Hello,everybody.Welcome to surf on a new Web site—SCIENCE NEWS FOR KIDS!

    Our goal is to offer timely items of interest to kids,accompanied by suggestions for hands on activities,books, articles,Web resources,and other useful materials.

    Our emphasis is on making the Web site attractive by offering kids opportunities to comment on and grade the subject matter,get ideas for science projects,and try out math puzzles.At the same time,we offer teachers creative ways of using science news in their classrooms.

    The Science News for Kids Web site,supported by several corporations and foundations,strengthens the usefulness of Science News in the middle－school classroom and offers entertaining reading and activities for students interested in science.

    A section of the Science News for Kids Web site is devoted to particular interests.At present,we have six such zones: a weekly brainteaser（难题）for those who enjoy solving and inventing puzzles (PuzzleZone),entertaining science－fiction composition exercises for those interested in writing (SciFiZone),and weekly science short description along with science project ideas and tips (ScienceFairZone).The GameZone contains a small selection of logic and memory games.The TeacherZone has materials,including question sheets related to the feature article of the week,so that teachers can bring science news topics to the classroom.The LabZone features a weekly hands on activity or science project idea.In the future,we might add additional zones,for example,for kids interested in robotics,the environment,computers,math,or veterinary（兽医的）medicine and animals.

    Contact us at editor@snkids.com.         Science News for Kids            1719 N Street,N.W.

    Washington,DC 20036                 Phone :202-785-2255             Fax: 202-659-0365

    My grandmother often said to me, “You can count the number of your true friends on the fingers of one hand.” For a long time I thought this was true. However, I've now discovered my grandmother was only half right. Maybe we do only make a few best friends in our lifetime, but those aren't the only people that we can call friends. There are many different types. Let me tell you about a few of them.

    One type of friends is the type I call the “football mom friend”. My neighbor Sally is a good example. We both have kids who play football in a football club, and someone has to take them to practice and pick them up. Sally and I and two other mothers take turns to do this. We meet sometimes and have tea and talk about what our kids are doing, but those are the only times that we meet each other. I enjoy being with these women, but we don't do anything else together.

    Another type is called the “hobby friend”. That's the person you share an interest or a hobby with. Michael and Cater, who are brothers, are a good example of this type. We're all in a bird watching club. Every few weekends the members of the club go on a trip to watch different kinds of birds. There's nothing romantic about my relationship with Michael and Cater, of course. We just share interest in birds.

    Then there's the “other half of the couple” type of friends. Jim is married to Rose, a friend that I've known since college. When Rose married Jim, I realized that I would have to be Jim's friend if I want to continue to be Rose's. Jim and I don't share so many interests, but we do have a friendly relationship.

    The arm bones of women who lived 7-000 years ago show a surprising level of strength-even higher than today's professional athletes. That's according to a first-ever study comparing prehistoric(史前的)bones to those of living people. The finding suggests a revision of history — the everyday lives of prehistoric women were filled with hard labor, rather than just sitting at home doing lighter tasks while the men struggled and fought for life.

    “Before the study, there are no clear records describing how our ancient ancestors lived. It can be easy to forget that bone is a living tissue, one that responds to the difficulties we put our bodies through,” said lead author Alison Macintosh. “Physical force and muscle activity both put pressure on the bone. The bone reacts by changing in shape, thickness and other aspects over time. ”

    Previous studies only compared female bones to contemporary male bones, the researchers said — and that's a problem, because the response of male bones to stress and change is much bigger than that of women. For instance, as humans moved from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle constantly on the move to a more settled agrarian (农耕的)one, changes can be observed in the structure of the shinbone (胫骨) — and these changes were much more evident in men.

    However, a comparison of the bones of prehistoric women to the bonos of living female athletes can help us work out a more accurate picture of what those prehistoric women were doing. “By analyzing the bones of living people and comparing them to the ancient hones, we can start to explain the kinds of labor our ancestors were performing,” Macintosh said. What they found was that women's leg strength hasn't changed a great deal, but their arms used to be very powerful. Prehistoric women, the researchers found, had arm strength 11〜16 percent stronger than those of modern rowers, and 30 percent stronger than those of non-athletes.

    Your kids might be ready for a break from school but the idea of being at home for three weeks loses its magic. Lucky for us Portlanders, the city has no shortage of awesome winter camps for kids.

    Trackers Earth

    For winter break, Trackers is offering several one-day outdoor and craft camps. The hard part will be choosing between so many fun options: “Ninjas Save Christmas?” Or “Here We Go A Waffling - Caroling and Waffles?”

    Details: $70. Dec. 23, 27, 30, 31; Jan. 2, 3. （Ages 4-14）

    Address: 5040 SE Milwaukie Ave.

    Tel: 503-345-3312

    Audubon Society

    Your kids don't have to be specifically bird-crazy to appreciate the Audubon Society's one-day winter camps. The classes all have a broad nature focus, including everything from ducks for the younger set to introducing older kids to bats, wolves and wildlife rescue work.

    Details: $65, Dec, 2S, 24, 26-31; Jan, J-3 (Ages 6-14)

    Address: 5151 NW Cornell Rd.

    Tel: 971-222-6120

    Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI)

When your kids start to get bored with his or her own Legos (乐高玩具)－yes, it occasionally does happen－check out OMSI's one-day Lego and Museum Experience, a full day of hands-on Lego activities in one of the city's most fun, family-friendly museums.

    Details: $49. Classes offered throughout December and January, (Ages 7-10)

    Address: 1945 SE Water Ave.

    Tel: 800-955-6674

    The Children's Gym

    Your kids definitely won't complain of being bored at Children's Gym's Winter Sports Camps. From 9:0 -5:30, they'll develop their gymnastics skills on the center's excellent equipment, then squeeze in a little rock climbing and field games.

    Details: $60/day; Dec. 23, 26, and 2 7; Jan. 2 and 3. (Ages 3-14)

    Address: 1625 NE Sandy Blvd.

    Tel: 503-249-5867

A Guide to the University

    Food

    The TWU Cafeteria is open 7am to 8pm. It serves snacks(小吃), drinks, ice cream bars and meals. You can pay with cash or your ID cards. You can add meal money to your ID cards at the Front Desk. Even if you do not buy your food in the cafeteria, you can use the tables to eat your lunch, to have meetings and to study.

    If you are on campus in the evening or late at night, you can buy snacks, fast food, and drinks in the Lower Café located in the bottom level of the Gouglas Centre. This area is often used for entertainment such as concerts, games or TV watching.

    Relaxation

    The Globe, located in the bottom level of McMillan Hall, is available for relaxing, studying, cooking, and eating. Monthly activities are held here for all international students. Hours are 10 am to 10 pm, closed on Sundays.

    Health

    Located on the top floor of Douglas Hall, the Wellness Centre is committed to physical, emotional and social health. A doctor and nurse is available if you have health questions or need immediate medical help or personal advice. The cost of this is included in your medical insurance. Hours are Monday to Friday, 9 am to noon and 1:00 to 4:30 pm.

    Academic Support

    All students have access to the Writing Centre on the upper floor of Douglas Hall. Here, qualified volunteers will work with you on written work, grammar, vocabulary, and other academic skills. You can sign up for an appointment on the sign-up sheet outside the door, two 30-minute appointments per week maximum. This service is free.

    Transportation

    The TWU Express is a shuttle(班车) service. The shuttle transports students between campus and the shopping centre, leaving from the Mattson Centre. Operation hours are between 9 am and 3 pm. Saturdays only. Round trip fare is $1.