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Celebration Planned for Expanded Yahara River Trail

by Stephaníe Perez, age 12

The Yahara River Trail, part of the Dane County park system, continues to move forward and expand. The trail connects McDaniel Park in McFarland with the Capital City Trail in Madison. It also connects local recreational trail systems with the southeastern part of Dane County.

The expansion of the Yahara River Trail improves transportation options for thousands of Dane County residents and provides opportunities for outdoor recreation like fishing, biking, and hiking. The newly expanded trail also provides an economic boost and brings communities together. [Read More]

Para leer la versión en español de éste artículo, puedes visitar éste enlace
[Also Available in Spanish]

Discover the Place Where Mist
Rises like “Thundering Smoke”

by Kara Nicholas, age 14

Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world. It is also known as Mosi-oa-tunya, meaning “smoke that thunders.”

Scottish explorer and scientist David Livingstone discovered Victoria Falls on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe in the fall of 1855—or at least he was the first European to witness its powerful beauty. Very impressed by the massive waterfall, Livingstone described its mist like “thundering smoke.” He then named the waterfall after Queen Victoria of England. [Read More]

Learning by Destruction

by Moises A Hernandez, age 13

A particle accelerator is a big machine used by physicists to smash an atom into pieces to learn what it contains inside. Physicists are scientists who have specialized knowledge in the interaction between matter and energy. Physicists accelerate little subatomic particles almost to the speed of light, which is more than 186,000 miles per second. Since the invention of the particle accelerator in the 1930’s, scientists have found that the internal structure of the atom is more complex than they imagined.

There are currently an estimated 30,000 particle accelerators in the world using different technologies. Some use electric fields to speed up the particles as they travel through a vacuum in a metal pipe. After a collision takes place, sophisticated particle detectors are used to detect and record the radiation and particles produced. Physicists then examine the results gathered to get a better understanding of particle physics. [Read More]

Modern Technology Transforms Our Transportation Options

by Brandon Alvarez, age 17

Are you ready to live in the future? Many of us would like to use flying cars, robots, and hoverboards. As we move into the future, we might also see flying taxis!

A Chinese firm, Ehang, is in the process of creating a taxi transportation service so you can fly to your destination using a single passenger drone. Dubai investors, such as Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, support the project. Other companies like Uber and Airbrush, are looking to create a similar service. [Read More]

The Woman Behind the Nursing Revolution: Florence Nightingale

by Christy Zheng, age 15

On May 12, 1820, a girl was born to affluent British parents in Florence, Italy. Growing up as a member of “respectable society”, she was expected to follow the conventional route for someone with her status at the time, which included marrying well. To her parents’ chagrin, however, she was more interested in healing the sick than courting eligible young men, and she even rejected the “respectable” boy who proposed to her. Worse than that, she loved math, which displeased her parents the most. She was Florence Nightingale: the “Lady with the Lamp,” a famous nurse in the Crimean War, and—perhaps most notably— a mathematician.

From a young age, Nightingale loved learning. She and her sister didn’t attend school; they were taught by governesses. Their father also taught them classics and politics. Nightingale loved studying in general, but she was especially gifted in math. Her parents found this unacceptable and encouraged her to study more “ladylike” subjects. [Read More]

New Horizon Spacecraft Captures Record-Breaking Photos

by Virginia Quach, age 16

Earlier this month, NASA released the farthest photos ever taken from space.

New Horizons, a spacecraft launched in 2006, recently captured an image of a star cluster. The photo was taken while the spacecraft was 3.79 billion miles away from Earth. Previously, a spacecraft called Voyager 1 held the record when it took the famous picture named the “Pale Blue Dot,” a photo of Earth from 3.75 billion miles away. It was one of the 60 photos taken by the Voyager in 1990. [Read More]

The 2014 Euromaidan Revolution Forced Political Change in Ukraine

by Katrin Brendemuehl, age 14

In the cold, far east of Europe, there is a country that borders Poland and Russia. Its history of Varangian tribes, Viking rule, and Russian occupation has made for a unique country. This nation, Ukraine, is also home to many revolutionaries.

In 2004, a demonstration took place in Ukraine called “The Orange Revolution.” This was a very important event in Ukraine’s timeline because it spurred and trained the revolutionaries that would lead the uprising to come. But it was not as significant as the next revolution which changed Ukraine forever. This revolution is known as the “Euromaidan.” [Read More]

"Trash Island" Reveals The Effects of Plastic Production

by Cristian Cruz, age 15

Researchers were surprised when they found an estimated 38 million pieces of trash washed up on the beaches of a tiny unpopulated island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean recently. According to the researchers, the density of the trash was the highest recorded in the world. Welcome to Henderson Island, an 18 sqaure-mile British dependency located about halfway between New Zealand and Chile.

Jennifer Lavers, the main author of the report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is a research scientist at Australia’s University of Tasmania. She said the ocean captures and holds floating trash that ends up on the island because it is located in the South Pacific gyre, which is a vortex of ocean currents. [Read More]

Madison College and Edgewood College Collaborate to Repave Degree Pathways

by Jacqueline Zuniga Paiz, age 17

Madison College (MATC) has expanded its relationship with Edgewood College. Under a new plan, the private institution Edgewood College will guarantee admission to MATC graduates with associate degrees in human services, or electrical or civil engineering.

According to Christine Benedict, vice president of enrollment management at Edgewood College, students affected by this streamlined process will be able to finish their bachelor's degree in as few as two years after graduation from MATC. [Read More]

Cats' Rough Tongues Have a Purrrpose

by Felicia Zheng, age 13

If a cat has ever licked you, then you know cats' tongues are rough. This is due to the tiny, backward barbs on their tongues called papillae. These barbs are made of keratin, which is the same material that comprises human hair and fingernails. [Read More]

Proposed Power Lines Spark Ongoing Controversy

by Michelle Chi, age 16

Tensions are rising as lawmakers, environmentalists, local residents and sponsoring companies continue to debate plans for the new Cardinal-Hickory-Creek transmission line. Although project advocates boast the proposed project will provide low-cost and renewable energy, the line poses potential health risks for residents of southern Wisconsin and threatens the surrounding environment. [Read More]

Neutron Star Collision in 2017 Answers Decade-Old Questions

by Zaria Glover, age 13

On August 17, 2017, a neutron star collision - one of the rarest events to happen in space - shook the universe with a cataclysmic explosion. Alarming scientists, gamma rays and gravitational waves blasted ultraviolet and infra-red lights. [Read More]

Book Review: The Great Gatsby

reviewed by Amie Kabera

The book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald takes place during the early 1920’s. Wealthy and high social standards were important in those days. Fitzgerald describes the way the rich were often identified as the “old” or the “new rich.” The old rich was demonstrated as the East Egg, being in a community born into money, and the new rich, achieving riches. Fitzgerald interpretes various themes such as: the American Dream, wealth can breed carelessness, and outward appearances can be deceiving. One theme that dominate the narrative throughout the novel. Several key characters, found out that the attainment of a dream may be less satisfying than the pursuit of that dream. [Read More]

The Fourth State of Matter: Plasma

by Avery Morford, age 12

Do you know what plasma is? Many people are not familiar with plasma and do not know where it can be found. [Read More]

Former Simpson Street Student Gives $20,000 to SSFP

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]

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