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    It is probably the strangest sport anyone has ever invented. And at first sight, it looks like the easiest. Competitors have to do two things. The first is to stand still. The second is to place their hands anywhere on the body of a car, and keep it there.   

    This is where things start getting difficult. Lots of people are doing the same thing. And the winner of the "handathon" contest is the person who can carry on doing it for the longest time. That person gets to own the car.

    It still seems to be an easy thing to do. At the beginning it is. Anyone can stand still. But when the contest has been going for four or five days, standing still seems like the most difficult job in the world. And keeping the hand in place over this time becomes an act of serious attention. After a few days, the hand seems to belong to someone else—someone who wants to go home and get some sleep.

    Competitors are allowed to take a five-minute break every hour to eat, drink or do whatever else is necessary. No one is allowed to lean on the car for support. Winners need to be able to show great powers of attention. They also need to be able to develop special skills.

    Maybe the popularity of the handathon is due to the fact that it is not necessary to be a trained athlete to enter. Competitors in the Longview handathon certainly don't seem to do much preparation. Most say they will prepare by "getting lots of sleep". Others say they will "eat healthy food" or "pray for success". The whole event gives ordinary people the chance to do something interesting and win something in the end.

    Handathons are competitions, but there is little rivalry(敌对) between competitors. They help each other out and keep each other's spirits up. People who drop out early return with food, drink and encouragement.

    This is a true story that happened in Japan. In order to repair the house, a Japanese tore open the walls. Japanese houses normally have an empty space between the wooden walls. When pulling down the walls, he found that there was a lizard（蜥蜴）staying there because a nail（钉子）from outside was hammered into one of its feet. He saw this, feeling pity and curious. When he checked the nail, he found it was nailed 10 years ago when the house was first built.

    What happened? The lizard had survived in such a position for 10 years! It has been in a dark wall partition（夹层）for 10 years without moving! Then he wondered how this lizard survived for 10 years without moving a single step—since its foot was nailed! So he stopped his work and observed the lizard: What has it been doing? What and how has it been eating? Later, he didn't know from where another lizard appeared, with food in its mouth. Ah! He was astonished and touched deeply. The free lizard had been feeding it for the past 10 years.

    Such love, a beautiful love! Such love happened with this tiny creature… What can love do? It can do wonders! Just think about it: one lizard had been feeding the other for 10 long years, without giving up hope on its partner. If a small creature like a lizard can love like this, just imagine how we can love if we try.

    Winter solstice(冬至), an important solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar, as the name implies, means the coming of winter. It generally occurs between December 21st and 23rd. According to the traditional Chinese calendar, one year is divided into twenty-four solar terms. On this day, in the Northern Hemisphere the period of daytime is the shortest of the year and the period of night is the longest.

    In Northern China there is a custom of eating dumplings during winter solstice. The tradition of eating dumplings during winter solstice has its origin in early times. It is said that dumplings were invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a well-known doctor from the Eastern-Han Dynasty.

    One winter, he noticed that many people's ears were frozen, which made him sad. In order to prevent and cure the freezing injury caused by the cold, he asked his followers to boil mutton, chilies and other ingredients with medicinal properties in a pot for fending off cold. After these were boiled, they ladled(舀取) the mutton and other ingredients out of the pot, cut them into pieces, and then wrapped them with dough skins in the shape of ears. Afterward, they put these into pots to boil again.

    On the day of the winter solstice, the people whose ears were frozen were sent to eat the dumplings. People who ate it felt warm from head to toe and had their cold injury healed. Thereafter, every winter solstice people ate dumplings. Then there became a saying that if you eat dumplings during the winter solstice, then you won't freeze your ears off.

    Afterwards, Zhang Zhongjing died on the day of winter solstice. In order to honor him, every year on the day of the winter solstice every household makes dumplings.

    Italian Language Immersion Class in Chicago, Illinois

    Language stars:

    FunImmersion Italian class at Language Stars in Illinois provides fun, full language immersion programs (全语言沉浸式教学) for children aged (1-10). Also: Spanish, French, German and Mandarin Chinese. Throughout their 3-hour class every day, the children take part in full-immersion activities, create art projects, sing and enjoy themselves all in Italian!

    Quality teachers:

    Teachers are the single greatest driver of the quality of our programs! Language Stars carefully selects our native-speaking Italian teachers, who have received extensive (广泛的) training before starting their teaching careers.

    Teaching Style:

    Language Stars makes learning a language fun, through a mix of games, songs, puppet shows, arts & crafts, cooking projects, treasure hunts, movement and drama, all in the foreign language. Our unique FunImmersion method is the best way for children to enjoy learning a foreign language.

    The Benefits of Learning a Language at a Young Age:

    It is uniquely suitable for young children to learn a second language. Exposing your child to a second language allows a child to optimize (使最优化) his or her learning potential, helping to shape the brain at its most flexible stage. Learning a second language at a young age is as easy as learning a first language.

    Language Immersion Programs for Kids (Aged 1-10):

    Language Stars offers play-based, full immersion programs in small groups of 4-8 children in Italian, Spanish, French, German and Mandarin Chinese in three exciting formats:

    Parents & kids (Aged 1-3)

    Kids Only Classes (Aged 3-5, 5-8, 8-10)

    Summer Immersion Camp

    Free Trial Class:

    During a free class we encourage your child to participate as if he / she is enrolled.

    Tuition Fee:

    $ 600

    Address:

    2105 N. Southport, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Special Programs

    Career Stories

    What do you want to be when growing up? Hear first-hand from four Science Centre staff on the different career paths they have taken. Our real-life role models share their experiences and demonstrate that pathways to success, while unique to everyone, are based on the development of 21st century competencies and a commitment to lifelong learning.

    Duration: 60 minutes

    Time: 10:30-11:30

    Dates: May 13 & 27, 2018 Price: $15 per student

    Climate Change

    Understand the complex connections between human activity, greenhouse gases, heat transfer and climate change. Investigate past climate data, see ocean acidification in action and compare Canada to the world. Use a physical climate model to test whether you can stabilize the Earth's climate.

    Duration: 45 minutes

    Times: 10--10:45, 11-11:45, 12-12:45, 1-1:45 and 2-2:45

    Date: June 18, 23 &24, 2018 Price: $10 per student

    Characteristics of Electricity

    Witness the power of electricity with shocking demonstrations. From Galvani to Tesla, rediscover the practical applications of current, circuits and resistance. Understand how electric energy is generated, and be a part of a human electric circuit. Get energized with a spark-tacular static electric discharge (静电释放)！

    Duration: 55 minutes

    Time: 11-11:55

    Date: July 24, 2018 Price: $10 per student

    Mental Health: The Science of Anxiety

Your heart is racing, your mouth is dry and your stomach is in knots! Don't worry, everyone feels anxious sometimes. Explore what's really going on in our brains when we experience anxiety, how it affects our bodies and why stress can sometimes be a good thing. This presentation explains how our brains and bodies react to stress, while introducing students to evidence-based approaches. Mental health applies to everyone—-we can all take steps to enjoy life and deal with the challenges you face each day!

    Duration: 45 minutes

    Time: 11-11:45

    Dates: August7, 8, 9, 10&11, 2018 Price: $10 per student