Advertisements, by Zainab Salman

Here are the answers by Zainab Salman, to the two questions which were shared in Session 37:

What do advertisements do to make you want what you do not need?

Advertisements have their own strategies to make us buy a lot of stuff that we don’t really need. To capture one type of people, they use things that will attract the attention of that particular kind of people. For example, an ad which shows a doctor telling that one type of soap will be more efficient will attract the attention of those who are health concerned. They further use researches and experiments to prove themselves right.

Many innocent people believe them and start using their products which leads to profit to the particular brand or company.

They have started making ads like long videos or movies that have a whole plot, dialogues and a script! They exploit human feelings and make touchy ads that make one cry.

In short, advertisements do almost everything they can to make us buy what we don’t need.

How do advertisements change the perception of reality?

Advertisers have a strategy for changing  our perception of reality. Like the Pepsi ad we saw in an earlier session, it changes the perception of reality by showing people holding empty Pepsi bottles with some sort of affection. Though in reality, nobody likes empty Pepsi bottles- they are loved only when they are full.

Of course, they cannot change reality, but this is how they change the perception of reality.

Below is an article, already published on Zainab's blog, titled ‘The Problem with Advertising’.

The Problem with Advertising

In our society, advertising plays the key role for excessive buying. The ads that our media presents urge people to buy products of a particular brand. The companies that make the stuff we buy have a strategy: They advertise the things that are not our needs. There is no need to advertise for our needs! We have to get our needs, no matter what. They mainly advertise for our wants our secondary needs in the papers and T.V.

The companies do their best to make their ads flashy. They include people like film stars, cricketers, doctors, scientists, cartoon characters and statements, music and actions, anything that would appeal to their targeted customers.

Advertising is simply a trap. They get us in their cycle only to earn money. Often, we fall in to their trap of the ads and buy the unnecessary stuff. Their job is to get their stuff sold, while our job is to prevent ourselves from buying them.  Though what we really do, is buy their stuff. Whenever we go to the supermarket, we fill our trolleys with all the food, drinks, clothes, shoes and accessories advertised on T.V.

We rarely think about it, but we do have to answer for the excessive buying that we do without thinking.  And for that, we need to be courageous enough to see through the ads, and buy what we need.

Advertisements, by Namra Asif

These are answers to the two questions shared in the last session, written  by Namra Asif, a club member.

Q. What  do  advertisements  do  make  you  want  what  you  do not  need?

Our Almighty ALLAH  gave us many many blessings which we have to make us realize that we should always thank our GOD (ALLAH). But some fake things destroy our this concept and advertisements are one of those

Advertisements play a very important role to destroy our this concept by playing from our perception, feelings, values, understandings, beliefs, dreams, wishes, and emotions. And from this solely and gradually our wants becomes our needs which is the beginning of breakdown our string relations between us and ALLAH.

In the end, the conclusion is:
Want should belong to ALLAH... Need should belong to us.

Q. How do advertisements change the perception of reality?

Some things and thoughts are able to change reality of life they are very dangerous and advertisements are one of them . Because the companies of advertisements always try to make heart touching advertises which approximately change the reality. First of all, by advertisements, they make their product as our extra needs, which do not play a vital role in our daily life .

They vanish the concept of difference between wants and needs .When our wants become our needs, extra expenses are being up in our life and our ALMIGHTY ALLAH never likes extra expenses, especially from Muslims.

Sleep and Dreams, Article by Kenza (online member)

Here is an article written by our online club member, Kenza, about sleep and dreams, which we discussed in Session 35.

Dreams come in three stages: light sleep, deep sleep and REM. During REM (Rapid Eye Movement), our eyes roll around rapidly under our eyelids. During deep sleep, we have almost no contact with the real world. And if we wake up naturally, we’ll be in light sleep until we actually awaken.  

When we dream, we don’t know we’re dreaming. In our dreams, we often think the world around us is reality even if the things that appear in front of us are absolutely unreal. The reason for this is that our frontal lobes (the part of the brain at the front) aren’t acting much. However, they are when we’re awake, and at those times we’ll know for sure that we’re definitely not dreaming. 

While dreaming, we have no sense of time. We don’t even know how long our dreams last - they might only last an hour. But still, according to a fact in What Makes Me Me? by Robert Winston, you’ll spend around five years of your life in dreams. And another that states, the average person dreams about 1,825 times a year. 

Furthermore, you won’t copy the motions you make in your dreams; for instance, you won’t start running a marathon if that’s what you’re dreaming about! This acts as a barrier to stop you copying the movements you make whilst dreaming. This is because your brain signals to your muscles to move (to correspond with the motion you make in your dream) but your spinal cord ignores these signals. 

According to some people, if you want to remember your dreams well, lie your pillow flat before you sleep. This helps keep a good recollection of your dream, because your blood circulates better this way. 

To sum up, dreaming is an interesting topic that even scientists can’t completely understand. And maybe some of it will always remain a mystery.


By Kenza, Online Club Member

I think my dream came true.

Needs and Wants, Article by Kenza (online member)

Our needs and our wants play important parts in our life. Our needs consist of things we need to live and our wants consist of things we want in life. Without our needs, we most likely wouldn’t live very long. Without our wants, some of us wouldn’t be very happy, or in another case, we might not even achieve the goal we want in life.  
We need the substances we use every day to survive. These substances commonly include water, food, clothing, shelter, sanitation and more. 
Our wants can be necessary or unimportant. Necessary wants may include equipment such as, stationery, books, bags and containers, phones/mobiles, computers, transportation, and so on. Unimportant wants, however (even though we still want/have some of these) may include jewellery, video games, music, magazines, and so on. 
Anyhow, just because our wants are classified into necessary and unimportant, doesn’t mean we should or shouldn’t have them. It just means we can live without them (even if we struggle without our necessary ones). 
The important thing is to appreciate what you have, be thankful, and not waste anything. Some people are so used to using their everyday equipment that they forget it all plays an important part in their life. Just imagine what it would be like if you didn’t have the cutlery in the kitchen anymore or that toothbrush you use to brush your teeth twice a day: any of those essential needs. Or even a glass of water! Life would be hard, wouldn’t it? 

Needs and Wants

Below is an article about needs and wants written by Zainab Salman, based on the points discussed in Session 33.

We rarely think about them, but Needs and Wants are an important part of our lives. Lots of things in our lives like shopping and buying things depend upon it. Our needs and wants gradually become part of our thinking.

Needs are very important things that are necessary to have in order for us to survive. Wants can be anything-anything that we want for ourselves. Often, we forget and buy stuff without thinking whether they are our needs or wants.

Needs and Wants are divided into these categories so that they are easier to understand:

Primary Needs:

Basic: Like clothes to wear.

Functional: Things that are necessary for the Need to work-like the clothes to be stitched -so that the need can be functional.

Secondary Needs:

Things that we consider as our needs but are not our basic needs, as we can survive without those. Examples include toothbrushes, furniture, and things that are a part of our home without any apparent reason

Wants: Things that we want- can be anything, wants have no criteria for being a want

There are five basic things that we should be thankful to God for, or more specifically, that we need to be thankful for. These five things are mentioned below:

He has given us our basic needs in abundance

Avoid Wasting and share with others!

He has given us more than our needs

Don’t make them your needs!!! 

He supplied us everything without being asked for them

Don’t consider them as your rights!

We can never thank him enough

Continue to be thankful, feel obliged to him!

He has given us lots of things which we have not worked for/earned

Believe in your lord, he will continue to give!

Lots of things are part of our lives and we sometimes forget to thank God for them. Needs and Wants are such small things that we sometimes forget and learning how to differentiate between them is a great skill.

Philosophical Questions and their Answers, by Kenza (online member)

What is Time (and do you think of Time the same way I do)?
If you looked for an ordinary definition of time, you’d be given something like, the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole. But what exactly IS Time? And how can we think of it? Can we even go forwards/backwards in time? 
I think Time is of course our experiences in life, what’s happening to us now in the present, and what will happen in future (assuming we will still be there). We count Time as it goes by, just as we count numbers. But the mind-numbing thing is that if you go further and further than a millisecond, it’s infinite, and it’s hard to believe how this still goes on as we go by in the present today. Many believe that you can go forwards in Time if you go faster than the speed of Light. But many wonder how this beyond-the-mind thing works. I’ve come up with a theory, but it still doesn’t quite explain how Time works. 
If you look at the stars in the night sky today, you may have heard from someone or from an information book, that the stars that are out there today may have already died millions and millions of years ago. But there’s a reason for this of course; Light is slower than the speed of time, just as Sound is slower than the speed of Light (you’d notice this when there’s lightning). And that’s also the reason why light from the sun takes eight minutes to reach us, since the sun is so far away. So, from this theory, you can tell that Time is faster; the reason is because the stars that you see in the night sky may have already died… with Time! 


What are Colours?
If you were trying to explain to someone who’d been blind all their life, what colours are, you’d have a bit of difficulty. Only a person who’d not been blind at first would understand this matter properly. If you look up an ordinary definition, you’d be given something like, the property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way it reflects or emits light. But this wouldn’t be useful for a blind person, because they don’t understand light, either. 

Instead, you could say that colours can also be expressed as heat or emotions. Like, red for hot, angry or dangerous and blue for cold, calm or sad. And then, of course, yellow for happy, which is also quite common.

Can you step in the same River twice? 
Yes; if I were stepping in the Thames once, stepped out, and stepped in again, I’d still be stepping in the Thames. 
No; the water of the river I’d stepped in the first time would have flowed past, by the time I’d stepped in the second time. Thus, it would be impossibly difficult to step in in exactly the same position as I’d last done, with the water in exactly the same place too. 

Does society need Greed?
Yes; If no-one had a greedy ambition, we’d probably never get anywhere. No-one would want to be leaders. Capitalism wouldn’t exist at all, and there would be no in between. 
No; If we didn’t have greed, we’d have more love and kindness for each other. There would be a lot more friendly people on the planet, and we’d be sharing things a lot more. The rainforests wouldn’t be cut down, and we wouldn’t use others. 
Personally, I believe some need a bit of greed for the world to work, but not too much. I mean, cutting down all the rainforests is over the top, but if we didn’t have greed at all, we probably wouldn’t even have ambitions, a competitive spirit, and we would be weak. 

Why does the same thing make one person Happy and the other Sad?
Different people may see different things in different ways. For example, say one child took a toy from another. In one perspective, the child would be really annoyed and demand it back. But in another, the child would be really happy that the other wanted to use their toy. 
It really depends which personality you have. If you’re a greedy or selfish character, you might be really annoyed if someone took one of your belongings from you. But if you’re a kind and sharing type of character, you’d be quite happy for someone to use one of your belongings. In some ways, you may be classified as an optimist, realist, or pessimist; like in the half-full, half-empty cup example. 

About Boredom, by Aiza Saad, club member

What is boredom?

Boredom means being uninterested in doing something or when you have nothing to do. It can also be feeling annoyed about something that is continued for too long. It makes you impatient and dissatisfied. 

To avoid boredom I usually start to put away messy things from my room .Sometimes I play with play dough as I love to make small dolls with it using different colors.


There are also other things that we can do to avoid boredom such as:

• Make a new card game
• Jump rope
• Write story about animals
• Learn magic tricks
• Play with hula hoop
• Explore small areas of nature with a magnifying glass
• Wash clothes
• Take swings
• Take ride on the bicycle
• Plant seeds and water them

About Boredom, by Kenza (online member)

What is boredom?

Boredom is a common sensation that most kids have some of the time. You’re usually bored when you have nothing to do, you’re doing something that you don’t particularly like, or you’re waiting for something that’s taking a long time.

I think it’s normal to be bored. In fact, it can be a good thing. It allows you to think while you’re not doing anything, and it’s good for the creative part of your brain.

What do you usually do to avoid boredom?

When I’m bored, I usually do things that I don’t have time for when I’m really busy, like drawing random doodles, writing my story, reading (this is a really good thing to avoid boredom) and going outdoors. Other times, I check things out that I haven’t looked at in a long time. Otherwise, it’s always a good excuse for me to tidy my bedroom!

What other things can we do to avoid boredom?

When you’re bored, it’s a good idea to use that time for something creative, like writing, drawing, and creating something. Reading is also a great idea too – it’s educational and relaxing. Other things include playing board games (like chess or Monopoly), going out for a walk (it’s good for exercise and fresh air) or talking/contacting family/friends (either in real, online, or by phone calling). There are countless things! :D

By the way, did you know, several experts say that boredom in children can be a good thing? It has been said that “it develops children’s innate ability to be creative”. Some doctors fear that children’s creativity is being stunted through increased reliance on screen technology. When bored, children immediately go to the TV or iPad instead of allowing their minds wander down the roads that lead to creativity. (This was in a BBC news report, March 2013.)

Tone and facial expressions, by Zainab Salman, club member

What is the role of tone and facial expressions in our communication?

I believe, tone and facial expression are an important part of our conversation, and things to take care of.

For Example, you’re talking to someone, using polite and friendly words, but with the troubled expression you’re wearing on your face makes the other person perceive the exact opposite of what you mean. The same goes for tone. So remember, if your facial expressions, tone, and words don’t match, the other person will accept the strongest of them three, that is, the facial expressions.

Is it possible for a person to be fully responsible for his/her tone?

I think so. Because tone is something you can choose for what and how you want to say it. Like if you want to be sarcastic, you’ll say polite words, but use a rude tone (or vice versa). So when you choose your tone yourself, according to how you want to sound, you can be fully responsible for your tone.

Can we control our facial expressions?

I don’t think so. If you’re angry with someone, and someone else is talking to you, chances are that your facial expressions won’t be too kind. Also, you aren’t standing in front of a mirror when you’re talking, so you don’t know if you made a face at something when you should’ve smiled.  Maybe some people can control their facial expressions, but I can’t, and I know it.

Tone and facial expressions, By Fatima Salman, club member

What is the role of tone and facial expressions in our communication?

Our tone and facial expressions have a very important role in our communication. If a person really means what he or she is saying, their tone and facial expressions would match their words. For example, if I’m persuading someone to do something, my tone would be determined and I wouldn’t look angry or bored. But if I’m pretending to be nice to someone I actually hate, my fake smiles might even be detectable and my tone could even give the game away.

Is it possible for a person to be fully responsible for his\her tone?

In a way yes, and in another way, no. I think our tones depend on our mood and feelings at that moment. A person may sound unintentionally rude at some time because something has made him or her feel angry. Or he may sound happy because of something else.

I think there is always a reason for the tone we use. The reason may lie in our statement or in something else. I think that if our tone used is according to what we are saying, then we can control it, but if a certain tone is because of something else (i.e.;  other than what we are saying) then we can’t control it.

Can we control our facial expressions?

I don’t think we can control most of our facial expressions that come by naturally. The only facial expressions that we can control are the ones we show on purpose, like in acting.

Verbal and Non Verbal Communication, Writing by Kenza (online member)

We’re always talking and communicating every day. But what makes up the whole of our communication?

Verbal communication makes up only 7% of how we talk and express ourselves every day, while Non Verbal makes up an amazing 93% of all our communications!

Verbal communication includes the sounds and language we use in our individual community to relay a message. We’re born with the ability to speak, but we have to learn a language to communicate in. Language allows us to express what we want to say. Verbal communication doesn’t actually tell the truth of what we are thinking or feeling, though; it only gives us the words and information. For example, we could lie to someone that we weren’t scared, although actually we really are. We can’t always rely on verbal communication to tell the truth.

On the other hand, Non Verbal communication, including body language, is the tool we use to present what we really mean. We use this all the time to give out messages, although we might not even notice it. Even when we’re being silent, we’re still communicating nonverbally. It’s an unconscious language that expresses our true feelings, thoughts and intentions in any given situation.

There are many types of Non Verbal communication. There’s facial expressions, body movements and postures, gestures, eye contact, touch, physical space and tone of voice. It’s very difficult to disguise it all, because not only does Non Verbal communication make up the majority of how we talk and express things, but our body language is automatic and almost impossible to fake.

It’s been proven that our emotions or facial expressions are expressed in similar ways around the world. This includes, happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust and surprise. However, don’t muddle up gestures with emotions, because gestures aren’t always the same in other countries. In the US and UK, for example, putting your thumbs up is usually being positive, while in some other countries it may be an insult. These are cultural differences.

So, whether or not you are talking or being quiet, this won’t affect your Non Verbal communication. Whatever you do, you’re always expressing yourself in different ways that you, yourself, might not even notice. There are thousands of ways to communicate today and it is a powerful tool to help us communicate with ourselves and to interpret others.

by Kenza, Online Member

Verbal and Non-Verbal Commmunication

Dear Members

In the upcoming session, we will be discussing Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication.

Verbal communication is the words we say.
Non-Verbal is the way we say it. It includes our tone, intonations, facial expressions, gestures, posture, eye-contact, laughter, sighs, etc.

We will start this topic in the coming session. In the meantime, we would like you to think upon these questions.

1. What is the role of tone and facial expressions in our communication?
2. Is it possible for a person to be fully responsible for his\her tone?
3. Can we control our facial expressions?

You have to 'reflect and respond', 'inquire and share' and 'explore research and present' on these questions. It will be taken in detail in the coming session.

Thank you

Article by Nameera Faisal (club member)

This is an article written by our club member, Syeda Nameera Faisal. It is about 'What is the importance of means of communication in a student's life.'
If any member wants to, they can send us any article or writing they wrote, which we will publish on the blog.

From a Cow's\Goat's perspective Writings by club members

This is a writing by Zainab Salman about the feelings of a cow.

Below is a writing by Fatima Salman.

From a Cow’s perspective who will be slaughtered tomorrow.

I am feeling angry, fed up and bored. Tomorrow, I will be slaughtered and cut into pieces. Whenever I see the boy who looks after me, I can’t help thinking that he’ll be eating me tomorrow night. The rope tied around my neck is hardly a meter long and I can’t move around freely at all. When the people take me for a walk, at least twenty more people join us with four or five more cows. They yell around the streets and make us run with them. Sigh. There seems to be no more peace in the little of my life left.

Below is a writing by Rijja Aitesam

I am a Goat. My name is Momo. I was living a green grassy cattle form where I was playing with my friends. I love to play with children who take care of me, they bring green grass for me they enjoy to sit with me and cheering me. I feel very angry when they pull my ear. I feel alone when no one around me I call someone mahhh, mahhh,

I love to play with children we run into the ground. I am very friendly goat. My skin is white with black spots. I have two long ears and sharp horns that I used to protect myself.

Beauty vs Fashion by Zainab Salman (club member)

Fashion is something somebody likes, which gradually becomes ‘Fashion’. For example, nowadays, the ‘Fashion’ is to wear torn Jeans that are torn from one knee. But if someone gives me a ‘fashionable ‘ pair of torn Jeans,  which doesn’t look ‘beautiful’, but it’s quite ‘fashionable’, I may wear it. But if it’s not Beautiful, I’ll patch it up, so it looks much better, and even if it’s not ‘fashionable’ at least it’s ‘beautiful’. This is a simple version of defining and differentiating between what’s ‘Fashion’ and what’s ‘Beauty’ and learning which one is better.  If you go for ‘Fashionable’ and not ‘Beautiful’, you should think once again. For example, if the Fashion is to wear long shirt and I get one stitched, and start wearing it. But soon, as it does, the fashion will change to short shirts, and my long shirt will be left behind, useless. So it’s much better to choose ‘Beauty’, rather than ‘Fashion’,  because your definition of Beauty won’t change soon, and if it does, you’re the one in control of it, and Beauty is always Beauty whether it’s Fashionable or not. 
Can you tell which one is Fashion and which is Beauty?

Beauty and Fashion, by Kenza (online member)

Symbols of Love and Beauty

• Chinese Symbol of Beauty – The Chinese symbol of Beauty is 美 Měi. It is also known to be a sign of being pretty, exquisite or fine.
• Isis, Aphrodite, Venus – These famous goddesses were symbols of beauty or love in their ancient cultures. Isis was known to be the goddess of love in Egyptian mythology, while
• Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty in Greek mythology and Venus was the Roman version of Aphrodite. 
• Swans – Swans are used as a symbol of grace, love and faithfulness in many cultures. The reason is because they are known to have a longer relationship and fidelity
• Roses – Roses are a very common symbol of love, beauty and romance, mainly the red rose. They were commonly known in the War of the Roses, in 15th Century England, now being the national flower of the country.

Symbols of Fashion

• Jeans (ripped, faded, etc) – Ripped/Faded Jeans are a popular way of expressing fashion these days. They are deliberately cut at the knees or coloured over in a messy light colour to show they’ve worn out, even when they’re brand new.
• Handbags – Modern handbags are a way of exhibiting bags, slung on one ­half of the shoulder. They can even be tacky and come in lots of different styles.
• Red Carpets/Limos – Fame always links to the red carpet and limos. They’re often symbolised as a way to brag about being rich and stylish and are usually shown to be the centre of attraction.
• Make­up – Make­up has been a very popular way of dressing up for centuries. Until recently, lead was used for eyeliner until people found out that it was dangerous. In ancient Egypt, people would wear black eyeliner, also known as kohl. Nowadays, many girls and women wear a lot of mascara, nail varnish, hair dye and lipstick when going out, whereas modesty does not follow this trend.

Fashion vs Beauty Artwork by Kenza

Qualities of a Good Thinker, by Zainab Salman (club member)

A Good Thinker…..

  1.Should be Curious about how things work.

A good thinker should be curious about how things work-would want to learn and research more about things that interest him/her and those that he/she knows less about.

   2. Should listen to other’s opinions and value them too.

If we believe that we are the most creative and the best thinker of them all,

This would be very wrong and selfish. A good thinker should learn that other’s opinions and other’s knowledge could be more advanced and better than one self.

  3.Should be positive and proactive.
A good thinker should be positive about things and should think about positive and should be proactive. Being negative and reactive aren’t good signs of a Good Thinker.

44.Should think on things worth thinking.

If I start to wonder how to drive a car, this wouldn’t be something worth thinking. Anyhow, if I learn how to do it, the information wouldn’t be worth it, because I can’t drive a car till I am of age. But if I start wondering about how to ride a bicycle, this information would be useful, because I do have a bicycle and I can start riding it.

  5.Should speak about things after thinking on them.

If I keep thinking and thinking about some ideas in my mind, the ideas would be of no use because after all, they are only in my mind and only I can benefit from them. By sharing my ideas with others, other people would learn about it, and they might also advise me some important things, and they would also benefit from it. Anyways, speaking a lot could also irritate others.

Qualities of a Good Thinker - by Kenza (online member)

1)      Be alert. You have to notice the little things that others might not have noticed. Like when you’re doing something scientific, you could miss the little, but important, details. For example, when someone was trying to build an invention to make it fly, they’d rarely ever get it right on the first try. This is because they’ve missed something. Take that into account!

   2)      Care about something. Don’t be afraid to read, take notes and research for a topic. Bring up more questions!

   3)      Don’t give up. Even if you can’t grasp something, keep trying! Never abandon your ideas!

   4)      Don’t get put off. If someone teases you about the thing you’re learning, or if someone gives you a bad impression of it, don’t listen. Decide for yourself and pick the thing you want to learn!

   5)      Accept mistakes. You’ll always make errors or mistakes. Don’t let this put you down. Besides, you’ll always learn from your mistakes. After all, if you never made mistakes (like when you started to walk, or started to hold a spoon and fork), you’d never learn!

   6)      Learn from others. See what others think, your friends, your family, people you know. Don’t be afraid to ask them or listen to what they say. You can always learn from that!

   7)      Learn more. Even if you think you are intelligent, it does not mean you know everything. The more you work, the smarter you get!

   8)      Take your time. You may not have all the time in the world, but use the time you have at your pace! Don’t rush it – if you rush what you have to do, you won’t learn as much as those who take their time to take something in.

   9)      Focus. Don’t always go down the path you don’t need to take; take the path you’re aiming for. For example, if you’re a scientist, focus on the things you need, to become one, before you explore different paths . Save other interests for your free time, but don’t discount them – they can be valuable sometimes!

  10)   Develop ideas. After looking at all these steps and taking them into account, try to develop your own ideas. Follow what others have to say and then mix their ideas with your ideas to try and get a result!

How stars guide us in travelling, write-ups by club members

Some members of our club wrote articles on How stars guide us in travelling. Here they are:

This article  below is written by Fatima Salman. 

To travel by using the help of stars, I think we need to understand the stars first. We’d need to know which star appears when, which stars are moving, and which stars can help us find the way. (This whole subject is called astronomy). Once we can understand the stars, we can travel by their help.

For example, if I have to go to a certain place by the help of stars, first, I’ll have to locate which star is directly above the place I want to reach. I can travel by following that star and reach exactly the place below that star.

I read a book called The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and in that book, caravans are crossing the huge Egyptian desserts with the help of stars. Although that was just a story, people do actually travel by the help of stars. In fact, sailors use stars as their guide to find the way.

These days, this way of travelling isn’t very common and people hardly know about it. But it is important to know how people used to live and travel centuries ago. The most important thing is that we should learn about these natural things that God created millions of years ago.

The article below is written by Isam Hanif Majeed.

Finding direction using the stars is much quicker and easier than using a compass. It is also a lot more fun. All we need do is find a star that is directly above the place we need to get to and it will point exactly the right direction for us. Well the problem is that a few minutes later that star would have moved and so you would need a new one. Fortunately there is one star in the night sky that does not appear to move. It is called Polaris, or the North Star.The easiest method for finding the North Star is by finding the ‘Plough’, an easy to identify group of seven stars. It is known as the ‘Big Dipper’ to the Americans and the ‘saucepan’ to many others. The ‘Plough’ rotates anti-clockwise about the North Star, so it will sometimes appear on its side or even upside down. However its relationship with the North Star never changes and it will always dependably point the way to it. The reason the North Star is so important for natural navigation is that it sits directly over the North Pole. Having found the North Star, there is something about its height above the horizon that is well worth knowing. Wherever you are in the northern hemisphere, the North Star will be the same angle above the horizon as your latitude. The only three bright stars that form a short straight line in the whole night sky rise very close to due east and set very close to due west. If you want to be really accurate then the first star in the belt to rise and set, called Mintaka, will always rise and set within one degree of true east and west wherever you are in the world. So this is how you can find your way by the help of stars.

The article below is written by Kenza, (online member).

Tracking your way with the stars is an easy, as well as exciting way to find your destination. Many people used to track their way with the stars when they went on sea voyages or walked through the desert at night. Over many, many years, the stars die out and new stars take their place – making new constellations.

To track your way with a star, you need someone at your destination to tell you the star directly above them. Then, you have to follow that star in under a minute to your destination, before the star moves again.

So, due to the Earth’s rotation, the stars will always keep moving around. Except for one star, Polaris (aka, the North Star) which always stays in the same place and faces north. Polaris is located fairly near to Ursa Major (aka, the Big Dipper).

Ursa Major is a constellation of seven bright stars and makes a shape that looks similar to a plough or a saucepan. You need to look at the base of Ursa Major – the bit that looks like a cup – and look further, five times its length and that’s where Polaris should be located. Once you have done that, you would know that Polaris faces north, so go in the direction you want, whether it’s north, east, south or west!

Here’s a link to an interesting article about how to navigate using the stars! http://www.naturalnavigator.com/find-your-way-using/stars

Migratory Birds, by Kenza (online member from UK)

Birds are one of several species of animal that migrate every year. Unlike animals such as hedgehogs, mice, bears, etc they do not hibernate. Instead, they fly to another part of the planet where it will be warmer for the season – and where they can find plenty of shelter and food.  

Why do birds migrate?

The main reason why birds migrate is that they know food will become scarce in winter. Most birds will migrate to places like Africa, where there will be plenty of food. Other birds change from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere and vice versa – where the opposite hemisphere will become warmer as it nears to summer there.

Are there exceptions?

In places like the Amazonian Rainforest, in Brazil, birds don’t have to migrate because the Amazon is located close to the equator, in which case it would be warm in any season and there would be enough food for them to live.

However, some species of birds don’t migrate. They stay for the winter. Such birds in the northern hemisphere include blackbirds, robins, etc. They will usually feed on the berries found in hedgerows, worms and other insects and maybe bread or bird food from bird lovers.

When do birds arrive from their migration?

Birds that have migrated arrive back from early-spring to mid-spring. Usually from around March to May. A good time to spot a certain species of birds back from migration is around the first few days of May, very early in the morning (around dawn).

How many of them migrate?

The known amount of species of birds that migrate every year is 4000. That’s 40% of all the bird species on Earth. Swallows, ospreys, turtle doves, geese, Arctic terns, emus and chaffinches are among those 4000 species. Smaller birds include hummingbirds, flycatchers and warblers.

Which bird migrates the furthest?

Out of all the 4000 known species, Arctic Terns are known to travel the furthest. Each year they migrate 20,000km. They depart from Shetland to the Antarctic from the beginning of August to the end of October and they return back to Shetland from around end of March to the beginning of June.

Link

To see an interesting migration map, click on this link! http://www.rspb.org.uk/youth/play/migrationmap.aspx

Written by kenza
Online Member from UK