by Devika Pal, age 13
Again this year student reporters from Simpson Street Free Press will attend the nation’s largest High-Powered Rocket Competition for Native American college students.
The public is welcome at this event, which is hosted by Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium. The rocket launch will take place on Saturday, April 27 at Richard Bong Recreational Area in Kansasville, WI. [Read More]
by Samuel Garduño, age 11
If you have experienced or heard of a 100-year flood, you might think that there won’t be a flood like this in another 99 years, but you are wrong.
Meteorologists use the 100-year flood label to say that there is a one in 100, or one percent, chance that a flood of this magnitude could occur in any given year. So a 500-year flood has a one in 500 chance, or 0.002 percent chance of occurring each year. This means if a city has a 500-year flood, as Houston did in 2017, it has the same chance of having another 500-year flood the next year. [Read More]
Jupiters Most Distinctive Feature May Vanish in Our Lifetime
by Moises A. Hernandez, age 13
In a decade or two, the famous Great Red Spot (GRS) on Jupiter will not be as big as it is today.
The GRS is a superstorm on Jupiter that is larger than Earth. It has been active since the 1600’s. In comparison, the longest recorded storm here on Earth was Hurricane John, which lasted 31 days, from August 11 to September 10 of 1994. [Read More]
It’s an infamous scene in a famous movie about journalism. Playing Deep Throat, Hal Holbrook tells The Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward, played by Robert Redford, to “follow the money” to discover who planned the Watergate break in.
Across the country in 2018, journalists and media experts are calling for more local reporting that follows the money.
Read Mckenna's Editorial and More: Click Here
by Michelle Chi, age 17
In elementary schools around the nation, words such as “barricade” are added to spelling lists; children are told to run in a zig-zag pattern to evade bullets; posters with lockdown instructions, sung to the tune of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” are hung on the walls of kindergarten classrooms.
The culture of fear surrounding school shootings is pervasive in every sense of the word. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 95 percent of public schools administered lockdown drills during the 2015-2016 school year. The Washington Post reported that more than 4.1 million students — one out of every four in the U.S. — experienced at least one lockdown drill in the 2017-2018 school year. [Read More]
by Kadjata Bah, age 14
Porcelain berry, a vine native to East Asia, is moving into two neighborhoods on the West Side of Madison. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is looking to halt the invasive species before it spreads to other parts of the city.
During the winter, porcelain berry looks like the native Virginia creeper, and during the rest of the year like grape vines. The vine can grow up to 15 feet in one season and “strangle a forest,” according to Jason Granberg, an invasive species specialist. [Read More]
by Leilani McNeal, age 14
Ever wondered why someone says “that’s just a tempest in a teapot” over an event that has nothing to do with tea? This expression is often a response to an overblown situation.
The expression “a storm in a teacup” is believed to derive from a passage in De Legibus written by Cicero, a renowned Roman philosopher, and writer who influenced future Latin prose. His “excitable fluctus in simpulo” translates to “he was stirring up billows in a ladle.” [Read More]
by Sarah Thomson, age 13
It is fairly common knowledge that a huge asteroid hit Earth over 65 million years ago, resulting in the extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs. The collision flung huge amounts of rock and dust into the atmosphere. This blocked out the sunlight from the Earth for years. The plants that used the Sun for energy died, causing the dinosaurs which depended on them as a food source to starve. Plus, the dust particles caused so much friction that they started fires. However, that's not the entire story: according to new research, this asteroid also caused a huge tsunami which affected the entire globe. [Read More]
by Amare Smith, age 15
Have you always wanted to play NES Games on your Nintendo Switch console? Well, now you can with Nintendo Switch Online! Nintendo Switch Online is a service that allows gamers to play online with friends and save games when the switch dies or breaks! [Read More]
by Leilani McNeal, age 14
Stem rust, a fungus disease affecting cereal crops such as wheat, is raising concern among pathologists. An issue that plant scientists thought was resolved has resurfaced, and they are currently working to develop different types of resistance to this disease. [Read More]
by Kara Nichols, age 15
Recently, a shipwreck was discovered in Lake Erie 184 years after it sank. This ship's name was the Lake Serpent.
The Lake Serpent left Cleveland, in September 1829 for a 55 mile trip to the Lake Erie Islands. It never returned. The National Museum of the Great Lakes has claimed that they’ve learned enough information to determine that the shipwreck was the Lake Serpent. [Read More]
by Abigail Comerford, age 14
California has experienced many wildfires in the past, but few, if any, have been as deadly as the recent Camp Fire. The future regarding this disastrous event is uncertain. The devastating wildfire burned for over two weeks, killed more than 85 people, and burdened thousands of lives. It will be remembered for many years to come.
On November 8, 2018, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, high temperatures and strong winds formed the deadliest wildfire in California history. The fire spread at a rapid pace, eventually obliterating 153,000 acres of land north of Sacramento. [Read More]
by Valeria Moreno Lopez, age 12
On November 25, 2018, a caravan of families who were marching to the United States to seek asylum became reckless. Their actions fueled the anti-immigrant views President Trump showed during the midterm elections.
Many people think migrants in the caravan are drug smugglers or people coming to the U.S. with bad intentions. In reality, many are running away from violence and poverty. [Read More]
by Eowyn Gomez, age 14
Food takes longer to cook at altitudes higher than 3,000 feet above sea level. The key factor is the decrease in air pressure. Lower air pressure drops the boiling point of water by approximately 1-degree Fahrenheit for every 500 feet in increased elevation. [Read More]
_(headshot).jpg)
by Rafael S. Shell, age 8
The endangered gharial, an animal similar to a crocodile, lives in parts of central Asia such as northern India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The gharial has some very unique body parts. Did you know that its jaw can hold over 100 interlocking teeth? This is so it can catch fish, which are its primary food source in adulthood. [Read More]
reviewed by Abigail Comerford, age 13
Greg Gaines thinks he knows it all. He has officially figured out how to survive high school. He decides that all he has to do is remain unanimously unimportant to everyone at his school except Earl, his sort-of-friend. He thinks this is what he must do to answer the basic existential question: How is it possible to exist in a place that sucks so bad? [Read More]
by Brandon Alvarez
Have you ever considered the stress the average college student goes through? Or the many difficulties they face while studying for their careers and the problems these mental health issues can lead to? [Read More]
by Leilani McNeal, age 14
Ten out of 22 school districts in Wisconsin have been commended for providing increased access and better performance in Advanced Placement programs. [Read More]
by Kadjata Bah, age 14
In physics, a culturally perceived “man’s science,” only two women had ever won the Nobel Prize, according to Rachel Ivie from the Statistical Research Center at the American Institute of Physics. This past year, in the fall of 2018, a third took home one of the most prestigious awards in science. [Read More]
by Sol Alvarez, age 7
You may think that animals can’t use camouflage, but they can. They use camouflage to hide from enemies like eagles and lions. [Read More]
by Deney Li, age 16
Simpson Street Free Press is flourishing. Our organization contributes to civic discourse and the greater Dane County community. SSFP students turn out quality articles and explore the world around us. We also know there were many dedicated student reporters who came before us. [Read More]
