Pete the Cat is one of 12 travel bugs set free by Mrs. Lester's Kids, a group of fabulous St. Elmo Center for Gifted Educaiton students from Columbus, Georgia. His mission is to travel all over the world collecting pictures of him hanging out with awesome shoes of many colors and styles. We say this because we love the book Pete the Cat, I Love My White Shoes (1999). Really, we just love the jazzy song that goes with the book by Eric Litwin. Please take any pictures and share stories with us as you enjoy time with Pete the Cat.
Mission #4 Paris Wonders with Pete the Cat
By Zoya, Kunj, and Riya
February 24, 2015
Bonjour! We would like our trackable to travel to Paris, France. The three main places that we would like our trackable to travel are Palace of Versailles, Eiffel Tower, and Arc de Triomphe.
The Palace of Versailles is the place where the Treaty of Versailles was signed in the Hall of Mirrors, in 1919, ending World War l. It is 15 miles from Paris and it was built in the late 17th century. It took 3,000 workers to build the palace. It is worth 2 billion dollars and it has 700 rooms, 60 staircases, and 1,200 fireplaces. Palace of Versailles is known for its 30,000 acres of gardens. They have 400 sculptures, and 1,400 fountains.
We would also like our trackable to explore the Eiffel Tower. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel designed the Eiffel Tower and that is how the Eiffel Tower got its name. Did you know that the Eiffel Tower was really supposed to be built in Barcelona? They wanted to build it in Barcelona for the Universal Expedition in 1889 but sadly there was no space left. More than 200 million people visit the Eiffel Tower almost each day. If you want to visit the first level by foot, it is a bad idea because you have to climb 300 steps just to reach it. Everyone calls the Eiffel Tower” La Dame de Fer”, meaning” Iron Lady The Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world for 41 years
Construction of the Arc de Triomphe was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806, not long after his victory as Austerlitz. The Arc has sculptures at the base of the four pillars on the Arc show four victories and war scenes. The space of the Arc de Triomphe was almost dedicated to a giant elephant. The elephant-shaped building would have three levels and could be entered via a staircase. Sadly, Napoleon never got to see the finished product of the Arc de Triomphe because it was completed 15 years after his death. It took 30 years to complete construction of the Arc. At 164 feet high and 148 feet wide, the Arc de Triomphe is the second-largest triumphal arch standing today.
Sources:
Zoya/ Palace of Versailles: http://primaryfacts.com/2149/palace-of-versailles-facts-and-information
Kunj/Eiffel Tower: http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/en.html
Riya/Arc de Triomphe: http://mentalfloss.com/article/22359/quick-10-arc-de-triomphe
Mission #3 Pete the Cat will have fun in Sweden
November 19, 2014
By Julia, Heather and Savanah
Pete is a cat loves to journey around the world. Pete’s favorite place is Sweden. He loves Sweden because Pete can hide in the forests. Sweden is called the Kingdom of Sweden. Half of Sweden is forest. The capital of the largest city in Sweden is Stockholm. Did you know that the main language in Sweden is Swedish. The land area of Sweden is the fourth largest in Europe.
Maybe Pete will visit Rabbit Land which is in the Liseberg Amusement Park. If he would have gone last year and he would have made it for Rabbit Land’s 90th anniversary. He will have fun chasing the rabbits, because Rabbit Land is 10,000 square meters. Rabbit Land invested about 200 million dollars in recent improvements to the child centered park. Pete will have fun on Rabbit Land’s eleven attractions, which is cool because seven of the attractions are new.
I want Pete the cat to go to the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden. Jukkasjärvi is a small village in Northern Sweden. The Ice Hotel covers 5,500 square meters and is constructed from 1,000 tons of torn river ice. That must look really big. It is constructed in the winter and melts in the summer. Construction takes place in November and December. It opens this year December 12, 2014. Ice Hotel also hires the finest ice artist to do their art suites. Each Ice Hotel is different leaving a different experience each time. That way every Ice Hotel is different. Ice Hotel has many different attractions. You can get married, have a wilderness experience (in the summer), or go sledding. Ice hotel sounds like a fun place to visit.
http://www.icehotel.com/
www.scincekids.co.nz
www.liseberg.com
Mission #2 Pete the Cat is off to Egypt
We would like Pete the Cat to visit Egypt and see the River Nile, the Valley of the kings and King Tut’s tomb.
The River Nile is 6,670 km in length. The River Nile`s course runs through Egypt . It also runs through Uganda, Sudan, and Ethiopia. There are 2 tributaries in Egypt the White Nile and The Blue Nile.
The Valley of the Kings spans nearly 2 and half miles. Almost 63 tombs can be found there. The east part of the valley is where the most royal tombs are situated, including the most famous tomb and pharaoh Tutankhamen, or King Tut. He was buried with lots of things, but the oddest of all is a lock of his grandmothers hair! There is now graffiti on the tombs from other cultures.
Tutcnkhamun or King Tut was famous Egyptian pharaoh. His tomb was found in November 1922 B.C. in the Valley of Kings. King Tut was born in 1346 B.C.. He became a pharaoh when he was nine years old in 1337 B.C.. Over 3,000 treasures were placed in the tomb to help him in his afterlife.
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/content/kids/en_US/explore/countries/egypt/
http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_egypt.php
Mission #1
Pete the cat in Hollywood Our team would like Pete the cat to go to Hollywood. Did you know the Hollywood sign read HOLLYWOODLAND 1923 to 1949? The 2,488 stars on the Hollywood walk of fame honor a community whose name means glamor and excitement in the four corners of the world. Each letter of the Hollywood sign originally stood 50 feet (15m) and 30 feet (9.1m) wide high, but renovations in 1978 resized the letters to 45 feet (14m) tall and anywhere from 31 to 39 feet (9.4 to 12.m) wide. The Hollywood sign is almost 90 years old and wasn’t created with the movies in mind it was created to advertise real estate developers.
www.hollywoodsign.org