Does your dog really, truly understand you?

Image Source: Pixabay.com

Does your dog really, truly understand you? 

Dogs Understand Human Words and Intonations!

It is both what you say and the way that you say it that matters when it comes to communicating with man’s best friend, research has revealed.

In a recent research study done at the Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest in Hungary, scientists scanned the brains of dogs while each was played the sound of their trainer’s voice, and discovered that our canine companions only experience a sense of reward when both the words and intonation indicate praise.

Attila Andics, the lead researcher states that the results were “very exciting and very surprising.” 

Andics and colleagues describe how they trained 13 dogs over a period of months to lie motionless inside an fMRI machine, in order to probe how they process human speech. Four different recordings were played with either praise words (such as “well done!”) or neutral words (such as “however” or “nevertheless”) coupled with either a high-pitched intonation indicative of praise, or a neutral intonation.

“From this research, we can quite confidently say if they only hear you then it is not only how you say things but also what you say that matters to them,” said Andics.

 

To read more about this research please visit: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/aug/30/dogs-understand-both-words-and-intonation-of-human-speech

National Park Service Turns 100!

National Park Service turns 100!

August 25, 2016 marks the centennial or 100th year of the National Park Service.

The mission of the Park Service is to preserve “ the unimpaired natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.”

Surprisingly, the first National Park was designated in 1872, 44 years before the National Park Service as we know it came into existence in 1916. Yellowstone was the first National Park in the U.S. that was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872.

On August 25, 1916 President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill into law to create the National Park Service to oversee the already-established national parks and “such other national parks and reservations of like character as may be hereafter created by Congress.” The NPS was also directed “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”

6 Ideas for A Healthier School Year

Image Source: Pixabay.com

6 Ideas for a Healthier School Year

1. Walk to School

Set one day a month, weather permitting, as a day where students are encouraged to walk or bike to school.

2. Try-It Day

To encourage healthy eating habits, hold try-it days at school where kids are offered fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods they may not have had before.

 

Fitness Challenge

Set up a challenge like taking a daily walk or bike ride. Ask parents to consider joining their kids, and offer small prizes to the classrooms with the most participation.

 

Nutrition Night

Hold an informational night for parents on food choices. Plan games and crafts for kids that teach about healthy food choices. Round out the event with a healthy potluck.

 

Cooking Club

Enlist a local chef or parent to teach students basic cooking skills. Children are more likely to eat healthily if the presentation is appetizing and if they can help prepare the food.

 

Family Fitness Night

Set up stations at your school’s gym with a broad range of activities. Enlist your school’s PE teacher for help planning the evening.

What are those red circles on Olympic athletes?

Image Source: Pixabay.com

Have you been watching the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and seen a number of Olympians sporting big round red circles all over their backs and bodies? You may be asking what are those strange looking marks? Well we have the answer for you!

These red/purple circles are evidence of the person/athlete going through a traditional Chinese therapy technique called “cupping”. 

So how does cupping work? 

Standard cupping involves a glass cup and a flammable substance which heats the cup. As the fire goes out, the cup is placed upside down on the patient’s skin. As the air inside the cup cools, it creates a vacuum or suction. This causes the skin to rise and redden as blood vessels expand. The cup is generally left in place for five to 10 minutes. Cupping is not painful despite the leftover marks. The red/purplish circles left on the skin are caused by blood being drawn to the surface and small capillaries rupturing.

Supporters of cupping therapy believe the suction of the cups mobilizes blood flow to promote the healing of a broad range of medical ailments.

Why are some Olympians using it?

Athletes say they are using it to ease aches and pains, and to help with recovery from the physical toil of constant training and competing at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. One of the most notable athletes to sport the signature cupping marks is Michael Phelps. Other athletes, including swimmer Natalie Coughlin and American gymnast Alexander Naddour have also embraced the practice. 

, via Wikimedia Commons”]

A Parent Speaks About Her Son’s HTHT Science Birthday Party!

Wavelength Wilx’s Super Science Birthday Party 

 

Interview with Mitzi Ray (Wilx’s Mother) about Wilx’s Super Science Party. 

Question #1: How did you learn about High Touch High Tech and our Birthday Parties?

Answer #1: When I taught at Spruce Pine Montessori School we had HTHT come in and do programs with our Preschoolers and Kindergarteners. The children as well as the teachers enjoyed the experience very much! So when Wilx’s 5th birthday rolled around I did some research to see if parties were offered through HTHT, and luckily they were!

Question #2: What was yours and Wilx’s favorite part of the HTHT Birthday Party experience?

Answer #2: Well…Wilx’s favorite part were the science experiments!! I asked him which was his favorite and he loved the volcano! I have so many favorite parts!! I love that Wilx and all of the other children had so much fun with the experiments. I loved that they were so engaged and so willing to participate. I really enjoyed seeing the children’s reactions before, during and after each experiment. I also enjoyed seeing the parents’ reactions. I believe that some of the parents in attendance had just as much fun, if not more, than their children. I also really loved the party favor bags. They were really cool…both inside and out!

Question #3: What was your level of satisfaction with the scientist who delivered the science party?

Answer #3: We were very happy with Asteroid Amber. She was calm in the chaos of 12 preschoolers (and several observing parents), she held the children’s attention, she gave age appropriate instruction and delivered on greatness at one of the best birthday parties we’ve ever thrown!

Question #4: Were the science experiments FUN? Were they exciting? Too hard or too easy?

Answer #4: Were the science experiments fun???? Absolutely yes they were!!!! They were exciting and I think they were very age-appropriate for the group we had. We had 2 year olds all the way up to one 8 year old, and everyone was happily interacting with all of the experiments and with one another.

Questions#5: What is the likelihood that you’d use HTHT again in the future?

Answer #5:  It’s very likely we would use HTHT in the future. Wilx keeps stating he wants to have another science party, and it’s been three months since we had his! So we’ll see. I know I have said it many times before…but I’ll say it again. Thanks to everyone involved with Wavelength Wilx’s Super Science Party. It was truly an awesome experience, from the first phone conversation with Radioactive Rebecca to the driving away of Asteroid Amber on the day of the party. HTHT went well above and beyond to make sure our experience was professional and fabulously fun!

 To Book One Of Our Sizzlin’ Science Birthday Parties

Please Visit Us Online: http://sciencemadefunwnc.net/birthday.cfm

Or Call Us At 828.684.3192!

NASA Video Show’s the Moon Between Spaceship and Earth!

To view the footage, please visit: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/nasa-spaceship-captures-epic-shot-of-moon-passing-072105645.html

The image shows the moon passing between the NASA climate observatory and Earth. It was captured by a NASA camera on board the Deep Space Climate Observatory on July 16, 2015 over the space of five hours. In the image it shows the fully illuminated ‘dark side’ of the Moon that is not visible from Earth.

The images were acquired by NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), a four megapixel camera and telescope on the DSCOVR satellite, which orbits about 1 million miles from Earth.

To view the image, please visit: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/nasa-spaceship-captures-epic-shot-of-moon-passing-072105645.html