The History Behind Wisconsin’s First People and Statehood

by Siwoo Park, age 12

Wisconsin, the state known for cheese-making and cranberries, has a much more complex history than agriculture. From tribal civilization to its current residents, Wisconsin has experienced many developments.

Before European settlers discovered Wisconsin, Paleo-Indians, the ancestors of modern tribes, inhabited the area around 12,000 years ago. Their existence is confirmed by effigy mounds, which are burial mounds shaped like animals or figures often representing the decedent’s connection to the creature. About 20 mounds survive in Madison today. [Read More]

Wisconsin’s National Marine Sanctuary is a Museum Beneath the Water

by Elim Eyobed, age 13

Wisconsin is one of just 15 places in the nation to have a national marine sanctuary. This is because the state borders Lake Michigan and its coast is home to many shipwrecks.

Wisconsin's Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary was created in 2021 to protect abandoned shipwrecks and other marine discoveries. There are 36 known shipwrecks within the sanctuary’s boundaries and hundreds more in Lake Michigan overall. There are estimated 780 shipwrecks in Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan waters and about 250 have been discovered. The cold freshwater has helped preserve many of these shipwreck sites. [Read More]

The AAGPBL Changed the Game for Women in Baseball

by Max Moreno, age 12

In 1943, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) began in Wisconsin, with over 500 women participating. World War II influenced the AAGPBL. At the time, baseball was America's pastime and people were worried that the sport would come to a halt due to men being drafted to fight in the war.

Women were already playing a similar sport: softball. This sport was created in 1887 for indoor play and had the same rules as baseball, just with a smaller field, a bigger ball, and an underhand pitch. During the war, many people turned to softball as their main form of entertainment. Many thought of softball as a “women's sport” and baseball as a “men’s sport” but the AAGPBL proved otherwise.

The AAGPBL consisted of six teams, with three of them being established in Wisconsin: the Milwaukee Chicks, the Kenosha Comets, and the Racine Belles. The AAGPBL Chicks played for Milwaukee, but fans referred to the team as the “Brewerettes” after the city’s Minor League Baseball team, the Brewers. Player salaries were $40 to $80 per week compared to the average salary of $45 per week. Players were also required to wear skirts with shorts underneath in an attempt to portray a feminine image. Skirts didn't prevent players from sliding into bases, and many players would get badly scraped knees, or “strawberries” as these injuries were commonly known. [Read More]

Enormous Dinosaur Footprints Discovered in Texas Riverbed

by Dakota Wilson, age 12

In Texas, recent droughts have exposed dinosaur footprints, each measuring several human hand lengths. These prints were uncovered in the Paluxy River, located within Dinosaur Valley State Park.

If you're seeking an enjoyable place to visit, Dinosaur Valley State Park is the perfect destination. Thanks to the low river levels caused by droughts, the tracks have become visible to visitors in a way never seen before. The Paluxy River and the drought conditions have provided a unique opportunity to observe dinosaur prints.

These dinosaur prints were created by two distinct types of dinosaurs: sauropods and theropods. Sauropods, such as Diplodocus and Brontosaurus, were herbivores, while theropods, like Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor, were known for their three-clawed feet. Both sauropods and theropods perished at the end of the Cretaceous period, likely due to an asteroid impact. These groups left their mark in Dinosaur Valley State Park. [Read More]

Two Black Holes Orbiting Each Other Were Discovered in Cosmic Light Show by Astronomers

by Allison Torres, age 14

Scientists have made a remarkable discovery - a previously hidden black hole has emerged from obscurity. This colossal black hole is accompanied by a smaller partner that had remained undetected until now. Astronomers have recently confirmed the emission of light from this smaller black hole. When these two black holes orbit each other, they generate bursts of light, known as a blazar, which emits intense radiation into space, specifically in the OJ287 region.

Mauri Valtonen, who reported this discovery during a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in New Mexico on June 7, emphasized the extraordinary nature of this find, stating, "We've never seen anything like this before."

Predictions made in early 2022 anticipated the most recent flare's appearance. Since that forecast, astronomers have diligently monitored OJ287 using both Earth-based and space telescopes to gain a clearer perspective. [Read More]

Learn the History Behind the Black Hawk War

By Max Moreno, age 12

The Black Hawk War started on April 6, 1832, and was the result of a series of misunderstandings and broken promises, leading to a tragic massacre of hundreds of Native American men, women, and children.

In 1804, future president William Henry Harrison and two representatives of the Sauk Nation signed a controversial treaty that sold all the Sauk land east of the Mississippi for $2,500, a deal widely seen as unfair even at the time. Many Sauk chiefs in Illinois and Wisconsin did not agree to the treaty, so they considered it invalid and continued to live in their village of Saukenuk near the Rock River in western Illinois.

About 25 years later, lead mining became common in the area, and thousands of settlers crowded out the Sauk. The Sauk leaders believed it was pointless to resist since the settlers were backed by the American military. The U.S. government ordered the Sauk to move west of the Mississippi, promising them enough corn to survive the winter. However, when the Sauk moved west, the U.S. failed to deliver the promised supplies. [Read More]

'Dumb Phones' on the Rise with Gen Z

by Allison Torres, age 15

Flip phones became popular in the 1990s and 2000s. At that time, they were a great invention in communicating with people wherever and whenever.

Over the years, phones have advanced technologically, which can be seen in both positive and negative ways. In 2007 smartphones came along, replacing flip phones with iPhones and Androids.

Smartphones have many advanced features like cameras, GPS, and many more applications, that can incorporate your data. This incorporation of personal information concerns people about their data being collected, shared, and used by companies. [Read More]

Wisconsin's Beloved Fast Food Franchise Celebrates 40 Years

by Allison Torres, age 16

Culver’s, the Wisconsin fast food staple, is celebrating its 40th birthday in 2024. Over these past four decades, the restaurant has grown while staying true to its roots.

Craig Culver, who created Culver's, wanted to be independent from his dad, who worked in the farming industry. In 1961, he and his wife decided to buy the Sauk City A&W restaurant. Craig wanted to start a business but had no clue how. He then began to work at a fast food restaurant and soon after began brainstorming the business approach for the A&W building they had purchased. He and his wife painted the building blue and white and fixed the outside. They opened for business on July 18, 1984.

The first few years were difficult because they didn’t know how to run a business. Their first menu consisted of Craig’s fresh frozen custard, butter burgers, cheese curds, tender roast beef, and of course their famous fish fry on Fridays. [Read More]

Nature's Lumberjacks: How Beavers Shape Ecosystems and Cultivate Harmony

by Dayanis Cruz, age 13

Beavers are one of the greatest engineers in the world. They make improvements to their habitat by creating waterways, dams, and lodges. They can cause conflict with farmers by eating their crops, or by building a lodge near a pond or a river.

A lodge is a dome that is made out of sticks and mud. There are underwater entries that lead to greenery above the water levels. To make a peaceful pond, beavers create dam walls that stop the current of water systems. Many peer groups of beavers share dams for several generations, but sometimes the ponds will fill up with dirt, forcing beavers to find a new location.

Beavers feed and build new lodges in their environment at night. Through winter, they hardly ever emerge from their lodge since it keeps them warm, making it perfect for the winter season. [Read More]

Vinnie Ream Hoxie: The Woman Who Sculpted Lincoln

by Allison Torres, age 15

The famous statue of Abraham Lincoln in Washington D.C. created by Vinnie Ream proved to society that women could create valuable art.

Ream was born in 1847 in Madison, Wisconsin, where she lived for ten years. Her family moved to Missouri, but later relocated to Washington D.C. during the Civil War. In 1863, Ream had a chance to visit Clark Mills’s studios and see multiple sculptures. Inspired by what she saw, she began sculpting. Ream recalled, “I felt at once that I, too, could model and, taking the clay, in a few hours I produced a medallion of an Indian chief’s head.”

She began sculpting busts of prominent men, including General George Armstrong Custer, Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, and New York editor Horace Greeley. Eventually, her friends helped arrange for her to sculpt a bust of President Lincoln. [Read More]

Rare Sighting of Gray Whale in Massachusetts Waters

by Aria McClinton, age 13

The recent sighting of a gray whale in the Atlantic Ocean has alarmed scientists. Typically, sighting this rarely-seen species is a good sign for the ocean; gray whales are intended to be spotted in the North Pacific Ocean, not the Atlantic Ocean. The species has hardly been seen in the Atlantic Ocean since its population faded in the 18th century.

Fortunately, gray whales are not endangered. However, in the last 15 years, there have only been six sightings of gray whales in the Atlantic and Mediterranean waters. “I didn’t want to say out loud what it was because it seemed crazy,” said Orla O’Brien, a researcher with the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life. In March, O’Brien and her co-worker, Kate Laemmle, spotted the whale near Nantucket.

The gray whale is closely related to the six different species of the family Balaenopteridae. Two distinct populations of gray whales exist in the western part of North America, and the other is on the coast of Asia, from South Korea to Russia. Gray whales migrate twice over nearly 12,000 miles of the ocean every year. Despite their extensive migrations, it still doesn't explain why this specific whale was spotted near Massachusetts waters, as this is not a typical area they visit. “My brain was trying to process what I was seeing because this animal was something that should not exist in these waters,” Laemmle said. [Read More]

Craving Control: The Science Behind Junk Food Addiction

by Elim Eyobed, age 13

If you've ever had a craving for junk food, you're certainly not alone. Whether it's chips, pizza, donuts, or cake, these processed foods are so flavorful that they can become extremely addictive. As a result, it can be very difficult to stop eating.

While addiction is typically associated with drugs or alcohol, some researchers have discovered that junk food can elicit similar addictive responses. The stimulating effect of junk food triggers a recurring cycle within the brain's reward circuit. Junk food induces the release of dopamine, which in turn brings about a sense of happiness in a similar fashion to drugs and alcohol.

The primary concern here isn't necessarily the presence of carbohydrates or fats, as healthier foods such as nuts and meat contain fats, and oats are rich in carbs. Rather, the issue lies in the fact that many unhealthy foods lack the essential nutrients that unprocessed foods used to contain. Consequently, the combination of sugars and fats in these foods creates a cycle that makes it challenging to resist eating them. [Read More]

Baseball History in Wisconsin: The Story of the Milwaukee Brewers

by Max Moreno, age 12

The Milwaukee Brewers were not always called the Brewers, and the story of the team's origin stretches back more than 100 years. The history of the Brewers name is a fascinating chapter in American sports history.

Baseball appeared in Milwaukee around the 1840s, and the first team was known as The Cream City Club. They obtained this name from the light-colored bricks used in many of Milwaukee's city structures. Milwaukee's first professional team, the Grays, started in 1878 in the National League. The name had been thrown around before but it wasn't until around the 1900s that the name Milwaukee Brewers was associated with Major League Baseball (MLB) with the name stemming from the rich brewing history of Milwaukee. In the year 1900, they were one of the eight charter members of the American League.

The Grays franchise moved to St. Louis, where they played as the Browns for 53 years before moving again to Baltimore to become the Orioles. After the Grays moved locations another team with the name the Milwaukee Brewers took their place. This team would prove to be more enduring. The club began to play in 1902 and was a Minor League team that found a home in Borchert Field along Chambers Street. The team attracted lots of young fans including the future owner of the Brewers and MLB Commissioner, Bud Selig. [Read More]

Revolutionizing Space Communication Through Lasers

by Allison Torres, age 15

Lasers represent the future of communication. Currently, the International Space Station relies on 5G and broadband internet for its Earth communication. However, this mode of communication involves a delay of approximately 2.5 seconds for information transmission.

Unlike radio waves, lasers constitute invisible light with greater robustness. Their wavelengths are also 10,000 times shorter than those of radio waves. Consequently, lasers require a mere 0.0003 megabits per second to traverse from one point to another. Introducing lasers into the orbit within our solar system stands to significantly enhance the speed of data transmission via satellites.

The application of lasers extends beyond space-related endeavors. We currently employ lasers in various technologies, including 3D scanners, laser surgery for cancer treatment, barcode scanners, and information processing in DVDs, and Blu-rays. [Read More]

Hanno the Navigator Explored Africa's Coast in Ancient Times

by Aissata Bah, age 14

Hanno the Navigator, from Tunisia, Africa, was one of the most important explorers of the 5th century B.C. His journey down the coast of Africa, took him thousands of miles, as he mapped new landmarks.

It’s believed Hanno was a king and seemed to be born into a family fascinated with science, geography, and exploration. From his home city of Carthage, he sailed south in search of new resources and trading opportunities, bringing cultural exchange, an important aspect of African history.

Hanno sailed to various places in Africa. He was best known for his naval exploration off the western coast of Africa. However, the only record of his long voyage is in a periplus (manuscript), a document listing ports, coastal landmarks, and approximate distances. The ships in this era weren’t meant for rigorous sailing as they were made out of wood and had a single sail. Also, considering the technology and knowledge of the time, compasses weren’t used in sailing and instead, people had to depend on the stars for navigation. [Read More]

African Dwarf Crocodile Is the World’s Smallest

by Dakota Wilson, age 12

All crocodiles are big and scary, right? Not this one, the African dwarf crocodile is just five feet long, making it the smallest crocodile species.

Osteolaemus Tetraspis or the African dwarf crocodile has many names such as the Black crocodile, the broad-nosed crocodile, and the Dwarf crocodile. These crocodiles are covered by black bony plates that form coarse armor on their skin. They also have yellow underskins and blunt short muzzles. The hatchlings are identified by light brown stripes on their tail and body and yellowish markings on their head.

Dwarf crocodiles are carnivores and solitary hunters. They mainly hunt during the night, preying on small animals such as crabs, insects, snakes, and lizards. Black crocodiles are cold-blooded; they constantly have to maintain their body temperature. To stay cool in the heat, the crocodile will lay in the water and ambush any prey that stumbles on its path. In the cold, they usually tend to sunbathe. [Read More]

Science Fiction Writer, Octavia Butler, Recognized by NASA

by Elim Eyobed, age 11

Who is your favorite writer? Hemingway? Shakespeare? Well, one great writer you may have never heard of is Octavia E. Butler. Butler was an esteemed African American author who was recently recognized by NASA for her groundbreaking talents. NASA scientists even named a Mars landing site after her.

Butler was raised by her mother and grandmother and was extremely shy as a child. When she was 12 years old, Butler started to read fantasy books, and later wrote science fiction when she was a teenager. The science fiction she wrote helped make her a very strong writer. In fact, she became such a powerful writer that her books won the New York Times Notable Book of the Year award, The Nebula award for the best science fiction novel published in that year, and the Macarthur Genius Grant.

During the 1960’s, Butler attended college at Pasadena City College, California State University, and the University of California. She wasn't a good student in particular, but an avid one. While in Washington, Butler participated in the Black Power movement. She became familiar with The Clarion West Workshop, which was a well-known place for writers. [Read More]

What Life Was Like for Wisconsin's Early People

by Max Moreno, age 12

It is challenging to think about what life was like a thousand years ago. However, how about thinking all the way back to 10,000 years ago, when Wisconsin Natives were constructing living areas, tools, and mounds.

As time went on, people from different regions began to settle in what is now known as Wisconsin. For example, native groups from the Mississippi area traveled up the Mississippi River to reach Wisconsin. They planted gardens and began to set up living areas, growing crops such as corn and beans.

These early people in Wisconsin also were forming communities, and establishing rules and traditions that were shared from one family generation to another. [Read More]

Rare Black Bears from Mexico Move into South Texas

by, Aria McClinton age, 13

Scientists have found that East Mexican black bears are moving from Mexico to southern Texas. Although these creatures are at risk of extinction, there is hope because their numbers are increasing, leading to bears spreading into Texas.

The numbers of bears moving to southern Texas are unknown, but they are often found in forests around Texas and moving along the Rio Grande in Mexico. Black bears in Texas are on the endangered species list; in Mexico, they are listed as ‘in danger of extinction’. Fortunately, Mexican black bears can adapt to live in many different environments like forests or mountains.

These bears like to scavenge for their food and their behavior is driven by their excellent sense of smell. That's also why they prefer to live near humans as it’s easy to access garbage, pet food, and fruit in the wild black bears like to hunt. They often have a wide diet of pine nuts, acorns, insects, and small mammals. [Read More]

Battles and Behaviors of Prehistoric Beasts

by Iliyan Hoskins, age 11

Dinosaurs in prehistoric times had unique methods to catch their prey and protect themselves from predators. Fossil evidence has unveiled fascinating glimpses of battles among different dinosaur species, shedding light on their behaviors.

One notable fossil pair illustrates a gripping encounter where a dinosaur thrust its tail into the flesh of another. In 1971, Velociraptor and Protoceratops fossils were initially assumed to be victims of a sandstorm. However, paleontologists later discovered that they were engaged in a fierce battle. The Velociraptor was caught in the act of slashing the throat of the Protoceratops, while the Protoceratops was simultaneously biting the right arm of the Velociraptor. This finding represents just one of many such combats unearthed in the fossil record.

Among these prehistoric creatures were the Coelophysis, small carnivorous dinosaurs that primarily scavenged on deceased remains. Despite their size, measuring 10 feet in length and three feet in width, they possessed remarkable speed and agility. [Read More]