Iconic Symbols

 Nowadays we tend to think of icons as those tiny little pictures on the computer or phone, but icons have a long history – and have been associated with other concepts than technology. See the possibilities with these online activities. It could be an iconic experience.

CONNECT:

• Legos, the Beatles, and tea are all cultural icons. Find out why at https://kids.kiddle.co/Cultural_icon
• Read about computer icons and how are they used at https://wiki.kidzsearch.com/wiki/Computer_icon
• Watch the background about Orthodox religious icons at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gvrkF3XDBk 

CREATE:

• Get fun ideas about drawing customized social media icons at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iieii87lCIM
• Symbols can be icons, such as United States symbols. Test your memory with the U.S. symbols match game at https://matchthememory.com/kimbrowning
• Can you guess these logs in 3 seconds? Try it as a family at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PNX8MY9lZw

CARE:

• What does the wheelchair symbol actually mean? Watch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppNYZq-hYTw
• Have you seen food safety icons? Check them out at https://www.foodprotection.org/resources/food-safety-icons/
• Health Icons is a volunteer effort to create a ‘global good’ for health projects all over the world. These icons are available in the public domain for use in any type of project. https://healthicons.org/about

CAREERS:

Dreaming about an iconic career? You could be a graphic designer, a sign maker, a religious leader, or an international communicator.

• (Almost) everything you need about icons in under 3 minutes at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCXFJEK_lVk
• https://usajobs.github.io/design-system/icons/
• https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/graphic-design-jobs

 

What makes intelligence artificial?

 Can only humans have intelligence? What about pets? What about ants? So can only living things have intelligence? We may have to rethink this whole idea – which takes lots of intelligence. The following articles may make you more intelligent.

 

CONNECT:

• Get started by watching this short video that defines artificial intelligence (AI): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdIppwUJ0f8
• Read a kid-friendly through introduction to artificial intelligence at https://kids.kiddle.co/Artificial_intelligence
• Imagine yourself in this Chinese classroom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMLsHI8aV0g. How would you feel?

 

CREATE:

• No need for a computer for these unplugged activities to experience AI: https://www.iste.org/explore/Computer-Science/3-unplugged-activities-for-teaching-about-AI
• Semi-conductor allows you to manage a real orchestra just like a real-life conductor. All one has to do is look at the camera of the mobile device and move his hands! The Semi-conductor can be found at https://tinyurl.com/AIEx-SemiConductor
• How do animals show their intelligence? Try this animal smarts challenge at http://www.kidsciencechallenge.com/year-four/as.php

 

CARE:

• Meet the AI robots helping take care of elderly patients: https://time.com/5660046/robots-elderly-care/
• Can AI help children? So children should be part of that discussion. See that UNICEF is doing at  https://www.unicef.org/globalinsight/featured-projects/ai-children
• Meet Moxie, social robot designed for children. https://youtu.be/LQlNtxurleo Would you like Moxie?

 

CAREERS:

AI has a great future – and so could you with an AI career. Here are some of the possibilities.

• https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/01/10-of-the-most-in-demand-ai-jobs-that-pay-at-least-95000.html
• https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence/career-in-artificial-intelligence
• https://www.computersciencedegreehub.com/faq/skills-job-artificial-intelligence/

Are you a fan of fans?

Are you a fan of fans?

Summers can get hot, and fans can help cool us. Fans can also cool other animals and inanimate objects, such as computers. Try these activities to fan your interest in fans.

CONNECT:

• Fans are 5000 years old! Explore their history at the Fan Museum:  https://www.thefanmuseum.org.uk/fan-history
• Electric fans have a much shorter history: less than 150 years old. Read about their development at https://www.fancollectors.org/fanhistory.htm
• How did mosquitos lead to air conditioners? Watch the connection at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGX3P7P5AOE
• You can dance with fans; watch these Chinese folk dancers at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlQsVY3z4TI and these Korean folk dancers at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuF0OosXR78

CREATE:

• Try these fan experiments with your little ones: http://nerdybaby.blogspot.com/2011/01/fan-experiments.html
• Make your own pocket folding fan at https://gluesticksblog.com/diy-pocket-fans/
• This is a game to use fans and put balloons to the space of your competitor: https://45mix.net/en/fan-the-balloon-game/
• Learn the romantic language of the hand fan at https://www.whalingmuseum.org/online_exhibits/fans/language.html

CARE:

• Fans can feel good – until you get hurt by them. Here are some safety measures to consider when using fans around children: http://www.ourhousefamilies.org/are-cooling-fans-safe-for-children.html
• Here are tips for keeping cool in the car, especially in a car seat: https://thecarseatlady.com/keepingcool/
• Your pets get hot in the summer too. Follow these strategies to keep your furry friends cool without fans: https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/keep-pets-safe-heat
• Computers need fans to keep the elements from overheating. Here are some ways for older family members to keep those fans in good condition: https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001339.htm

CAREERS:

Do you FANcy a career with fans? You can study fans as a historian or museum curator, you can make handmade fans or manufacture HUGE fans, you can sell fans, and you can repair fans. Fan your interest here.

https://www.justrightair.com/webapp/p/632/6-reasons-why-you-should-consider-hvac-as-a-career

Into the Internet

For this, the 199^th theme, Cyberfamilies is featuring the Internet: the communication backbone of this blog. Nowadays, more than ever, the Internet has become a way to learn more than even – as well as a way to be entertained. With the activities below, you can learn WITH the Internet to learn ABOUT the Internet.

CONNECT:

• What happens in an Internet minute? See the action at https://www.visualcapitalist.com/what-happens-in-an-internet-minute-in-2019/
• What’s the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web? Find out this and many more fun technology facts for kids at https://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/technology/internet.html
• Watch how the Internet works at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXsomnDkntI
• Several virtual museums exist; welcome to the Big Internet Museum at http://symbolics.com/museum/

CREATE:

• Staying at home a lot? Check out these free online events and activities for kids: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/free-online-events-activities-kids-at-home-coronavirus
• And https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-kids-activities.html
• Try an hour of code activities (or more) at https://code.org/learn
• Choose from a variety of hands-on activities that introduce simple machine learning models through games and interactive projects at https://www.ibm.org/activities/machine-learning-for-kids

CARE:

• Get kid-friendly Internet safety tips at https://www.searchrpm.com/internet-safety-for-kids/kid-and-teen-resources
• Here’s more in-depth information about Internet dangers and ways to address them: https://www.safewise.com/resources/internet-safety-kids/
• Watch what’s in your digital footprint at https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/whats-in-your-digital-footprint
• Not everyone has good access to the Internet; learn about the digital divide at https://kids.kiddle.co/Digital_divide

CAREERS:

The Internet is part of the majority of jobs in the U.S. You can be part of creating the Internet as well. Go from virtual to reality as you check out these possibilities!

https://www.careerfaqs.com.au/news/news-and-views/10-jobs-that-the-internet-created

https://www.jobsites411.com/web-internet.html

https://learn.org/articles/What_are_Some_Popular_Careers_in_Internet_Technology.html

https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/306474

Think Like a Computer

Step-by-step, following directions, is how many computer work. People know how to create those directions to make things and solve problems. Explore how to think like – and better than – a computer with the following activities about computational thinking.

CONNECT:

• Learn about the 4 key techniques to computational thinking at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUXo-S7gzds&t=76s
• Here’s how Google uses computational thinking to solve problems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVVB5RQfYxk
• Use cooking to teach algorithms and computational thinking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnS7lwXENts

CREATE:

• Build your brain with these free games: http://www.exquisite-minds.com/best-thinking-games-online/
• Use computational thinking to break these CIA codes: https://www.cia.gov/kids-page/games/break-the-code
• You too can code – with Scratch Jr. See how at https://unlcms.unl.edu/ianr/extension/4-h-youth-development/designlab21/computational-thinking-young-children

CARE:

• Make your own puzzles to keep your sick friends or relatives engaged: http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/
• Make chores fun with computational thinking at https://www.stem.family/activities/computational-thinking-activities/
• Use computational thinking (sorting algorithms) to sort laundry: https://classic.csunplugged.org/sorting-algorithms/

CAREERS:

Computational thinking is a logical step for a great career: from statistician to managing, from emergency planner to fashion designer, from computer programmer to military officer. Get the facts here.

https://www.enterprisetimes.co.uk/2018/07/04/computational-thinking-will-be-vital-for-the-future-job-market/

https://careerswithstem.com.au/computational-thinking/

https://minutehack.com/opinions/how-thinking-like-a-computer-will-help-save-our-jobs

Picking Brains

The brain can do so much, but we still don’t know everything about them – even though it’s inside every animal. Stretch your brain with these activities.

CONNECT:

• Who is you boss of your body? It’s your brain. Look inside that control center at http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=307&id=1528
• See fun facts about the brain --  and watch a video about how your brain works: http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-your-amazing-brain/
• Watch this video to see how human brains compare to other animals’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCXSZQSWwdM
• The brain versus the computer: which wins? See the differences at https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/bvc.html

CREATE:

• Pump up your brain with these brainteasers: https://kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/brainteasers/index.htm
• Can illusions fool your brain? Test it with these optical illusions: http://www.sandlotscience.com/
• Eat smart for a healthier brain by eating these food: http://fit.webmd.com/kids/move/article/better-brain Try creating recipes with their ingredients, such as adding blueberries to whole grain cereals.
• Make spooky party foods such as Rice Krispy Treat brains and more at http://leftbraincraftbrain.com/rice-krispy-treat-brains/

CARE:

• Do you know the number one cause of death and disability among people between the ages of 1 and 44? It’s head trauma. Get the facts at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/coma/
• Watch your brain on football: http://content.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,64253995001_1957921,00.html
• Learn how to build a healthy brain at http://www.foodforthebrain.org/smart-kids/how-to-build-a-healthy-brain.aspx
• Try some of these fun ways to grow a better brain: http://fit.webmd.com/kids/move/article/better-brain

CAREERS:

Use your brain and make a good living: not only as a brain surgeon but also as a neuroscientists, cognitive psychologist, sports therapist, or even head protection manufacturer.

http://www.youramazingbrain.org/teachers/careers.htm

https://www.utdallas.edu/~kilgard/neuroscience_careers.htm

http://www.apa.org/action/science/brain-science/education-training.aspx

https://concussionfoundation.org/