms. O’Sullivan’s third graders went back to their classroom and started writing. At the end of the day, they presented me with an envelope full of writing and drawings. These were lovely thank you notes, which I appreciated very much, but they were more than that. Each student wrote a full page about animals, space, science, my books and my presentation. What a bunch of good writers!

Here are some of their drawings and samples of their writing.

Ben set the scene with a drawing of me in the assembly, holding the little ball that I use to talk about space.

Dear Mr. Simon,

You were very enthusiastic! I like The Paper Airplane Book best.

- Grace

Every word you said sounded so interesting. I want to read a lot of books.

- Cyrus

-      Paige

Cat drawing by Andy.

Here is a fact about the gray wolf: Their only predator is Man.

- Shae

Mars drawing by Ava

I read more than 30 of your books and want to download your digital books on my iPad.

- Your favorite little book kid, Chris.

Now I know more about nonfiction, and maybe I can make a book myself and it might be nonfiction just like you.

- Abby

Fun fact: every man who has ever walked on the Moon was an Eagle Scout.

- Ethan

Olivia’s drawing of me flying a paper airplane  

I like space books too. I will try looking for the Space Monster book and read it.

- Bhaya

And perhaps best of all, the letters were all gathered together in an envelope that included their full return address, right down to the zip code for the universe! Do you know how to write your return address so that it includes your location in the universe? Click here to find out.

Earth and Moon by Michael

November 16, 2011

Today’s Cool Photo of the Week is a wonderful shot of a "volcano cake," which a parent made when I visited a school several years ago. Isn’t it wonderful?!

The photograph reminds me that I recently received a letter about volcanoes from Andrea G., a fifth grade student at Witch Hazel Elementary School in Oregon. "I love how you wrote the Volcano story.  I love how you added all those different kinds of volcanoes.  I wish you will come to my house and write a story, have an adventure, or go to a restaurant.  It’s very cool that you wrote two hundred books in thirty years.  Do you know a lot about the moon?  How do you know a lot about volcanoes? Thank you for your time."

One of the things that I love about Andrea’s letter is that she called the book my "Volcano story." 

That is exactly how I think about writing my books. Even though they are about real (nonfiction) subjects, I always try to write a story that is fun and exciting to read. It makes me very happy that Andrea sees it that way.

Over the years, both while teaching Science and writing my books, I have indeed come to know a lot about both the moon and about volcanoes. Of course, I studied science in school, both at New York’s Bronx High School of Science and continuing on into college. But it takes more than that. Being interested in science means that you are always learning. There are new discoveries being made all the time, and scientists are constantly testing theories to keep increasing our knowledge and understanding of our planet and the universe in which we live.

So, when I write a book, I have to do research and find out as much as I can, just as you would if you were writing a report for school. For VOLCANOES, I was lucky enough to be able to travel to Hawaii, where I talked to vulcanologists (scientists who specialize in volcanoes), as well as observing and photographing active volcanoes. 

In fact, the subject is so interesting to me that I’ve written TWO different books about volcanoes! I think they are one of the most awe-inspiring and beautiful sights in our natural world, don’t you?

October 21, 2011

I recently received a letter from Mrs. Koller’s 4th/5th Grade Language Arts Class in California, asking a question that I’m often asked when I visit schools. So, I thought I would answer it here, for everyone to read. 

Dear Mr. Simon,

  We loved your book VOLCANOES!! After reading it in our Houghton Mifflin readers, we read the section, "Meet the Author." The students wanted to know - what made you decide to retire from teaching and become an author? Do you ever miss being in the classroom?

Photo: Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Photographer: Michael Zamora. Reprinted with permission.

October 11, 2011

I receive many interesting questions from students who press the "Ask Seymour Simon" button, but this one takes the cake!

George wrote this week to ask how to pronounce the word  "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis."  This is supposedly the longest word in the English language, meaning "black lung disease," an illness that some coal miners develop from inhaling dust.

I say "supposedly," because it is actually a made up word. Most doctors, when diagnosing Black Lung Disease, would simply call it Silicosis. The mother of all English words, pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, was invented in 1935 by Everett M. Smith, president of the National Puzzlers’ League. The puzzlers made history by officially recognizing the "longest word," and it has eventually made its way into all the standard dictionaries.

So, getting back to George’s question, how do you pronounce it?

NEW-moe-no-ultra-microscopic-SIH-la-coe-volcano-cone-ee-OH-sis

If that’s still a bit hard to get your tongue around, you can hear it pronounced by clicking on this link to the Talking Dictionary of English Pronunciation.

September 14, 2011

I was so pleased to receive a letter recently from Cam P, who just started second grade in New Jersey. Cam’s favorite book is one of mine - TORNADOES. So, he decided to write his own book on the subject, called TWISTERS. Nice job, Cam, and thank you for your letter!

What Cam did - writing a book inspired by one of his favorite authors - is something that writers often do. One of my favorite authors is named Rachel Carson, and when I read her book THE SEA AROUND US, I realized for the first time that I could be a writer.

So, Cam (and other students who love to read and write about nature) - keep writing! You, too, might turn out to be a published author one day.

September 12, 2011

Just after school started, I received a question from a fifth grade study group asking me: "Is the moon just a big rock?" Of course, that is exactly what the moon is, but being a former teacher, I never give a simple answer like that. Instead, I asked them if they would please do some research and write back to me with interesting information that they learned about the moon.

Well, they did a great job! I received this email from Angela, Diana, Martin and Andres, who are a science study group in Mrs. Williamson’s Fifth Grade class at Wolf Canyon Elementary School, in California.

Dear Seymour Simon:

Our science group found two great, interesting facts about the moon.

1)    The moon is the fifth largest satellite in the solar system.

2)     It is thought to be formed some 4.5 million years ago.

Thank you for your great science books!

Good work by Mrs. Williamson’s science group! They did their homework and found some very interesting facts about the moon.

Soon, we are going to learn all sorts of new information about the moon. On Saturday, NASA launched a new moon research mission called GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory). We are not sending human beings this time - there won’t be any new footprints on the moon - but we are using advanced photography techniques to learn much more about how the moon was formed. And in particular, we are going to get a much clearer look at the "dark side of the moon," which faces away from our planet Earth.

GRAIL consists of two satellites, which will separate from the rocket that is carrying them into space and become lunar orbiters (satellites that orbit around the moon). They will photograph the surface of the moon as they pass over it, and scientists will be able to accurately measure various formations and moonscapes based on how far apart the satellites are. The project will study how the moon was formed, what its interior consists of, and why the side seen from Earth looks so different from the lighter-colored "far side." We know that the far side is covered with hardened rock from lava flows, but there is much more we can learn.

Most exciting to me is that for the first time, NASA has put a camera onboard that is strictly for classroom use. Called the MoonKAM, teachers can register their classes and middle-school students can request photography of lunar targets for classroom study. Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space, is heaing up the project. Imagine, allowing students to take their own pictures, so that they can study the surface of the moon. I wish that opportunity had happened when I was a middle school science teacher!

 Photos: NASA

Families & Educators: Please feel free to write to me any time if you have questions, concerns or suggestions about Safe Internet Practices for children or our Privacy Policy. Our goal at SeymourSimon.com is to increase Internet fluency, build research skills, and empower students with knowledge of the world around them, as well as a love of science. Many children will need your help as they try these things for the first time, and we thank you for your support.

May 24, 2011

I received a letter this week from Hickory Hill Elementary School in Papillion, Nebraska.  The third graders are asking a very good question, and I thought other readers might be interested in this, too. 

Dear Mr. Simon,

My third graders just finished reading the book Giant Snakes in a guided reading group and they had a question regarding the book. On page 16 it states, "Anacondas are the largest snakes on the world" and then on page 19 it says, "The Reticulated Pythons of Southeast Asia are the longest snake in the world." They are curious as to which one really is the biggest snake?  

We really appreciate your books and love the pictures! Thanks in advance for your help with our question!

To give you an idea of just how long these snakes are, look at this photograph of kindergartner Faith Hackett holding the head of a Burmese python at Wildwood Park and Zoo in Marshfield, Wis., during a presentation on rescued exotic animals.

Thanks for writing, and happy reading!  

Photo: Dan Young / Marshfield News-Herald via AP   

READERS: Are you wondering how to add your own "comment" to this blog? Click here for exact directions on how to add a comment so you can become one of our Seymour Science writers! We also want you to be safe and not share too much information when you write on this blog, so please take a minute to read about how to stay safe on the Internet. We love to hear from you, so give "comments" a try! 

May 11, 2011

A student named Makayla M. wrote today and asked: 

"Do you think that macaroni penguins are weird or cool? What is your favorite animal in the world?

I think all penguins are cool, don’t you? Macaroni Penguins are so unusual, with those magnificent, bright-colored feathers on their heads. You can probably find my book PENGUINS in your school library, and you’ll find a page in there that tells you how the Macaroni penguin got its name. (Hint: It has nothing to do with pasta.)

I can’t tell you my favorite animal because then the other animals would attack me!

(Photo from PENGUINS, by Seymour Simon. CollinsSmithsonian Books, 2007) 

Note to students Using the "ASK SEYMOUR SIMON" button: Please take your time and be sure that you enter your email address correctly. If it is misspelled, I can’t reply to you, so you never get an answer to your question. Type your email in, and then check your work! Thanks.

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