Face 1: SCOTT KELLEY! After 340 days in space, astronaut Scott Kelly’s historic mission has come to an end. Kelly returned to earth a few days ago following a nearly yearlong stay aboard the International Space Station. It was the longest amount of time an American astronaut has spent in space at one time.
Kelly’s time on the ISS was notable not just for its sheer length, but also for what it taught us about the effects of space-flight on the human body in space most of a year, and for the various scientific experiments Kelly worked on during his space year.
CREATIVE THINKING SKILL: ENDURANCE (perseverance) Creativity sometimes requires giving your all for a long period of time; that requires patience which is a huge part of endurance!
DAY 2: CATFE IN Fayetteville, AR A new café in northwest Arkansas will soon be offering the community a chance to take their coffee with a side of cats. That’s right, it’s called a “catfe." Purr Catfe Lounge is partnering with local rescue groups to help find homes for cats while offering people a chance to interact with the cats and get some “purr therapy.” The concept of the catfe is said to have originated in Taiwan in the 1990s, and the first one in the United States opened in California in 2014. Studies have found that the vibrations from cat purring can be therapeutic for many ailments and promote healing. The catfe offers sessions of “purr therapy” by the hour and even hosts group parties.
CREATIVE THINKING SKILL: RELAX Did you know that you can think better when you are relaxed? Gently grab a cat!
DAY 3: Glass Bubble Tent If you thought the ice hotel in Finland that we learned about was cool, then you’ll love this unique tent. The wizards at Holleyweb have invented an inflatable, PVC, transparent, bubble tent that lets you live outside, but with all the comforts of home. All you need is $2000, the tent, and somewhere to plug in the tent’s blower, which is necessary to keep the tent inflated. While this tent isn’t point-rock resistant, it is water-proof and fire retardant, for those rainy evening when you want to roast smores outside. Think about it! It would be like REALLY being outdoors! Oh, believe it or not, you can purchase the Glass Bubble Tent from AMAZON.
CREATIVE THINKING SKILL: COMBINE Creativity enjoys combining unusual things together to create something entirely new: a bubble and a tent-
DAY 4: ANIMAL RESCUE SITE What It’s Like To Abandon A Pet. This video is really not true at all. It isn't about a child. It is to make you think about adopting or buying a pet and then getting angry when the pet acts like what it is --a puppy or a kitten. Every year many people decide they do not want their pets, so they dump them off along a road somewhere. The Animal Rescue Site decided to create a video that would make you think about how horrible this is for a poor, defenseless animal. While this video can literally break your heart, it demonstrates a very good point! Bringing a pet into your home and making him or her a part of your family, is not a temporary thing. The video asks, "Would you do this to a child?" Absolutely not! So, why to an animal? The short film shows an adorable redheaded girl being adopted into a family (remember...she is an actress --this isn't real). She is loved and the family is happy to have her. That is, until she starts misbehaving and becoming a bit of a pest (in their eyes). Instead of working on the problem and behaviors, the family takes the cruelest way out. They just abandon her. They leave her like she’s worth nothing --something that happens to pets more often than you might think. The Animal Rescue Site states: "Animals depend on us just like a child would. Never adopt and think that it isn’t forever. Bringing an animal into your home is the greatest gift."
CREATIVE THINKING SKILL: EMPATHY Creative people find ways to help people "identify" or connect with an important truth.
Day 5: ALICE IN WONDERLAND SHOES - In "Cinderella" we find shoes made of glass. Today we look at some whimsical "Alice in Wonderland" shoes! Just think of all the shoes you could design based on books, movies, nature --the list goes one and one!
