Lawsuit saysSeaWorld liesto customers

about orcas

Recently, Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus decided that it was better to stop using elephants in its acts than to keep arguing with

critics who say the animals are not being treated humanely.Now SeaWorld is facing a lawsuit about its famous killer whale shows,

but it is not just about how the orcas are treated. It is more about whether tourists have been cheated by dishonest information.

The lawsuit says that SeaWorld has not told the truth about how the orcas are treated and that, if people knew more about the way orcas live in captivity, their health conditions and the young age at which whale calves are separated from their mothers, they might not have purchased tickets.

SeaWorld denies it has been cruel or dishonest. For more on the lawsuit, see the links at ColoradoNIE.com Photo/Cybjorg

2013

ColoradoKids CK ReporterKristen White,

Louisville

tHe mYtHS BeHind tHe mYtHSEverybody loves mythic

creatures. People spend time imagining the

dragons and unicorns that they have heard stories of, watched movies about, and read about.

They may not know the origins of these mythic creatures, but now, an exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science tells all about many of those beasts.

The exhibition is divided into four sections: Creatures of the Water, Land and Air, and one just for Dragons.

In the Water section, you’ll dive into the deep sea.

There is a huge model of the kraken, a giant beast imagined by sailors. This model’s tentacles rise 12 feet into the air.

To the left of the kraken, visitors can see two 16th century texts and a sailor’s map telling where different water monsters had been “seen.”

Ahead, there is a section on mermaids, telling of how manatees were confused for mermaids, and about mermaids from different countries.

You’ll also see how a pod of whales or dolphins could be mistaken for a sea serpent.

In the section about Land Monsters, you’ll learn

about the mythic beasts rumored to have roamed the surface of Earth, and see mythic creatures said to re-side in the area of Colorado.

Visitors to this exhibit also can learn where the legend of unicorns came from, and how the western unicorn got its long, white, spiral horn.

You’ll also fi nd out about the Asian unicorn with its dragon-like head and stumpy, fl esh-covered horn.

In the Air section, visitors learn about the phoenix, Pegasus, and other creatures of the sky.

The Air section is fairly small, but contains a model of the roc, a giant bird whose nest is like an island, and whose egg is the size of a building, plus a rare fossil egg, belonging to the extinct elephant bird.

The section on Dragons is last in the exhibit.

There is a 17-foot long model of the western dragon, which looks as if it will spring from be-hind the rope that encircles it and eat you.

Above the western dragon is a Chinese dragon parade costume, which measures 120 feet long.

Plus, there is a touch screen that lets you design you own dragon.

This exhibit is really fun, and will be at the mu-seum until Sept. 7. For more information, catch the link at ColoradoNIE.org

Let’s be honest: When any-one talks about “dogs” and

“poop” and complains about the mess, the dogs are usually the bad guys.

But in Washington, DC, dogs may become the heroes, not the villains.

The problem is Canada geese, birds that fl ock in large numbers to wide green spaces like golf courses, parks and the National Mall in Washington, which is home to some of our most respected monuments and memorials.

That beautiful, historic space is being littered by tons of goose poop, because each goose makes three pounds of the nasty stuff every day.

The US Park Service plans to recruit border collies to use some of their intelligence, high energy and great herding ability to chase off the geese.

No geese will be harmed, but strolling in our nation’s capital should become a little more pleasant. Photo/Ron Armstrong

wASHinGton mAY Hire doGS to CleAn uP

tHe nAtionAl mAll

By Anja Mook,12, a CK Reporter from Northglenn

SeaWorld denies it has been cruel or dishonest. For more on the lawsuit, see the links at ColoradoNIE.com

March 31, 2015

Photo/Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Searching for the ‘cure for dumb’

Kids often think they have the worst life at school and with homework. But

it may not be so bad.

In “Fish in a Tree” by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, the main charac-ter, Ally Nickerson, lives a hard life at school being bullied and unable to read.

Then, as her sixth grade year goes on, Ally’s teacher goes on maternity leave.

Ally dreads how many times she will get sent to the princi-pal’s office by her new teacher, Mr. Daniels.

But to her surprise she loves Mr. Daniels, with his unique, fun neckties and encouraging smile.

This heartwarming book tells the story of Ally Nickerson and her struggles with dyslexia.

She has been told she is dumb by many bullies and she believed them.

And as she says, “Well, there

is no cure for dumb.”There are sweet and sour

characters in this book. Some of them change and some of them stay their sour selves.

First off, there is Albert, one of my favorite characters.

He is one of Ally’s best friends. He is very intel-ligent and is a gentleman.

Albert connects everything to sci-ence and cracks you up without meaning to.

He has a rough life at home, with his mom not approving of his dad being a scientist.

She says he should get a more promising job.

As if it couldn’t get worse for Albert, he gets beaten up every day after school.

Though he is bigger than the kids who beat him up, he does not believe in violence.

Keisha, another of Ally’s friends, also cracks me up.

Keisha is a talented baker and is kind-hearted.

She sticks up for people when they are being picked on by Shay, the meanest girl in school.

Shay trains her friends to be like little puppies al-ways following her lead.

And Shay’s best friend, Jessica, is probably a nice girl but it is like she froze her own heart just so she could be friends with Shay.

This book taught me a lot about the struggles of kids with dyslexia and also that there are a lot of scientists, and authors and other famous people with dyslexia.

I recommend this book for ages 8 and up.

I think girls would enjoy this book more than boys but it is a great book for everyone.

Read this book and find out: Is there a “cure for dumb”?

The story on Page Four describes how kids will be able to get into the Denver Art Museum free, and into special exhibits for just $5.

Look through today’s newspaper for places and events people can go to. Make a list of things that are free, that cost a certain amount and that don’t say either way.Discuss why they might not tell what it costs to get in.

Beyond these four pages

Teens battle for survival in desert novelStranded in the 120,000

square mile Kalahari Desert with five teens on an educa-tional safari was definitely not on Sarah’s list of fun.

However, being the daughter of zoologists, and with her dad, the guide, missing, she has no choice but to keep them safe and, at the least, alive.

But that’s a little hard to do when they don’t have enough supplies for six people.

And to make this even harder, she has to keep her and the others from tearing each other apart.

In “Kalahari” by Jessica Khoury, the group battles wild snakes and lions, dehydration, hunger, and, worst of all, the pain of first love.

However when they encoun-ter a silver-as-mercury lion and a deadly, contagious virus gets loose, Sarah questions everything she knows about the world her parents have taught her about.

And, most important, she learns how a lethal secret can take on a life of its own.

“Kalahari” is definitely a page turner, and has an exciting, sus-penseful plot.

This story is associated with other books from the author of “Origin” and “Vitro” with the same setting and the same antagonist seen in all three

books, but with different main characters.

This part of the story had many styles of conflicts – for example, man vs. man and man vs. nature – that certainly helped the story progress more smoothly and faster.

The writer tells the story from first-person point of view of a main character that shows what happens to the main character and how the whole book re-volves around her.

I would definitely recommend this book for action and nature admirers.

It does involve a bit of shoot-ing and death but not enough to make it inappropriate.

All in all, this book is an edgy, action-packed book for teens and older readers.

ByYejin Campbell,14, a CK Reporter from Thornton

Colorado Kidsis produced by

Denver Post Educational ServicesExecutive Editor: Dana Plewka

dplewka@denverpost.comCK Editor: Mike Peterson

coloradokidseditor@gmail.comWe welcome your comments.

For tools to extend the learning in this feature, look under“eEdition lessons” at:

www.ColoradoNIE.com

eEditions of the Post arefree of charge for classroom use.Contact us for information on all

our programs.

Denver Post Educational Services101 W. Colfax Ave.Denver CO 80202

(303) 954-3974(800) 336-7678

Stories without bylines werewritten by the editor.

By Katie Hangland,10, a CK Reporter from Centennial

A funeral was held in Lon-don last week for a man who died 530 years ago.

Richard III was King of Eng-land for only two years, from July 6, 1483, until his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field August 22, 1485, but he was one of the countries most famous, or, more accurately, infamous monarchs.

Richard died in the War of the Roses, a battle between rivals for power in England, and so, because he was only king a short time and his side lost the war, much of what we know about him was written by his enemies.

It isn’t very flattering, and Richard III is remembered as a cruel and bloodthirsty villain.

Some of what is said about him is probably true, because he lived in violent times when those in power often got there, and stayed there, by doing things that were not very nice.

But it didn’t help that William Shakespeare’s play about him

was written when Queen Eliza-beth I was on the throne.

It was her grandfather, Henry VII, who had defeated Richard and so became king after him.

A defeated king gets little respect, and Richard was buried quietly, at a church which later fell to ruins and was lost.

Then, in 2012, archaeologists searched for that church, and found a grave under a parking lot. The body inside was identi-fied through DNA as Richard.

The old saying goes that “Time heals all wounds,” and, in the half-millennium since his death, Richard seems to have been forgiven for whatever wrongs he may have done.

England, and much of the rest of Great Britain, paused to honor the former king, watching a week of ceremonies either in person or on television, as he was re-buried, this time with greater ceremony and more respect, in Leicester Cathedral.

Ancient king finally honored after 530 years

May 30, 2015 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Free Admission! Free Parking!

INFINITY PARK950 South Birch Street

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Celebrity Headliner: Jeff Corwin!

This family-friendly event will take the Travel and Adventure experience to a whole new level!

Visit AmazingAdventuresDenver.com for more information.

Above, the coffin of King Richard III is drawn by a military escort from a memorial service on the site of Bosworth’s Field where the king died in battle in 1485, part of a week-long ceremony to bury the king. AP Photo/ Joe Giddens

At right, a portrait of Richard before he became King of England. Photo/ Wikipedia

ck Kids and adults can find live links to information about stories in Colorado Kids at www.ColoradoNIE.com

SudokuRules: Every row across, every column down and each of the six smaller boxes must contain numerals 1,2,3,4,5 and 6, one time and one time only. The solution to this week’s puzzle is on Page 4.

4 2 5

5 4

2 3

1 2

3 1

5

How would you feel about having Steven Spielberg for a boss? Or working with famous Hollywood

actors constantly?

Tim Johnson, director of the new DreamWorks movie, “Home,” does that every day.

I recently interviewed Johnson about his career as a director in the animated movie industry, and he shared the hardships and perks of directing a movie.

“Crafting a movie is like conducting an orchestra,” he said, explaining how he turns ideas into reality. “I don’t know how to play the oboe or the violin, but I know how to make them all play together.”

Every day Johnson has an important and fun-filled meeting with his fellow movie-makers, whether it is the animators, actors, choreographers, composers, or others.

It takes a week for graphic artists and

animators to create just 5 seconds of film footage.

How short a time is that? If you recite the alphabet for five

seconds, you only get to “J.”

On a day-to-day basis, Johnson finds himself discover-ing more inspira-tion in the

world by taking a deep breath, slowing down, unplugging, and putting a piece of paper in front of him.

He demonstrated for me how he writes down and doodles his ideas and inspiration.

“I have stared at

many blank pieces of paper, some recently, and tried to fill them up with what I think the next story I would like to tell is.”

In “Home,” you find yourself justifying what home really is.

The movie starts out with Oh (Jim Parsons), a lovable and hilarious alien who makes one very bad mistake.

By accidently inviting every-one in the universe to a “warm-ing of house party,” he unin-tentionally invites the Boov’s enemy the Gorg and causes many threats to the Boov species.

In the midst of fleeing from the angry citizens and police, Oh befriends Tip (Rihanna) and wants to show her that he’s her friend by helping find her lost mother.

Throughout the rest of the movie Oh and Tip find themselves becoming great friends and saving Earth from disaster.

But in the end who is the true hero?“Home” is a must see! The outstanding music and breath-taking 3D

graphics lead you through the sad mad adventures of Oh and Tip. Whether home is a roof over your head, a place to hang your hat

or where your heart is, you will love this new movie!

AnimAtion: CreAtive fun, And A lot of work

Gift to muSeum meAnS free tiCketS for kidS!The Denver Art Museum

was buzzing with excite-ment this past Wednesday

as Christoph Heinrich, the museum’s Frederick and Jan Mayer Director, announced the museum’s exciting new pro-gram, “Free for Kids.”

The program provides free general admission for every-one 18 and under, as well as $5

special exhibition tickets for the same age group.

The program also includes free admis-sion for school tours and youth groups, so kids can continue to learn and grow creatively, even if their school or youth group doesn’t have as much money as others.

And, starting this fall, the museum will offer free transporta-tion to the museum for Title 1

schools.Mayor Hancock spoke at the

gathering, address-ing the fact that over 100,000 kids will have greater access to the Denver Art Museum.

“Arts and culture are the heart of this great city,” he said. “This is clearly a sign that there is a movement in Denver to make our children the Number One priority.”

The “Free for Kids” program

is made possible through 2020 by “a major gift” from trustee Scott Reiman and a one-year grant from Kaiser Permanente Colorado.

Dr. Jandel Allen-Davis, vice president of Government, Ex-ternal Relations, and Research at Kaiser Permanente told the gathering that art is a big part of the community and should be a big part of everyone’s lives:

“We understand the connec-tion between having a life that is filled with the arts in addi-tion to all the other things that our lives are filled with.”

what is ‘home’ and who’s the ‘hero’?

Youth-written stories that appear here also appear on

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Sudoku

Solution421365

563412

146523

312654

654231

235146

By Clarise Reichley,10, a CK Reporter from Denver

By Cara Dulin,13, a CK Reporter from Castle Rock

Tim Johnson