2-1 (12)
release dates: January 14-20
Mini Spy . . .
© 2012 Universal Uclick
from The Mini Page © 2012 Universal Uclick
Studying the Skies
TM
Mini Spy and her friends are visiting a Mayan temple.
See if you can find: • exclamation mark • question mark
• ice pop
• hammer
• word MINI • hot dog
• arrow
• number 3 • alligator
• teapot
• knife
• cat
• ring
• letter E
• letter D • basket
• gift
• ladder
• kite
• elephant
• heart
The Ancient Maya
The pyramid at Chichen Itza in Mexico was
built for the serpent god Kukulcan. The
Maya believed that when he returned each
spring, his tail raised the winds and swept
the earth clean before the coming rains.
art courtesy Houston Museum of Natural Science
Amazing scientists
Pyramids
The Maya developed one of the most
complex civilizations of the ancient
world. They were astronomers with an
advanced system of writing.
Unlike many other ancient people,
they developed in isolation (eyesuh-LAY-shun), or away from other
civilizations. Other ancient cultures,
such as the Egyptians and Greeks,
learned a lot from other peoples. The
Maya had to discover all on their own.
They built great structures without
metal tools, beasts of burden*, or
vehicles with wheels, such as carts.
The Maya built great pyramids that
were lined up to follow the movements
of the sun. For example, on the
shortest day of the year, or the winter
solstice (SOHL-stis), the sun rose at
a certain spot over a
pyramid temple.
Priests knew
that from that day
forward, the sun
would rise a bit to the north each day.
When the sun finally rose directly to
the north of the pyramid, the rains
would come. Other pyramids were
lined up with the setting sun. They
were all built to predict the rains.
*Beasts of burden are big animals tame
enough to help people carry heavy loads.
photo by Jaap Buitendijk © 2011 GK Films LLC.
All Rights Reserved
Chloe Grace Moretz stars as Isabelle
in the movie “Hugo.” She has starred in
several TV shows and movies, including
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” She is the voice of
Darby in the Disney TV show “My Friends
Tigger & Pooh.”
Chloe, 14, was born in Atlanta, Ga.
She began modeling and appearing in
commercials when she was 5. When she
was 6, she moved with her family from New York to Los Angeles.
She enjoys gymnastics, swimming, ballet, basketball and
her dogs and cat. She is an ambassador for the Starlight
Children’s Foundation, which helps children who suffer from
serious illness.
from The Mini Page © 2012 Universal Uclick
from The Mini Page © 2012 Universal Uclick
TM
Supersport: Jeff Skinner
Height: 5-11 Birthdate: 5-16-92
Weight: 193 Hometown: Markham, Ontario, Canada
When watching Carolina Hurricane Jeff Skinner skate,
blow by defenders and handle the puck, it’s hard to believe
he’s still a teenager.
Months away from celebrating his 20th birthday, Skinner
is as cool as the ice beneath his feet and flashes the skill of
a veteran. Last year — at age 18 — he became the youngest NHL Rookie
of the Year winner and the youngest to play in an All-Star Game.
Skinner, playing since age 3, also has a personality to match his talent.
Away from hockey, his interests include watching “Friends” and football
on TV and listening to country music.
But if you put a song to his game, it would have a rock ‘n’ roll beat. And
this year the beat goes on with more goals and assists.
The Maya used two different
calendars throughout the year.
One calendar gave the times to
perform rituals. Today, this kind of
calendar could help us keep track of
events like planting and harvesting
crops.
The Mayan ritual calendar covered
260 days. It was made up of 13
numbers and 20 names.
Their second calendar was a yearlong calendar made up of 365 days.
It was divided into 18 months of
20 days each. The Maya added five
extra days to finish off the year.
The Maya used this calendar to
help them keep track of events like
birthdays and holidays.
What to do:
1. Combine olive oil, vinegar, sugar and pepper in a jar; shake well.
2. In a bowl, add oranges to dressing mixture and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Place lettuce greens in a bowl; mix in red bell pepper.
4. Gently mix in dressing.
5. Top with slivered almonds. Serves 4 to 6.
You will need an adult’s help with this recipe.
from The Mini Page © 2012 Universal Uclick
The Maya recorded long periods of
time in a Long Count calendar. They
used the Long Count to tell about
their history and to tell the future.
Altogether, the current Long
Count calendar covers more than
5,000 years, ending in 2012. The
Maya used this Long Count to
describe when kings ruled or great
battles were fought. They did not try
to predict the end of the world.
TM
art courtesy Houston Museum of Natural Science
The city of Uxmal (USHmal) was founded to
store rain during the
dry season. The Maya
built giant cisterns (SISterns), or tanks, to store
rainwater. The pyramid
there was designed so that
during the dry season, the
shadows would climb up
the pyramid as the days
grew longer. In two 20-day
months, the sun would
shine directly overhead at
noon. After that, the rains
would come.
Next week, The Mini Page is about A.A.
Milne, the author of “Winnie the Pooh.”
art courtesy Houston Museum of Natural Science
Look through your newspaper for stories
and pictures about yearly celebrations.
The Mini Page Staff
Betty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist
The Mini Page’s popular series of issues about each state is collected
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of use, this invaluable resource contains A-to-Z facts about each state,
along with the District of Columbia. Illustrated with colorful photographs
and art, and complete with updated information, The Mini Page Book of
States will be a favorite in classrooms and homes for years to come.
from The Mini Page © 2012 Universal Uclick
from The Mini Page © 2012 Universal Uclick
The Mini Page thanks Dr. Carolyn Sumners,
vice president of astronomy and physics,
the Houston Museum of Natural Science,
for help with this issue.
Book of States
The Maya joined their
two short calendars to
form a third calendar that
went about 52 years. It
was designed to cover
one person’s lifetime. The
two calendars worked
together with a kind of
gear system. This new
calendar was called the
Calendar Round.
Long Count
The Maya cut down thousands
of trees to burn in ovens to make a
special coating for their pyramids.
They also cut down rainforests
to create more farmland for their
growing population.
Once the trees were cut down, rain
patterns changed and Mayan cities
were in more danger from drought.
At the height of their civilization,
the Maya faced the worst drought in
thousands of years. People starved.
Within 100 years, the Maya
abandoned their wonderful cities
and moved back into the rainforests.
By the time the Spanish arrived
hundreds of years later, the Mayan
cities were long abandoned and
overgrown.
The Mayans were not even able to
predict the end of their own
civilization, much less the end of the
world.
The Mini Page®
from The Mini Page © 2012 Universal Uclick
Much like we divide our calendars
into days, years and centuries, the
Maya had their own time periods.
• a kin = 1 day
• a winal = 20 days
• a tun = nearly a year
• a katun = almost 20 years
• a baktun = just over 394 years
The Maya celebrated the beginning
of katuns and baktuns.
When spring
constellations
appeared in the
sky, it looked
as if Kukulcan
was coiled to
strike. Then the
Maya offered
him sacrifices
so he’d send
rain. The most
priests believed
valuable thing The
Kukulcan was most
they had to offer powerful when he, as
Venus, appeared in
was human
blood, so they a certain spot in the
sacrificed, or spring sky.
killed, people for him.
The most prized blood was
royal blood. Kings and queens cut
themselves, catching the blood on
paper and burning it as an offering.
N
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• pinch of pepper to taste
• 1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 (6- to 9-ounce) bag mixed greens
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
Maya time periods
Destroying their environment
!
Mandarin Orange Salad
You’ll need:
Calendars
The serpent god
EW
Rookie Cookie’s Recipe
The Maya used a system of 20 to
count. This number was based on the
number of fingers and toes people
have. (We base our number system
on 10.) Mayan calendars were also
based on the number 20.
From the past to the future
In the area where the Maya lived,
there were few rivers or natural
lakes to collect water above ground.
If rains did not come, people suffered.
Priests who could predict rainfall had
a lot of power. Kings built pyramids
and temples to beg the gods to bring
rain.
The Maya of Chichen Itza built an
observatory to watch their serpent
god, Kukulcan, who appeared in
the skies as the planet Venus. His
appearances were tied to the rains.
TM
Counting by 20s
Gods and Rain
Precious water
from The Mini Page © 2012 Universal Uclick
Mayan Calendars
Meet Chloe Grace Moretz
The Maya recorded important
history and predictions in books and
on buildings. Unfortunately, when
the Spanish discovered the Mayas’
abandoned cities, they burned most
of the books. Much of what we know
is from writing on buildings.
One of three surviving books is the
Dresden Codex. A codex (KOE-deks)
is an ancient book manuscript.
A picture of a giant monster with
sky symbols on its body is on the last
page of the Dresden Codex. Water is
gushing from its mouth. Some people
think this picture is a prophecy of the
end of the world by a great flood or a
hurricane.
In this piece of art, a Mayan
priest faces the sunrise
on top of the pyramid at
the ancient city of Tikal.
The pyramids at Mayan
cities towered above the
rainforest. They were built as
observatories to tell the date
from the position of the sun.
From the top of the
pyramids, priests could
also map the motions of
Venus. Venus was even more
important to the Maya than
the sun for predicting rainfall.
They thought Venus was
really their god Kukulcan
(KOO-kuhl-kahn).
art courtesy Houston Museum of Natural Science
art courtesy Houston Museum of
Natural Science
Have you been hearing stories that
the ancient Maya predicted the world
would end this year? Don’t worry.
They did no such thing. The 2012
prophecies are just made-up stories.
The Maya had an advanced
civilization in the area of Mexico and
Central America about 2,000 years
ago. They were astronomers who
developed an incredible calendar
to keep track of events over many
thousands of years.
It just so happens that this calendar
begins a new cycle in 2012, as our
calendar did in the year 2000. People
are having fun saying this means the
end of the world. But it just means
that the calendar passed a milestone.
The Mini Page talked with Dr.
Carolyn Sumners at the Houston
Museum of Natural Science to learn
more about the real story.
All the following jokes have something in common.
Can you guess the common theme or category?
Paula: How can a broken pizza be fixed?
Peter: With tomato paste!
Pam: What do you have if you cross a tomato,
some cheese and a mail carrier?
Patton: A pizza that delivers itself!
Patty: What would you get if you stacked up
thousands of pizzas?
Parker: The Leaning Tower of Pizzas!
from The Mini Page © 2012 Universal Uclick
Brown
Bassetews
N
e
Th nd’s
Hou
TM
try ’n
find
Maya
Words that remind us of the Maya are hidden in the block below. Some
words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: ADVANCED,
ASTRONOMERS, CALENDARS, CIVILIZATION, CODEX, DAY, END,
KUKULCAN, MEXICO, MONSTER, PROPHECY, PYRAMID, RAIN,
RAINFOREST, SACRIFICE, SKY, SNAKE, SUN, VENUS, WORLD.
What’s on your
calendar this
year?
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from The Mini Page © 2012 Universal Uclick
Ready Resources
The Mini Page provides ideas for websites,
books or other resources that will help you learn
more about this week’s topics.
On the Web:
• spaceupdate.com/?planetarium_shows
• hmns.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=441&I
temid=462
• history.com/topics/maya
At the library:
• “Amazing Mayan Inventions You Can Build Yourself” by Sheri
Bell-Rehwoldt
• “National Geographic Investigates: Ancient Maya: Archaeology
Unlocks the Secrets of the Maya’s Past” by Nathaniel Harris
• “Secrets in Stone: All About Maya Hieroglyphs” by Laurie
Coulter
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