Nuclear Power Plant Virtual Field Trip Homeschool

Here is another revamped blog from 2010

Watching all the news coverage on Japan's catastrophic disasters that started with the 8.9 earthquake that has now been upgraded to a 9.0, followed by a tsunami, followed by more than one explosion at a nuclear facility. They have been worried about meltdown or a Chernobyl level disaster.

So far, the rating of the plant's explosions have been rated a 4. Chernobyl was a 7. But, 160 workers have been reported with radiation-related sickness, thousands evacuated and more told to stay in their houses.

It made me wonder how these plants even work. Of course, my prayers and - for what it's worth, my thoughts, are with them - But, here's a good resource I found on how nuclear power works.

How Stuff Works

365 Days of Homeschooling - Day 13 A Paper Making Factory Virtual Tour

an impromptu lesson on papermaking. Take a virtual fieldtrip to the papermaking factory.

My Homeschool Bus Visits St. Louis Carousel At Faust Park By The Butterfly House

Learning history is not always fun, but field trips are fun.  What child would complain about a field trip to a carousel?  This week, my homeschool bus visits the St. Louis Carousel.

The St. Louis Carousel at Faust Park, by the Butterfly House, in Creve Coeur, Missouri, is a fun place to visit.  Not only will your children feel like they've been treated to a fun carnival ride; but they will be exposed to a huge piece of St. Louis and carousel history.

Though many inventions claim their start at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, this carousel is part of another time in the city's history.

The carousel was part of the Highland amusement park which was located in Forest Park, now home to attractions, like the St. Louis Zoo, Science Center, Muny Opera, Boathouse, Art Museum.

It was built by a company in Philadelphia in the 1920s and placed at the small amusement park in St. Louis until a fire burnt the park to the ground in 1963.  Amazingly, the carousel was the only thing left in the ashes.

The horse ride now resides inside a building on the grounds of The Butterfly House in Faust Park.

Read more about its history here!

On a personal note, the ride now costs $2 per rider.  My family personally once bought a family membership simply because I could not get my two-year-old daughter, at the time, to exit the ride without tears.  It was cheaper to purchase the membership than it was to keep buying tickets to ride.  Still, I spent each visit pulling a sad, crying toddler from the ride.

In the meantime, visit the carousel on my virtual field trip through the following pictures:

Got The Time? Take A Virtual Cuckoo Clock Tour at SINIX Korean-Made Clocks

Clocks are important to our daily lives. For a homeschooler, we find ourselves glancing at the clock often throughout the day. We need to see how long a particular subject took so we can log the hours properly. We need to know what time to leave the house to arrive at a co-op or a dance lesson or soccer game. If we are completely honest with ourselves, we might even admit to finding ourselves from time to time even glancing at the clock out of impatience or slight boredom as we patiently listen again to a child try to sound out a word in learning to read. But, did you ever wonder what goes into making a clock?

Wouldn't it be amazing to visit a clock factory and watch them being made? As a homeschooler, field trips are fun and make learning come alive. Sometimes, however, the places we really want to take our children are too far away to visit. That's when a virtual field trip, or using knowledge and our imaginations, can come in handy. So, come along and join in this virtual field trip of the SINIX clock factory in Korea.



SINIX Corp. is a company who manufactures specialized wall clocks. Located in Korea and established in 1998, the company became well known for their cuckoo clocks. Cuckoo and other types of wall clocks requires a lot of experience put into the intense labor involved. Building a quality wall clock is similar to making fine furniture and the SINIX factory is much like a fine furniture factory in the materials and equipment used. The finished product is, in actuality, a fine piece of furniture with a clock device inside.

Step inside the factory here at http://sinix.en.ecplaza.net/, and you will find SINIX Corp. provides a space that can handle all the processes involved in clock making. Starting with creating materials to cutting then onto assembling and packing, the factory is a sight to behold.

SINIX Corporation makes over 300 varieties of clocks including wooden clocks ranging from big grandfather clocks to small wall clocks. They still make cuckoo clocks and table clocks as well. They also make digital clocks. They offer wooden clocks and clocks that are a mixture of poly urethane and wood processed to have a walnut, ash and oak wooden shape. Some are even waterproof with a plastic case to be used on walls next to a swimming pool or sauna



You can now find their clocks for sale world wide under the brand SINIX. Their clocks are exported to Europe, Middle East, South America, Southern East Asia and beyond. And, yes! They still carve and manufacture their famous cuckoo clocks.
Thank you for joining the virtual field trip tour of the SINIX Corp. and their clocks.