1. Science Corner!
Day 2

2. Scientist of the Day
George Washington Carver

3. George Washington Carver
was an American scientist,
botanist, educator, and
inventor. The exact day and
year of his birth are unknown;
he is believed to have been
born into slavery in Missouri in
January 1864.

4. When George was only a week
old, George’s family was
kidnapped from their home on
the Carver’s plantation, the
family who ‘owned’ them.
However, the head of the
Carver plantation, Moses
Carver, hired a man named
John Bentley to find them,
but he found only baby
George.
Moses Carver

5. After slavery was abolished at
the end of the American Civil
War, Moses Carver and his wife
Susan raised George as their
own children. They encouraged
George to continue his
intellectual pursuits, and "Aunt
Susan" taught him the basics of
reading and writing.
This was very unusual in the late
1800s as black people were not
encouraged to be educated.
However, George was very lucky
as when he was growing up, he
met many people who encouraged
his interest in learning.

6. Carver applied to several colleges before being accepted at Highland
College in Highland, Kansas. When he arrived, however, they rejected
him because of his race.
He eventually went to college in Iowa, where he studied agriculture
and botany (the study of plants). He wanted to learn if there was any
way to devise better and more efficient farming methods so that his
home in the south would not be as reliant on cotton farming. Cotton
crops was not always successful during Carver’s time due to poor
weather and over farming of the land.

7. In 1896, Carver became the
head of the Agriculture
Department at Tuskgee
University. Carver taught
there for 47 years,
developing the department
into a strong research center.
He discovered new methods
of crop rotation that
improved harvest yields and
soil health – the principles of
his work are still in use today
by modern farmers. He also
worked very hard that all
farmers knew these new
methods of farming.

8. George Carver was
responsible for improving the
lives of farmers in America
and, when his work was
published abroad, worldwide.
Improving farming methods
led to better crops and
harvests which meant that
there was more cheap food
for everyone. This was an
important effect of Carver’s
scientific research and one
that he was extremely proud
of.

10. Earth Facts
• Magma is the hot liquid rock under the
surface of the Earth. It is known as
lava after it comes out of a volcano.
• The Earth isn't perfectly round, it
is slightly flattened at the north
and south poles.
• Hawaii is moving towards Japan at
the speed of 10cm a year. This is
because they are on different
tectonic plates.
• The Atlantic Ocean is the saltiest
of the Earth’s major oceans.
• Rock found at the bottom of the
Grand Canyon in America is more
than 2 billion years old.
• Scientists have dated the Earth
as being between 4 and 5billion
years old!!

12. Science Picture of the Day

13. Explanation – Voyager 1
This is a picture of Voyager 1. It was released in 1977 to explore
our solar system and beyond. Its purpose was to take photos of
space and record any interesting data.
It also transmits the contents of the ‘Golden Disk’ within it. This
‘Golden Disk’ contains recorded greetings and music from Earth to
be transmitted constantly in case some alien friends are
encountered.
After 36 years of exploring, Voyager is still going strong. Scientists
at the time used a new form of nuclear battery which – as Voyager
has proved – is still working perfectly. If Voyager is not damaged,
the battery should last until 2025.
At present, Voyager has travelled over 18.7 billion miles from planet
Earth. Therefore, Voyager is now ‘interstellar’ – it is travelling in a
part of space outside our solar system and the sun’s influence.
Aliens could be listening to our Golden Record!

14. Science Picture of the Day