In the bustling streets of Florence, Italy, during the early 1400s, a young boy named Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici was about to change history. Giovanni was not born into a family of great wealth or royal blood. His father, Averardo de’ Medici, was a merchant, and his mother, Jacopa Spini, was a middle-class woman. They lived in a small house, but it was filled with love and laughter.

Giovanni was a curious child, always eager to learn about the world around him. He often wandered the markets of Florence, listening to traders and merchants as they haggled over goods. From silks and spices to artworks and armor, Florence was a city thriving with trade, thanks to its location in the heart of Italy.

When he was just a teenager, Giovanni’s father took him on a business trip to Rome. It was there that Giovanni’s saw his first bank. When people needed to move money to a far away place, they could give their money to the bank who would give them a letter with a number showing the amount. Then they could travel to the faraway place and use the letter to get their money. This was much safer than trying to move large amounts of money  by wagon or on their horse – especially since the roads at that time could be very dangerous. Thieves were known to stop people and take their money. Banks could also be used to keep your money safe and to buy things in faraway places. This not only made trading easier but also safer. Giovanni saw all of this going on and was fascinating.

Returning to Florence, Giovanni decided to start his own bank. With a small amount of money saved up and a loan from a family friend, Giovanni set up a tiny banking in the local market. It was just a simple table in the market where people would come to him to trust him with their money. He was friendly and wise, offering to keep people’s money safe and help them transfer money to different cities without risk.

Banks and banking seem like a simple ideas now, but it was very new at the time and Giovanni wanted to be the one who had the biggest, most trusted, and wealthy bank.

Giovanni’s reputation grew. People trusted him because he was fair and kind. His bank began to grow. He also made money on trade. Trade is when you buy items and then sell them for more. He did this all over Europe along with helping people move and save their money. 

But beyond banking, Giovanni wanted to do more than just make money; he wanted to help Florence, the city he loved. He started lending money to artists so they could buy materials to create beautiful paintings, sculptures, and other crafts. This was the time of the Renaissance when artists were trying new styles and painting more realistically than before. 

The Medici Bank, as it was now known, became the largest bank in Europe!  Giovanni had branches of his bank in many major cities, including Rome, Venice, and even distant London. His success allowed him to support not just his family but also the city’s artists, architects, and thinkers. Florence blossomed into a center of the Renaissance, a golden age of art and science in part thanks to the money spent by Giovanni.

One of Giovanni’s proudest moments was praying for the construction of the famous dome of the Florence Cathedral. He hired Filippo Brunelleschi, a genius architect who proposed a daring design. Many were skeptical that such a grand dome could be built, but Giovanni believed in Brunelleschi’s vision. The completion of the dome was a marvel and remains one of the architectural wonders of the world.

Giovanni also believed in giving back to his community. He supported the construction of hospitals, schools, and libraries. Thanks to him, many young Florentines received education and health care, which were rare in those times for anyone but the rich.

As Giovanni grew older, he trained his sons, Cosimo and Lorenzo, to take over the bank. He taught them everything he knew, not just about banking, but also about being wise leaders and generous supporters of art and culture. Giovanni knew that wealth was not just about gold and silver; it was about making the city better for everyone.

Cosimo, Giovanni’s oldest son, was a quick learner, but he loved art more than banking like his father. He loved to stroll through the workshops of sculptors and painters, watching them turn blank canvases and rough stones into breathtaking art.

As Cosimo grew into a teenager, Florence was blossoming into the center of the Renaissance. It was during these years that Cosimo developed a vision for his city. He saw Florence not just as a center of commerce but as a shining light of culture and learning.

When Cosimo took over the Medici Bank from his father, he was ready to use his wealth to transform Florence. He believed that beauty and knowledge were as valuable as gold and silver. He started investing in art and buildings even more than his father. He became a “patron” of the arts, which means he paid to have them created.

Cosimo’s love for architecture led him to pay for the construction of the San Marco monastery in Florence. He invited architects to design a building that would reflect the elegance and spiritual depth of the city. The finished building was a peaceful place that became a home for scholars and artists. 

He also established the Platonic Academy, a school where philosophers gathered to discuss ideas. With Cosimo as the patron, this academy became a center for learning in Europe, attracting scholars from all over the continent. It was here that the works of Plato and other ancient philosophers were studied and preserved.

But life in Florence wasn’t easy for Cosimo. Even though he gave a lot to the city, he also used his money to control some of the leaders. Many people believed he and his family had too much power over Florence and their use of their wealth to run the city was unfair. One of the competing families, the Albizzi, found enough people to go against them that Cosimo had to leave the city for a time. He was devastated to leave the city he loved. The Albizzi didn’t run Florence as well and eventually the people asked Cosimo to come back. 

Back in Florence, Cosimo paid for the construction of public libraries, making knowledge accessible to more than just the elite. He also paid for public projects like aqueducts, which carried clean water through the city. These projects improved daily life in Florence, making it one of the most advanced cities of its time.

Like his father, Cosimo taught his children the value of art, culture, and community. When Cosimo passed away, Pietro took over the Medici Bank and leadership of Florence. We’re not going to spend as much time learning about Pietro but he did carry on his family’s legacy of running the bank and keeping the finances in order. Cosimo’s rule had been very expensive from all of his spending on art and architecture and Pietro was able to focus on the banking again and increase the family’s wealth.

His son, Lorenzo, grew up surrounded by scholars, artists, and poets. From a very young age, he was taught not only about banking and politics but also the value of art and knowledge. Lorenzo had a powerful personality and was very intelligent like his father and grandfather, with a natural ability to lead and inspire those around him. 

In 1469, he was barely 20 years-old when his father passed away and he was left in charge of the family bank. He paid for great art like his grandfathers, Cosimo and Giovanni, but with even greater enthusiasm. He surrounded himself with poets and scholars, too, who helped him turn Florence into the intellectual and artistic capitol of Europe.

One of the most famous artists and inventors of the Renaissance was Leonardo da Vinci. Lorenzo was a patron to Leonardo and Michelangelo, two of the most famous artists in history. He became known as “Lorenzo the Magnificent” for all of his different qualities.

He was also a very skilled politician. This means he knew how to work with leaders in the government. Often the way he worked with leaders was unfair, because he used his money to pay for who was in power and how they voted. He was like a king of Florence, but he did it in a secret way by using his money to make things go his way.

At the time, many of the different cities in what is now Italy competed for power. Cities such as Rome, Milan, Venice, Naples and Genoa. Because all of these cities were competing for power, Lorenzo’s reign as leader of Florence was not without its challenges. In 1478, someone tried to assassinate him during church in the Duomo of Florence. Lorenzo survived, but the attack left scars that would affect his leadership and the safety of his family.

As Lorenzo grew older, running Florence became harder and harder. The bank wasn’t as powerful as when his father was in charge and his building projects and art became too expensive for their family to pay for. He died in 1492, yet, the world has Lorenzo and his father and grandfather to thank for much of the beautiful artwork and buildings you can still visit in Florence today.

The Medici Family, through its generations, showed both the good and ill that come with great power. They were patrons of the arts and education, and helped keep Florence stable. However, their leadership also included times of extreme control, corruption, and abuses of power. Despite this, the Medicis left a significant mark on history, transforming Florence into a center of the Renaissance that still shines brightly today.

The story of the Medici family, from Giovanni to Cosimo to Lorenzo, teaches us that with great power and wealth comes the responsibility to foster culture, knowledge, and beauty. Their legacy reminds us that we all have the capacity to contribute to a better society. Their story inspires us to think of how we, too, can make our own mark in the world, creating something magnificent that could last generations.

The post History of The Medici Family for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

Theme park rides like Thunder Mountain Railroad and others are a blast to ride and experience, but how do these rides come to be? Who designs them? Who builds them and creates all of the environments and machines that are required to make them work? Today we’re going to talk about none other than the world famous Disney Imagineers!

The magical world of Disney theme parks has captivated the hearts of millions around the globe for decades. Behind the scenes of this enchanting experience lies a rich history marked by creativity, ingenuity, and a team of visionary individuals known as Imagineers. The roots of Disney’s theme park legacy can be traced back to WED Enterprises and the birth of Imagineering. 

When Walt Disney first decided to build a theme park, after his wild success as an animation studio, Disney created a group called WED Enterprises. This was in 1952 and Disney formed the group because he knew he would need a crew of very talented people to help design and engineer his theme park, which was still just a thing of his dreams and imagination. 

WED Enterprises included artists, engineers, architects, and designers who would bring Walt Disney’s dreams to life. They were known for having more than just one skill, such as being an architect or an engineer. They had to have BIG imaginations and be ready to think outside the box. At heart, they were storytellers, responsible for creating immersive narratives that would become park rides and other experiences. Their mission was to blend creativity with cutting-edge technology to create an enchanting world for park visitors.

In 1986, WED Enterprises changed its name to Walt Disney Imagineering. Imagineer is the combination of the words engineer and imagine! Imagineers are expected to not only have the skills to do their job but to think creatively and come up with new, bold ideas as they tell their stories in the form of attractions. In fact, one of the Imagineers first principles is “It all begins with a story.” 

Next, let’s dive into the life of some of the most famous Imagineers! Marc Davis was born in Bakersfield, California and from a very young age loved drawing and art! He practiced during his free time and eventually went to college in Kansas, where he further developed his skills. In 1934, Marc joined Disney as an animator and helped illustrate for animated classics like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Bambi. He worked closely with Walt Disney to create these films and when it came time to start designing Disneyland, Walt Disney knew Marc would be the perfect fit to help bring his dreams to life. 

One of his first projects was designing characters for The Haunted Mansion. Marc had a great sense of humor and was able to bring it to life through art as he designed characters such as The Hitching Ghost and the ghostly bride Constance Hatchaway. He also worked on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and many of the humor pirates you can see and experience throughout the ride. Marc also helped design the Enchanted Tiki Room, the Jungle Cruise, and EPCOT’s Journey into Imagination.

Another early imagineer was Harriet Burns. Harriet was born in San Antonio, Texas and early on had a passion for art and design. She started at Disney in 1955 as a set painter for many of the rides. She became one of the first female Imagineers and helped design and paint characters on the Disneyland Railroad, Its a Small World, and the Matterhorn Bobsleds. Harriet was also known for her strong will and personality. When she had a vision for how someone should be done, she worked hard at it and made her opinion known until she got results!

The history of Disneyland Imagineers wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Tony Baxter, whose first job at Disneyland was actually an ice cream scooper at age 17. He loved being at the park and was determined to help make it an even more fun and enchanting place. He went to school and studied landscape architecture and later theater design. At this time, he also started helping with construction projects at Disneyland.

In 1970, Tony officially became an Imagineer. His dream job! He helped redesign Fantasyland, then later came up with the idea that became Splash Mountain. Splash Mountain showcased Baxter’s ability to combine storytelling with groundbreaking ride technology. The attraction became an instant classic, enchanting generations with its whimsical charm.

Baxter’s gift for adventure and storytelling reached new heights with the creation of the Indiana Jones ride. Opened in 1995, this dark ride blended film and theme park elements, plunging riders into the heart of an ancient temple filled with scary sights! The attraction’s success showed Baxter’s ability to translate movie magic into an immersive and exhilarating theme park experience.

Other famous Imagineers worth mentioning are the artist Mary Blair, X Atencio, Wing T. Chao, Alice Estes Davis, Yale Gracey, Bob Gurr, Joe Rohde, and Marty Sklar. Because Disney parks are worldwide, Imagineers of many different nationalities, races, and backgrounds are now part of the Imagineering team!

Something else exciting about Imagineers is that as they are working on new rides, they often invent entirely new technologies that are used not only at Disney but in other theme parks and attractions around the world.

One of their most famous innovations are audio-animatronics. These are the life-like robots that become characters on the different Disney rides. They often look very realistic and move in real ways that make the parkgoers feel like they are experiencing the characters and the environments for real! The animatronics on some of the rides were ahead of their time. To date, one of the most advanced and realistic animatronics is the Shaman on the Na’vi River Journey at Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. Animatronics like this require many designers and engineers to figure out how to make them move in life-like ways. You’ll have to check out a video for this one, because you won’t believe your eyes!

Many of the vehicles for Disney’s rides also feature very advanced designs in order to move guests around through the attraction. This includes trackless rides that use magnets to orient them along the path. Another example is the jeep in Indiana Jones that makes passengers feel like they are bumping up and down on a wild ride, which has the flexibility to move many different directions.

Using RFID wristbands, guests are able to open their hotel rooms, enter parks and even make purchases using radio frequencies. Many of these technologies feel like magic when they are being used, but under all of the electronics a smart engineer had to design every piece of the advanced equipment to make it work. 

Other technologies include projection mapping, augmented reality, and virtual reality simulators… all with the goal of making guests feel like they have been transported to a different place and time and are living the actual experience. Pretty amazing, right?

Does becoming an Imagineer sound interesting to you? If so, be sure to look up their principles of design and think of ways you can apply them to your own interests. Do you like to be creative? If so, think of the kind of ride you would create if you were a Disney Imagineer. Draw up a plan and maybe even make a miniature version of it using cardboard and other materials. You might even simulate how it works using a space in your backyard or living room. Be sure to run it by your parents first, of course, but remember that all of these Imagineers were once kids like you who were passionate about art and design and had BIG imaginations! 

The post History of Disney Imagineering for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

Imagine you’re in a painting studio. You take a deep breath and smell the sweet smell of the oil paints and the crisp air within the painting studio. You look around and see many paintings on the walls, each one telling a different story.

But your attention quickly turns back to the canvas in front of you, which seems to be calling out for your attention. You dip your paintbrush into a palette of different colors and then put it on the canvas. You feel happy and excited when you see the brush moving so easily on the canvas. You create a beautiful picture of a world you want to see, and it makes you feel calm and happy.

You continue to work, feeling the warmth of the paint beneath your brush, and the gentle strokes of color as you add dimension and texture to your creation. As you paint, you feel a sense of peace and contentment that comes from being fully immersed in the creative process.

You continue to work, feeling the warmth of the paint beneath your brush and you see how the colors mix together, creating something new and unique. You love how it feels to make something special with your hands.

When you’re done painting, you step back and admire your work. You feel so proud of what you made and can’t wait to share it with others. You know that it will make people happy and inspire them to look at the world in a different way.

This is what it’s like to be like Bob Ross, a painter who made people happy by showing them how to paint and see the world in a new way.

Bob Ross was born on October 29, 1942, in Daytona Beach, Florida. He grew up in a town called Orlando, where he spent a lot of time exploring the beautiful landscapes around him.

His dad was a carpenter named Jack, and his mom, Ollie, was a waitress. As a child, Bob loved to take care of injured animals which sometimes made his parents unhappy because they never knew what kind of animal they would find in the house! They might see a hurt alligator in their bathtub or an armadillo running around Bob’s room. 

Later, Bob didn’t finish high school. Instead, he left after 9th grade to work as a carpenter with his dad. One day, Bob had a terrible accident that injured his left index finger. He lost the tip of it! Even though he was hurt, Bob didn’t let that stop him. It was an injury he later hid from TV viewers most of the time with his paint palette.

When Bob turned 18, he joined the Air Force which he soon didn’t enjoy. He said that he had to be “mean” sometimes, and that made him unhappy. When he was in the Air Force, he was known for being tough on his fellow airmen, and they even gave him the nickname “Bust ’em up Bobby.”

Although he had a tough exterior, Bob Ross also had a softer side. He discovered his love for painting while attending an art class in Alaska during his time in the Air Force. Many of his painting instructors at the time were more interested in abstract art, but Bob was fascinated by nature and the beauty of the world around him. He found that painting allowed him to capture that beauty and share it with others.

After attending many art classes that focused on abstract painting, Ross found his passion for painting returned through a television show he found called The “Magic of Oil Painting”. The show was hosted by artist Bill Alexander Bill introduced Ross to an old painting technique known as “alla prima” which means “first attempt” in Italian. Ross was fascinated by “alla prima” because it allowed Alexander to finish a painting in just 30 minutes. Alla prima is also known as “wet-on-wet” painting, which means that wet layers of paint are added to paper to create an image. Bob loved this new technique and decided to master it himself.

Bob Ross started earning money by painting Alaskan mountainsides on the inside of gold pans, after observing Alexander’s Wet on Wet technique. He soon became well-known among the local Alaskan people for his artistic abilities and often taught children and the elderly how to paint, too. Eventually, Ross began making more money from selling paintings and offering art lessons than from his day job in the military. After serving in the Air Force for twenty years, Ross left the military and said that he would never yell or raise his voice again, he was known from then on to have a very soft and calming presence. 

In the 1980s after leaving the Air Force, Ross had a burning desire to truly master the art of wet-on-wet painting. He found his favorite artist Bill Alexander in Florida. There, Alexander was a part-time art teacher and happily shared all his knowledge with Ross.

Next, Bob Ross got a job as a traveling tutor for the Alexander Magic Art Supplies Company. He had a soothing, gentle voice, and an encouraging teaching style, and said things like “happy accidents” instead of the word “mistakes” to make people feel happier and more positive about painting and being ok with messing up. 

Have you ever made a mistake? Well, in painting it is very easy to make mistakes and Bob was excellent at helping people understand that even when we make mistakes we can turn those mistakes into something good! This idea that he used in his painting lessons caught the attention of a woman named Annette Kowalski. Annette was fascinated by Ross and thought they might find a way to sell the experience of painting with him. She saw potential in Ross’s teaching style and decided to work with him to build a successful business.

After a meeting with Annette Kowalski and her husband, Ross became convinced that he should leave the Alexander Magic Art Supplies Company and start his own teaching business. Kowalski was so confident in their potential for success that she spent all of her life savings on the business. Ross and his wife spent most of their money too! Unfortunately, their high hopes were met with a harsh reality: the business lost $20,000 in its first year open.

Low on money, Bob Ross decided to take a bold step and change his look. Gone were the days of the strict military haircut, and in its place emerged a new and unexpected style: the classic afro that would come to define him. Ross said that he decided to perm his hair and make it curly because then he could save money and he wouldn’t need to pay for haircuts every week. Little did he know that this bold decision to perm his hair would change his appearance forever. Ross’s afro was so different than what his hair used to look like that many of his friends only recognized him by his missing finger that he lost while working as a teenager. 

It is not totally clear how  Bob became a famous painter on TV. There are two stories about how he was able to get onto the PBS channel. One story says that Bob and his former teacher Bill Alexander filmed a commercial for his art classes, which happened to impress someone important. Another version suggests that his partner, Kowalski, took a video of one of Bob Ross’ 30-minute lessons and sent it to the TV station. It is possible that both stories are true. Either way, it is obvious that Bob Ross was so good that he couldn’t be ignored. Before long he was a famous TV star in a new show called “The Joy of Painting”!

While filming “The Joy of Painting,” Bob made it feel like he was talking to his audience one-on-one. Almost like a personal teaching lesson. 

Bob Ross put a lot of thought into every detail of his show. He took great care in selecting his clothes, wearing timeless jeans and casual shirts that wouldn’t look old in the future. He also sanded down his painting palette lightly to keep it from reflecting the studio lights, a trick he figured out over time by switching to a clear painting palette for the first few episodes. 

Bob never received payment for his appearances on the show, nor did he sell any of the paintings he created on air. The show served as a platform to promote his teaching business which grew to include Bob Ross paint brushes, paint, and other supplies, soon making him a millionaire!

Even though being on TV made Bob Ross very successful he remained humble and generous with his artwork. He gave away most of the paintings he created on the show, as well as thousands of others he made throughout his life. Some were donated to charitable causes to be auctioned off, while others were gifted to friends and acquaintances.

Bob Ross taught us that mistakes are not failures, they are just happy accidents. When you make a mistake, don’t give up. Instead, use your creativity and turn it into something beautiful. Just like Bob Ross, you can use your talents to make the world a brighter and more joyful place

The post History of Bob Ross for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

When I was a little kid, I took art class in school and one of my projects was to draw a picture of my family.  I was not a great artist so I did the basics: a square house and little stick figures for people. Perhaps you’ve done the same.  Well, imagine if your teacher put a rock on your desk and said, “Carve a picture of your mother out of this rock.”  That would seem impossible!

First of all, to carve a face out of stone, you need special tools, like chisels and hammers.  And you need to know how to carve the stone in the right places to make a nose, eyes, and lips.  It takes a lot of time and practice to get it right – and some really big rocks!  

Well, today, we’re going to talk about some gigantic rock portraits.  You might know some already, like Mt. Rushmore in the United States, The David statue in Italy, or the Terracotta Army in China.  Today we’re going to discover some other rock portraits – faces that look like a surprised Santa, a majestic lion, or a wailing devil!

The Great Sphinx of Giza

One of my favorite stone portraits is the Great Sphinx of Giza, near Cairo, Egypt.  It is a statue of a large, reclining lion with a human head.  It measures 240 feet (73 metres) long and 66 feet (20 metres) high and was carved around 2465 B.C.E.!  And to make it even more amazing, it was carved out of one mammoth piece of limestone!  Scientists estimate it took three years and 100 workers to carve this statue – and then they painted it! Eventually the paint chipped off from sun and heat exposure but it must have looked amazing when it was finished.

And whose face is on the Sphinx?  Well, they’re not sure.  It could be the ancient Pharaoh Khafre.  Others state that Khafre’s older brother had it built to honor their father, Pharoah Khufu.  Whoever it was built for, he must have been amazing.  Unfortunately, it has decayed over time and is now missing its nose.  One legend states that Napoleon ordered the nose blown off with a canon while battling there, but that’s not true – the nose came off long before then.  Others state that the nose was cut off in the 1300’s in protest to idolatry – meaning the worship of false Gods or famous people.  Whatever the truth may be, it is an amazing piece of artwork – and history – and I hope it will remain with us for centuries to come.

Olmec Heads in Mexico

Speaking of kingly faces, I think the Olmec Heads in Mexico are fascinating.  These heads are short and round and depict ancient Olmec rulers.  The smooth faces feature almond-shaped eyes, round noses, and full lips.  On their heads are small caps with simple designs.  These faces were carved out of volcanic rock around 1200-800 B.C., and range in height from 5 to 11 feet.  They weigh a whopping 20 tons.  Unfortunately, the Olmec people vanished from the Earth around 300 B.C. for unknown reasons – maybe war or disease – but these stone statues are a reminder that they were here and were memorialized – or honored – by their talented artists. 

 Nemrut Dag, Turkey

From 700-38 B.C., a king named Antiochus the First ruled in Turkey.  He ordered a sculptor to carve his statue high in the barren Taurus Mountains.  The sculptor carved the king sitting on a throne wearing a stern, majestic face and a tall headdress.  He then carved lions, falcons, and gods seated on either side of the king, protecting him from all enemies – mortal and spiritual.  These magnificent stone gods were depicted as three men and one woman on large thrones wearing pointed hats. A large burial site was built around these statues and contains other stone ancestors and treasures.  This site has decayed over time – possibly due to earthquakes, mudslides, and other weather – but was rediscovered in 1881 and turned into a protected historic site.  

Bayon Temple, Cambodia    

In Cambodia is an amazing Hindu and Buddhist temple called the Bayon Temple that displays over 200 carved faces!  This jaw-dropping temple – more like a vast, stone city – was built around the time of King Jayavarman VII’s reign from 1181 to 1218 and shows buildings with spiked towers, tall pillars and massive stone staircases leading into cavernous rooms.  Outside the temple, a large, smiling face is carved into a stone tower, supposedly of the king.  This king looks incredibly friendly, with full lips curved into a big smile and eyes looking downward, as if he is daydreaming.  His nose has fallen off, but he still wears a tall, royal headdress with a creature or bird on top.  To his left is another rock tower with four smiling king faces looking North, South, East, and West.  

Also in this temple are 200 additional faces, as well as scenes showing Cambodian life.  Statues of large Hindu gods sit on thrones lining the paths to the temple, looking mean and menacing, unlike the smiling king.  This site is truly fascinating – like something out of an Indiana Jones movie – and I would love to explore it one day.  What about you?

The Moai Heads of Easter Island

You may have seen the Moai Heads of Easter Island in the movie, “Night at the Museum.”  They were the large rock heads munching on gum and chanting “Yum, yum.”  The actual heads were discovered on Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean near Chile around 1722.  Carved out of volcanic rock around 1250-1500 A.D., they measure anywhere from 13 feet to 40 feet and weigh 14 tons each.  These massive heads have big brows, long noses, and deep eye sockets that may have had coral for eyes.  Their mouths are carved in a straight line.  Through the years, many of these statues have toppled over – although we don’t know why.  Some say it happened due to earthquakes, others say they were pushed over during tribal battles, and some say that a woman on the island with magical powers struck them down in anger.  

And you may be wondering how 800 massive stone heads were moved across the island.  Archeologists believe this was done by loading the rocks on wooden sleds and rolling the sleds over large logs.  It is thought that the island was once covered with forest, but the trees were cut down to move the stones, which led to the destruction of the island.  The people were no longer able to build houses or make fires and many moved away. 

So, what do these heads mean?  Well, some think they are carvings of ancestors or gods, and have spiritual powers.  Some think they are protectors of the island because they face inland.  Seven are pointed out to sea, maybe to watch for invaders.

You and I may never get to Easter Island to see these amazing statues, but we can view them in museums around the world, including London; Washington, DC; France; New Zealand; Chile; and Belgium.  I would love to see them, but I think I would have a heart attack if they started chanting and chewing bubblegum!

The Devil Heads, Czech Republic 

In the lush green forests of the Czech Republic two ghoulish heads are carved into the side of a mountain, sometimes called the “Czech Mount Rushmore.”  But while Mount Rushmore shows four stately presidents, the Devil Heads show two freaky faces.  One looks like a surprised Santa with bushy eyebrows, a long flowing beard, and an open mouth.  Beside it is another head with a wailing face, furrowed brows, and crooked teeth in a gaping mouth.  It looks like a creature or devil howling in pain.  These faces were carved between 1841 and 1846 by a man who was working as a cook in a nearby castle.  Later, he carved other faces and creatures into nearby rocks, depicting characters from Czech fairytales. Well, even if these heads are a little scary, I think they are fascinating and very creative.  

Decebalus Rex, Romania

And finally, we head to Romania for a stone portrait started in 1993.  Created in honor of King Decebalus who lived around 105 A.D., this carving shows the elderly king’s face jutting out of a grey stone cliff on a wooded mountain.  He wears a bushy beard and mustache, and his mouth is set in a firm, straight line.   On top of his head are the jagged peaks of the mountain, looking like a tall Santa’s hat.  And while the faces on Mount Rushmore in the United States are an impressive 60 feet high, this king’s face is three times that large, or 180 feet, with a 23-foot nose and 14-foot eyes!  King Decebalus was said to have battled a great Roman emperor on this site many centuries ago and was ultimately defeated.  To honor the king’s courage, an Italian sculptor was hired to carve this special memorial.

So, what do you think of all these rocky portraits?  Have you seen any of them?  Some are so old it’s hard to imagine how they were created or how the artists knew how to carve faces on such a large scale.  It just shows that every civilization had its amazing architects, engineers, and artists!  If you could carve anyone to be remembered hundreds of years from now, who would it be?

The post Stone Portraits Across the World appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

Think of some of the objects you saw: family, friends, trees, maybe a pet, or the big blue sky and white moon in the dark of night. Maybe you saw a smile and objects moving, a car speeding by, or someone kicking a ball. Most of these objects are things you are used to. But when you were a baby they were very interesting! You were curious about everything because it was all new and fresh! As we get older many of these things to become familiar and perhaps not as interesting. Tonight we’re going to learn about Leonardo da Vinci, also known as one of the most curious and creative geniuses in recorded history. As we learn about him, think about how he saw the world differently and how you might see the world differently, too. 

When was Leonardo da Vinci born?

Leonardo was born on April 15th, 1452 in the country of Italy in a town called Vinci. Leonardo da Vinci means Leonardo of Vinci, the town where he was born.  He was born during a time that later became known as The Renaissance, which means “Rebirth” because the way people saw the world was changing dramatically during this time. The Medieval Times was over and people were beginning to see themselves as beings who had control over their life and the world and could think differently than those who came before them. 

Childhood & Early Education

Leonardo grew up with his father and spent much of his time exploring the land around their home. He loved to observe the birds and animals and get lost in the beautiful countryside. Around the age of 15, his father noticed he had an interest in and a gift for art. For this reason, his father had him become an apprentice to Andrea del Verrocchio in Florence, Italy. An apprentice is a student to a master artist. And at this time Florence was known for its gifted artists and sculptors. In Verrocchio’s workshop, Leonardo learned from his master how to paint and sculpt. Sculptors used materials like clay or marble to make grand sculptures.   

Leonardo studied and helped with paintings and sculptures in Verrochio’s workshop until he was 20 years old. The next step in an artist’s life was to join a guide and Leonard did just that when he was accepted into the painters’ guild in Florence. A guild was a group of skilled artists who worked and met together. At this time he created many pen and pencil drawings and technical drawings of weapons and other mechanical devices. He was very interested in how things worked and in creating new devices. He loved inventing things! 

Milan and Duke Sforza

In 1482, when he was about 30 years old Leonardo moved to the city of Milan where he worked for the city’s duke, Ludovico Sforza. There he created paintings and worked on inventions for the Duke. The ability to create and improve technical devices is called engineering — and Leonardo was a very gifted engineer. He worked for Duke Sforza for many years. There he painted two of his best-known works The Virgin of the Rocks and The Last Supper depicting Jesus and his Twelve Apostles. He also helped design buildings and gave the Duke engineering advice for his army. 

One of Leonardo’s other biggest projects was a huge, 24-foot bronze horse for Duke Sforza. He spent 12 years designing it out of clay, which would be a mold to be turned into bronze. Unfortunately, before they could pour the metal into the mold to finish the horse sculpture, the project was stopped, because a war started and the metal had to be used for cannons instead of the horse! In our day, someone decided to get together the money to finally build the horse Leonardo always wanted. If you ever visit Milan, Italy you can see it today!

After the war Duke Sforza was no longer Duke, so Leonardo stopped working for him. Leonardo continued working in his workshop in Milan and soon had his own students and apprentices.

Florence

In the 1500s a French army invaded and took over Milan, so Leonardo left and went to Florence, where he had been an apprentice as a young man. In Florence, he painted his most famous painting, The Mona Lisa. Leonardo was a gifted artist, but he wasn’t afraid to learn new topics and never stopped learning. He was infinitely curious! Leonardo began to study math and science. He studied the human body, which is called anatomy. He also observed the flight of birds and studied the flow of air and water. He looked at everyday objects through different eyes. He wondered how bodies worked, how birds flew, and what gave living things their motion. He didn’t take anything for granted and saw the miracle in everyday life and studied deeply to try and understand it. 

Eventually, Leonardo moved back to Milan and continued his scientific studies, writing and creating many sketchbooks to help others understand the human body and how it worked. He came to believe that all bodies and living things worked according to certain laws of nature, which was very ahead of his time. 

Rome

In 1513, around the age of 60, Leonardo again moved to Rome where he lived in the Vatican and worked for Giuliano de Medici. At this time many of the popular Renaissance artists were living and creating amazing works of art in Rome. The famous St. Peter’s Cathedral was being built at the time and Raphael was painting walls in the Pope’s new apartments. One of the most famous artists of all time, Michaelangelo, was also in Rome working on the Pope’s tomb. 

By the age of 65, Leonardo was asked by the King of France to move there, where he became his main painter, architect, and engineer, which was a great honor. There he continued his sketches and consulted other artists in their works. He also helped plan a palace and garden for the king. He spent a lot of time arranging his writings and sketches about nature in his many notebooks, which fortunately we have today! Leonardo passed away at an old age while living in France.

Leonardo’s Influences

Today we’re lucky to have many of Leonardo’s paintings and notebooks. Many of the ideas he had were for machines that wouldn’t be invented for hundreds of years. For example, in his study of birds and flight, he had the idea for an airplane, a helicopter, and a parachute, which he sketched in his notebooks. He also had the idea for many military machines, such as an armored car, a giant crossbow, and a three-barreled cannon. When you get the chance you can find a book about Leonardo’s inventions at the library or look at them online. They are amazing!

What can you learn from Leonardo?

One of the most interesting things about Leonardo was his ability to take his artistic talents and engineering skills and combine them. He became known as a Renaissance Man because of his curiosity and ability to combine many different skills to invent amazing things. He believed artists were the best qualified to achieve true knowledge, because of the unique way they were able to view the world. Think about that as you observe the miraculous world around you. Never take for granted the little things. Even the smallest living things like a flower or a bee are extraordinary as you look at them closely and learn more about them. Think about what you might do to learn more about the world around you like Leonardo. You could take the time to study a rock or a leaf and sketch it into a notebook as Leonardo did. This is the way he came to better understand the world, one simple object at a time. 

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Climb aboard my invisible, supersonic jet and take a seat.  The jet roars to life and we rush down the runway, zooming into the sky like a speeding rocket.  We pierce floating, fluffy clouds and settle at cruising speed among the stars, zipping along at lightning speed.  The night settles in and we fall off to sleep.

The next morning, we land in Germany.  We exit the plane and board a bus for the castle, driving up a steep hill into a thick forest.  We zig-zag back and forth up the mountain, then suddenly stop.  Jutting high above us, peeking above the pine trees is a gleaming white castle with tall towers piercing the blue sky Neuschwanstein – just like the castle at Disneyland!  We are on the top of a mountain and the castle is perched on the edge of a rocky outcrop that drops two thousand feet to the valley below.  How did they build this amazing castle so high on this rocky ledge?  The workers who built this castle must have been VERY brave!  Let’s go inside!

A friendly tour guide named Gunter meets us as we enter a courtyard.  He tells us that this castle was created from the imagination of a ruler named Mad King Ludwig II in the 1800s.  This king was very creative and had a wonderful passion for beautiful things – like plays, operas, and architecture.  He didn’t like fighting wars or discussing laws – those things were boring and sad!  He wanted to build castles all over Germany that reminded him of castles from the past and the knights who protected them.  He lived in a world of his own imagination. He drew detailed sketches of ballrooms, throne rooms, and indoor caves with sparkling lakes.  This is why many people called him “mad” or crazy.  Who had the time or money to do such silly things?  Most people were working in the fields or the town to earn just enough money to eat.  

Inside the Neuschwanstein Castle

Our tour guide, Gunter takes us inside the Neuschwanstein castle and we walk through long hallways with arched windows overlooking the countryside below.  Lakes glisten in the distance and a cool breeze wafts through the windows.  We enter the throne room – a huge hall straight out of a Disney movie!  The hall glistens with gold everywhere – on the walls and ceilings – and drips chandeliers as big as cars!  Red marble pillars line each side of the hall.  Paintings of saints and angels in brightly colored robes look at us from the gleaming gold walls.  The marble floor glistens with images of trees and animals.  At the far end of the room, white marble stairs lead up to a landing surrounded by more golden walls and smiling saints.  No throne is there but the room is glorious!  Definitely fit for a king!

Next, we walk to Singer’s Hall – another huge room with a massive beamed ceiling of dark wood.  Tall golden candelabras stand along the walls.  They look exactly like “Lumier” from “Beauty and the Beast” – only taller!  I would LOVE to see these candelabras come to life and dance around the room!  Red velvet benches and large windows line the walls.  The room is so big you could throw a football or baseball in here!  Gunter tells us that this is the room where plays and musicals take place.

He then walks us down a long hall to the king’s bedroom.  Dark wood is everywhere – the walls, the ceiling, the floor – even the bed.  This room is much darker and less fancy than the other rooms.  Tapestries of medieval knights hang on the walls.  The bed is HUGE.  Gunter tells us it took 14 carvers working day and night for 4 years to carve the bed and canopy!  

Neuschwanstein Castle’s Hidden Cave

He then tells us he has a surprise for us.  He walks us through a narrow passageway into a dark, spooky cave!  They call this a “grotto” and there is a small waterfall flowing down one side of the cave.  Stalactites hang down from the walls dripping beads of water.  Colored lights bounce reflections across the cave.  We look around for bats – this is the perfect hangout for bats.  Luckily there are none.  Gunter tells us that the king liked to sit in this cave and read or write, hidden away from all the noise of the castle and town below.  He was a hermit and loved to be alone in this cave or out in the woods at night.  Gunter said the King liked to take midnight sleigh rides in the winter, riding for hours in the cold and darkness.  

This hidden cave is amazing.  Do you think Neuschwanstein castle is where Walt Disney got the idea for a tunnel into the Disneyland castle?  We ask Gunter about this and he tells us that King Ludwig built another castle called Linderholf that actually has a huge cave with a lake, boats shaped like clam shells, and music set to lights where he could watch plays and operas.  How cool is THAT?  This guy wasn’t crazy – he was AMAZING – and it looks like Walt Disney thought so, too!!!

No Longer King

Gunter tells us that King Ludwig never finished Neuschwanstein castle and actually only spent 5 months here.  He was always planning and building more castles. King Ludwig’s uncle, Leopold, and the government ministers became very upset by King Ludwig’s building of castles. He was spending a lot of money on these castles and not doing the normal work of a king, so they decided to remove him as a king.  They lied and said he was crazy and had him arrested.  He was taken to another town to be put in jail.  The poor king was only 40 years old and never completed all of his amazing castles.

His castles sat unused for many years.  During WWII, the Nazis used this castle to store their stolen artwork from palaces, museums, and homes in France.  They were ordered to destroy the castle and the stolen goods when they were losing the war, but thankfully they never did it!

Not So Crazy After All

But King Ludwig’s legacy lives on. Today his castles attract millions of tourists a year – and his creations continue to inspire people to this day – like Walt Disney himself!

So, what do you think of King Ludwig?  Do you think he was crazy?  Lots of amazing people were thought to be crazy when they said things like the world was round or tiny organisms cause diseases.  Is that crazy?  Does Ludwig’s passion for architecture and plays make him crazy?

Maybe he was just a misunderstood man who liked using his imagination.  He envisioned amazing palaces with no wars or troubles, surrounded by music and water and light.  He liked to be alone with his thoughts and ideas.  His beautiful cousin, the Empress Elizabeth of Austria, said of King Ludwig: “The King was not mad; he was just an eccentric living in a world of dreams.”

I think this is a good lesson to show kindness and tolerance for everyone and to accept them the way they are.  Everyone is unique and has their own special gifts and talents.  Some people are outgoing and chatty; others are quiet and shy.  Some like to play sports; others like to draw, paint, build, experiment, or explore.  Everyone is special in their own way.  So, let’s appreciate each other and be kind.  Remember, kindness is truly universal.

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Close your eyes and imagine you’re soaring over winding rivers and swaying wheat fields. You fly past golden plains and roaming buffalo, to a grove of tall pine trees and a massive stone mountain. But this isn’t just any mountain. If you look closely this mountain is special: it has four huge faces carved into the side of it! The faces are of former Presidents of the United States and you are looking at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota!

Mount Rushmore shows the faces of four U.S. presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.  These faces are colossal, gigantic!  They stare down into the valley like giants.   Their faces jut out of the mountain, staring off in different directions while their bodies appear as if they’re hidden behind the rock.  

But how did they get here?  It must have taken a very special person to carve something this big out of hard rock.  Have you ever tried to make model figures out of clay, or Legos, or a do-it-yourself kit?  It’s hard, right?  Things shift and slide and it’s hard to get them to look just right.  How did someone make all four of these huge faces look so good – and do it out of stone?  

We’ll talk about this next! 

Our story starts in the year 1920 with a sculptor and mountain carver named Gutzon Borglum.  Gutzon travels around the United States carving things out of stone for people.  He is married and has a daughter, Mary, and a son, Lincoln.

Lincoln loves to spend time with his father learning all sorts of things – like how to carve clay, how to chisel stone, and which tools to use for each.  

One day Gutzon meets with two men to discuss a mountain carving project.  They want Gutzon to carve a Wild West scene in a mountain as a tourist attraction . A tourist attraction is an interesting  place where people can go to take pictures and have fun.  Gutzon studies the mountain up close.  Uh-oh.  This does not look good.  The rocks are loose and chip away easily.  This mountain will not be a good mountain to carve.  But he has a better idea:  why not carve the faces of some of America’s best presidents into a mountain?  That would be even more patriotic – meaning lots of Americans would feel very proud of it.  Everyone agrees.

Gutzon travels around the valleys and mountains on horseback looking for the perfect mountain to carve.  The rock has to be just right.  It has to be very strong so that it will last for years in good and bad weather, including fierce storms and lightning strikes.  He certainly doesn’t want the faces sliding off the side of the mountain!  

Gutzon creates drawings; he decides to carve three president’s faces into the mountain:  Presidents Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson.  But when Gutzon visits the White House in Washington, DC, one day and talks to President Coolidge.  They agree to add President Roosevelt to the mountain as well!  Gutzon actually knows President Roosevelt and really likes him.  Wow, this is going to be a lot of work to add another face.  Can you imagine carving three gigantic faces into a mountain, much less four?!

Gutzon draws lots of sketches and makes miniature models in clay and stone.  Finally, the day arrives to start carving the mountain!  A big party is held in the valley on August 10, 1927.  President Coolidge comes to the party and makes a nice speech.  The Lakota Indians dance to the beat of drums, their feather headdresses swaying in the breeze.  Gutzon’s son, Lincoln, watches as his dad edges over the top of the mountain in a harness attached to ropes while holding a large drill.  His dad starts drilling into the rock and everyone cheers.   Lincoln is a little scared watching his father so high up on the mountain – but also proud.  

Gutzon hires lots of local workmen – carpenters, and lumbermen, and stone cutters – to help him.  They build over 500 wooden steps up the side of the mountain to carry supplies to the top.  They build houses and workshops in the valley, and a small village on top of the mountain.  The mountain-top village makes it quicker to get to the work site than climbing up all those steps from the valley.  

They also build a shed to store DYNAMITE!   Yes, they need lots of dynamite to blast away parts of the mountain.  Lincoln loves hearing those loud booms bounce back and forth across the valley like a big echo chamber.  Boom, boom, boom!  They are so loud they even rattle the windows in town!

Gutzon tells Lincoln he is going to carve a secret room INSIDE the mountain, behind the heads of the presidents, to store important papers…it will be a secret hiding place!  Lincoln can’t WAIT to sneak around that room.  Maybe he can peek out of Lincoln’s eye or Washington’s nose!  Working with his dad is an adventure everyday!  

The carving takes a very long time; years of carving and drilling and blowing up bits of the mountain.  But the faces start to show – like giants poking their faces out of a huge sand box!  As the years pass, Lincoln learns many skills by watching his dad and the workers.  They show him how to transfer measurements from tiny clay models to the side of the mountain.  He learns how to make the carved faces shiny and smooth.  He even learns how to use dynamite to blast away the rock to make an eye, a nose, or even a pair of glasses.  They dynamite the mountain two times a day – that’s a lot of explosions!  The poor folks in the valley – it must have driven them crazy!

But, one day they realize there’s a BIG problem!  After a year and a half of working on the mountain, Gutzon and Lincoln discover that the rock around Jefferson’s face is bad.  It is not a good section of the mountain.  What are they going to do?   They know they have to start all over again in another spot.  They are very sad. But they can’t leave the half-finished face peering out of the mountain, so using dynamize they blow it off!  All that work – gone!

The men continue to work through rain, and snow, and lightning strikes.  One day Lincoln even has to swing on ropes under one president’s 20-foot nose to avoid being hit by lightning.  Who knew a nose could be so handy?!

The winters are hard and long.Gutzon and Lincoln give a herd of buffalo to the members of the Lakota tribe so they have something to eat.  The Lakotas are so happy that they dance all night and make Gutzon and Lincoln blood brothers of the tribe!

The work continues until 1941 when Gutzon goes to the hospital for a minor operation.  There are complications and he passes away suddenly.  Lincoln is very sad.  He never got to say goodbye to his father and he thinks his father’s dreams will go  with him.  But instead, Lincoln is named head sculptor by the crew and becomes the boss of his father’s project at only 29 years old.

Lincoln knows that money and time are running out.  He decides he cannot make the secret room behind the presidents’ faces.  He’ll never get to complete his childhood dream of staring out a president’s eye – or nose! Oh well, sometimes you have to give up some things to get the job done! 

In the year  1941 on Halloween, the work is finally finished and the four presidents’ faces shine brightly from the side of the mountain.  Lincoln and the workmen are so happy and proud!  They place a wreath at the foot of Mount Rushmore to honor Gutzon, who never lived long enough to see his famous project come to completion.

After 14 years of hard work by Gutzon, his son, and 400 workmen, Mount Rushmore shines brightly across the Black Hills of South Dakota for all to see – and is still shining there today.

What do you think about this work by Gutzon and Lincoln?  Would you like to see Mount Rushmore some day?  I know I would. If you could carve a president’s face into the side of a mountain, who would you pick?   What are some lessons we can learn from Gutzon and Lincoln?  They taught me  that to do a job right, it takes a lot of hard work, time, and commitment.  And often things will go wrong and you may have to find a different way of doing things.  But if you are brave, study hard, and learn a skill, you can succeed in life and accomplish amazing things.  Have you thought about what you might like to do someday?  There are some pretty interesting jobs out there. The boy Lincoln’s was to swing off a president’s nose! Life becomes even more interesting when you dream big! 

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So as a family one of our favorite activities is watching movies together. Often because they are so many of us we skip the theater and just pop popcorn and cuddle up together on the couch and watch our favorite movies from home. Movies are sort of like going on a little journey together. We laugh together; they are happy parts and sad parts, scary parts and fun parts, we feel many of the same emotions as the characters in the movie. I have great memories watching my favorite movies growing up like Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Sometimes I imagined going on adventures like my movie heroes. I liked to make up scripts for my own movies and cast my little brothers and sisters as parts and sometimes we even filmed them. 

Some of my other favorites movies growing up were Disney movies. Have you heard of Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty or Pinnochio? What about Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and Lion King? Have you heard of Walt Disney before? If not you’ve surely heard of Disney movies or Disneyland. Did you know they all started with the imagination of a man named Walt Disney? 

Many years ago Walt Disney was a child just like you. Walt was born on December 5, 1901, a little over one hundred years ago in Chicago. His parents names were Elias and Flora Disney. They were very different in many ways. His father, Elias was a hard worker, a perfectionist and could be very stern at times. But their mother Flora was known to laugh a lot and be very warm and kind. 

A few years after Walt was born his family moved to a farm in Marceline, Missouri. Walt loved living in the countryside. There were woods and lots of animals and many of Walt’s best memories were growing up in Marceline. There was a downtown in Marceline and Walt loved watching the trains chugging into town to stop to drop off and pick up passengers. Much of his inspiration for Main Street U.S.A in Disneyland came from his fond memories of Marceline. 

Around this time Walt started drawing. He often practiced by copying the comics in the newspaper and once the local doctor even paid him to draw a picture of his horse. 

In 1911 the Disney family moved to Kansas City, Missouri where his father owned a newspaper route. A newspaper route meant that every morning Walt and his brothers woke up very early every morning to take newspapers to everyone in town. It was very hard work and often Walt didn’t want to do it, but he helped the best he could to take care of the family. Many days he fell asleep in class because he was so tired from the morning newspaper route. 

For fun little Walt liked to act and makeup plays with his friends and family members. He even tried out for a play at school and played Peter Pan. He and his brother even made a contraption using a wire so it would look like he was flying! But when they tried to use it the wire broke and he flew into the crowd!  

Walt continued to practice drawing and told his father he wanted to be an artist for a living. In high school he drew cartoons for the school newspaper and at night he took classes from the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. He knew to be a great artist he’d need lots and lots of practice! 

During this time Europe was at war in what is known as World War I. Walt wanted to join the army but was too young at the time. He heard many young people were joining the Red Cross. The Red Cross helps take of soldiers who were injured during the war and others in need. But Walt was also too young to be in the Red Cross. So when he went to turn in his papers to join, he changed his birthdate so they would think he was older! 

By the time Walt made it to Europe the war was over, but he helped drive an ambulance and used his drawing skills to paint cartoons on the side of his ambulance and others. He also had some of his drawings published in the Stars and Stripes army magazine. 

After returning home to the United States, Walt got a job drawing advertisements for a magazine. An advertisement is used to try and sell something. At this job he met another young artist named Ub Iwerks. Before long, Walt and Ub were out of a job and started their own company doing advertisements. Walt also became very interested in animation. Animation is pictures that move. Most of the cartoons that you see are animation — basically many pictures switching quickly to make it look like they are moving. Walt bought a camera and started tinkering with animation at home. He spent many hours drawing and taking pictures, trying to figure out how to make good looking animations.

Before long, Walt and Ub’s animations were good enough to be sold as short movies. They called them Laugh-o-Grams and many of their animations were shown before real movies at the theater. Eventually they moved to Hollywood which was where all of the newest movies were being made. In Hollywood he and his brother Roy started Disney Brothers Studios. There Walt also met his wife, Lillian. For a few years Walt continued to make his animated movies but had trouble staying in business. There are many times when he could have given up, but he loved animation and kept on trying even when they failed. At one time someone stole his favorite character, a cartoon rabbit, which he had named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. 

After Walt found out he could no longer use his Oswald the Lucky Rabbit for his movies, he was on a long train ride with his wife from New York back to his home in Hollywood. He decided his newest cartoon character would be a mouse and he would name him … Mortimer Mouse. His wife, Lillian, thought that wasn’t a very good name and he should name him Mickey Mouse instead. And this was the beginning of the world famous cartoon character, Mickey Mouse!

Back in Hollywood, and together with Ubb Iwerks, they began animated their new cartoon, Mickey Mouse. And for their first movies, Walt even did the voice for Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse’s first big movie was called Steamboat Willie. Be sure to look it up on the Internet when you get a chance. It’s black and white, but it’s Mickey Mouse riding a steamboat and whistling a fun tune. Steamboat Willie showed before real moves in the theater, but was a hit. Disney Brothers Studio did other animated movies like The Skeleton Dance and eventually Flowers and Trees, which was one of the first animated movies to use Technicolor — which means it was in color, no longer black and white. 

For many years Walt and Lillian wanted to be parents, but had trouble having children. Finally in 1933, Lillian gave birth to a daughter who they named Diane. Walt was so excited to be a dad and spent a lot of time having fun with his daughter. Often she would spend time at the animation studio watching as her father and others created their cartoons.

With the success of all of their animated movies, Disney Brothers Studio began to grow and grow and soon hundreds of animators worked for Walt Disney. Because there was so much to do Walt no longer drew the pictures, he worked on the stories and music — and his brother Roy helped with the business, taking care of the money and paying all of the animators who worked for them. 

But Walt was always wanting to do something new and exciting. He was also driven to create the biggest and best animations, so his next big project would be a full animated movie. Before this time all of the cartoons were just short movies, but Walt wanted to do a longer one. At the time no one thought anyone would want to watch a full cartoon movie, but Walt didn’t agree. His brother, Roy, wasn’t sure if they could pay for it, and many others thought for sure this would be the end of Disney Brother’s Studios. But Walt didn’t care, he believed in what they were doing and moved forward anyway.

One of Walt’s favorite fairy tales growing up was Snow White, which told the story of a young girl named Snow White, who was being hunted by a wicked witch. During her adventures she meets a band of dwarves who help save her from the witch. Walt had decided this would be his first animated movie and held a meeting with all of his animators. There he told them the story of Snow White and acted out all of the parts — then they got to work! Drawing all of the animations for Snow White took many hundred animators, 4 years of hard work and $1.5 million dollars to create. It took a lot longer and cost a lot more than they had planned, but when it was finally released all of the popular actors and actresses in Hollywood all showed up to the Carthay Theater to watch Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. To Walt’s delight, the movie was a huge hit! People all over the world loved the movie and they ended up earning all their money back within a few months. Audiences were amazed by what they saw. The animation and color were beautiful. The sound and music was well done. Walt Disney had proved them wrong! 

Walt Disney and his animators continued to make animated movies — next Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi during a time period which came to be known as the Golden Age of Animation. Other classics included Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan. Disney Animation Studios also made live action movies, which means movies with real people and sets. Such movies included Treasure Island, The Ballad of Davy Crockett, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and Mary Poppins. 

By this time, Walt Disney and his studio had become very profitable, which means they had a lot of extra money to try new things. For many years, Walt had been toying with the idea of doing something, very big and very different! 

In our next episode we’re excited to tell you the story of Walt Disney’s next big dream, the making of a theme park that parents and kids could enjoy alike — the one and only Disneyland! 

Thanks for listening! We appreciate all of your great reviews and kind words. Your support keeps us going. Also, if you love our stories and would like to read them to your kids — we have a book on Amazon. Just search for Bedtime History. Talk to you next time!

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Tonight we are going to learn about an immigrant named Irving Berlin who later became one of America’s greatest songwriters. America has always been called a “land of immigrants” because ever since the beginning of our nation, immigrants have come here to start new lives with their families.An immigrant is someone who moves from one country to another. 

Irving Berlin was born May 11, 1888 in Russia. Irving Berlin’s family were of the Jewish religion. It was not an easy thing to be Jewish in Russia when Irving was little because Jews were persecuted for their beliefs. Persecuted means to not be treated fair or nice. Some were beaten, made fun of, and even had their things taken from them and destroyed. One of Irving’s first memories is sitting on the side of the road watching his house burn down. It was a scary time, so when Irving was only 5 years old, his Mom and Dad decided to move away from persecution and move to America in 1893.

Back in those days, the only way to get across the ocean to the United States was to sail on big steamships. These journeys were very dangerous and could take several weeks. Many times they would run into big storms and the ship captains had to watch for icebergs along the way. People would get seasick on the boat and some of the passengers would even die. But Irving‘s parents knew that if they could make it to America they would have a chance for a better life; so they took the risk and took their young family across the ocean.

Irving’s family settled in the big city of New York. New York was a bustling city even back then, and had lots of people and crowded streets. Life was hard for Irving and his family. It was a new place they had never been before; they had to learn a new language because they didn’t speak English. They were very poor and lived in a basement of a small apartment. Irving’s dad had a hard time finding a job to earn money and did anything he could to earn money to support his family. Everyone in the family had to work hard just to get enough money to buy food. When Irving was only 8 years old, he went to work as a newspaper boy. He had 3 sisters that had to work too. Can you imagine having to work a real job at 8 years old?

On the way home after his first day on the job, Irving decided to go to the shipyard and look at the big ships that were getting ready to set sail. A big swinging crane that loads up the ships with cargo accidently swung around and knocked him into the water. When the men that worked at the shipyard pulled Irving out of the water, he was still holding onto the 5 pennies he had earned that day. He had worked so hard for that money, that he did not want to let it go.

When Irving was 13 years old, his father died.  He was sad but he also worried about his family.  Irving felt like he needed to move out of the home and support himself so his mom wouldn’t have to worry about taking care of him and feeding him. So at 14 years old, Irving left home and slept in a homeless shelter with other newspaper boys.

Irving always loved to sing and was taught to sing at an early age by his father. His dad was a cantor. A cantor is someone who leads the singing and prayer at a synagogue, which is the name for a Jewish church. When Irving was selling newspapers on the streets he learned lots of different songs and sometimes he would sing on the streets and in the saloons, café’s and restaurants. Customers would throw him pennies because they liked his songs. 

Irving paid close attention to the people who threw money for him and figured out what kind of songs people liked best.  He was very smart and figured out which songs would give him the most money and he would sing more of those songs. Pretty soon, Irving was singing full time as a job. He worked hard and long, and he later said one of the reasons he did was so he could buy his mother a rocking chair. He knew she didn’t have the money to buy one for herself and he thought it would make her happy.

In his spare time and when the restaurants were closed, Irving would ask the owners if he could play their pianos. Irving taught himself to play the piano, and soon was singing, playing and putting on shows in the restaurants, music halls and city squares. He also learned from others how to make up new songs and write music.

Irving’s first big hit was “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”. Ragtime music was very popular back then. It was music that marched and bounced. People loved his song. Irving’s music was being made into records and people loved to buy them because his music was great to dance to.  After this hit song, people knew Irving’s name and he became famous.

In 1917, America entered a big war that was going on in Europe. This war was called “the Great War” and later became known as World War I. Irving Berlin was asked to do a special mission for the United States Army; to write songs for a group that would perform for soldiers. The Army and Country’s leaders knew that music helped to keep the soldiers happy and inspired.

One of the songs he wrote at this time was a song called “God Bless America”, but he didn’t add it to the show. Not until 20 years later, he released the song to the public for the first time; It was during the Great Depression and right before World War II. A depression is a time when there are not very many jobs and lots of people are poor and hungry. “God Bless America” became very popular and it meant a lot to people who had been struggling for years. The people felt that even though they had lived through hard times, God still helped them and loved them. Today, the song is still beloved and sung at very special events like the 4th of July.

Irving Berlin loved America. To love your country is to be patriotic. He once said he owed all his success to his adopted country. He also said he wrote “God Bless America” as “an expression of my feeling toward the country to which I owe what I have and what I am.”

Irving Berlin wrote many many more very popular songs. He wrote songs for the radio, movies, musical plays, Broadway and other shows. People sang his songs everywhere. He was the most successful songwriter of his time and people still sing his songs, many not even knowing who wrote them. One of his other most famous songs is the very popular Christmas tune “White Christmas”. There are lots of beautiful versions of this song, but the one we hear most today is the version sung by the famous singer Bing Crosby.

Irving Berlin knew that music can be very powerful. Music can tell stories and music can make us feel better. It can lift us up when we are sad. It reminds us of people we love and places we want to visit. Music sparks imagination and creativity. Irving Berlin understood that music is very important and he wanted to fill the world with good and uplifting music. He won several awards for his music and many historians call Irving Berlin, “America’s Songwriter” because of how his music has changed and influenced America.

Irving Berlin died in New York City at the age of 101 years old. He had lived a long and happy life, and had blessed many lives with his music. Even though Irving became very famous and rich, he never forgot his childhood and living on the streets. He felt that having those hard experiences and not always getting what he wanted made him a better person; it made him grateful for what he had. He believed that America was the land of opportunity. From Irving Berlin we learn that with hard work and dedication you can better your life and make a difference.

Do you enjoy singing to music you hear on the radio?  Have you ever thought of writing your own songs?  These are things that Irving Berlin because he loved music and was inspired to learn how to make it himself.  He taught himself to sing and play piano and write songs.  If he taught himself to do that, you can too!  We are all capable of great things if we are dedicated to our goals and strive to reach them.

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A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away…

Well, not really that long ago, and on our same planet, actually, a boy named George Lucas was born in California. George was like many other boys in his day. He liked comic books and rock music and TV shows which were a very new thing in his time. His favorite TV shows were adventure stories with daring heroes who did extraordinary things. These heroes had names such as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. In order to buy his favorite things, George did chores around the house to earn a weekly allowance. One of his chores was mowing the lawn. The only problem was the family lawn mower was old, so it could be a very difficult chore. But George had the idea to save up his weekly money and buy a new lawnmower, so the job would be easier! This is called an investment, saving money toward something that will help you later.

In high school George loved cars. When he was 16 his dad bought him a car, but made sure it was a slow car, because he knew George liked to drive too fast. But George wouldn’t let that stop him from driving fast. He hung around car mechanics and garages and learned how to tinker with car engines, until he figured out how to make his little car drive faster. 

One of George’s favorite things to do was to drive around town in his car with his friends. He also liked to race other boys in his car. He enjoyed this so much that someday he wanted to be a race car driver. But one day when George was driving home he was driving very fast and very dangerous. Suddenly his car flipped over and rolled three times. George’s seat belt broke and he was thrown out of the car, just before his car smashed into a tree. An ambulance rushed George to the hospital. He was so hurt they didn’t know if he would survive. But miraculously he lived and after a couple months in the hospital, George got better. George decided being a race car driver wasn’t the best idea, so began looking for a new passion.

At school George started doing photography, which means taking pictures. He also decided to take classes to learn about filmmaking. A filmmaker is someone who makes movies. George made short movies and people really liked them. He had an eye for making movies look good and coming up with interesting ideas. His first big movie was about teenagers racing cars. It was called American Graffiti and to George’s surprise it won many awards and made him a lot of money. 

With all of the money from this movie he started to work on his next movie. He remembered all of the TV shows he loved growing up about adventures and space, and thought it would be fun to make a movie like that. His friends told him he should do a more serious movie, but with all of the sad things going on in the world like the Vietnam War, George wanted to do a more positive and fun movie. 

So George started to think up names of his heroes and the places they lived. He imagined distant planets and adventures for his heroes. He dreamed up space battles where ships flew through space and shot lasers at each other. He invented strange aliens and other creatures and made notes about their names and personalities. He would call his movie The Star Wars. 

After George wrote down all of the ideas, he needed to find a movie company who would pay for the movie. Many of the big companies thought it wasn’t a good idea. They thought The Star Wars was silly and no one would watch it. But George kept trying until he found a movie company called 20th Century Fox that liked his idea and would give him the money to make The Star Wars. 

Next George Lucas and his friends went to work improving his story. It took them many months of trying new characters and stories. Sometimes George got very bored with the work. Many times he had to go to different friends or his helpful wife to get new ideas. After a lot of work and patience he finally had a finished story for Star Wars. It would be about a young farm boy named Luke Skywalker who would meet an old Jedi named Obi Wan Kenobi. Together they would find a smuggler named Han Solo, who would help them return the missing droid R2D2 to its owner Princess Leia and rescue her from the evil Darth Vader.

Once the story was approved, George and his team found people to play the parts of their main characters, called actors. He also had a team of artists to turn his ideas into drawings so they could begin to make real costumes and ships and other props for the movie. When filming the spaceships nothing had been done like this before, so they had to be very creative and invent new ways to film the space battles to make them look real. 

George and his crew had to travel to deserts and other places across the world to film all of the places for their movie. Unexpected challenges with filming, with the crew and with 20th Century Fox didn’t leave George enough to make the movie, so he had to be creative and find ways to do things for less. By the time the movie was done, George wasn’t sure if anyone would like it.  

Finally, Star Wars was in theaters and audiences got to watch it for the first time. At the beginning when the music and the first space ship appeared on the screen everyone cheered. At the end of the movie the audience clapped and cheered and didn’t stop. They loved it! They were so amazed at what they saw. Nothing like Star Wars had ever been done before! People went back and saw it over and over. Many stood in line for hours just to see it again. George knew he had made a great movie, but had no idea how much people would love it. It became a box office hit, broke many records, and was the most popular movie for many years all over the world. 

All of George’s and his teams hard work and creativity finally paid off. They went on to make two more Star Wars movies, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Both movies were also very popular. 

A few years later George dreamed up a new hero, an archeologist who went on adventures. He named after his own dog, Indiana, and Indiana Jones was born. George made this movie with his friend Steven Spielberg and it was also a huge success.

More recently, Disney bought the rights to Star Wars from George Lucas for four billion dollars. George said he would give half of the money to people in need. Much of it will go to helping schools. 

George Lucas wasn’t afraid to try new things and use his imagination and creativity to come up with new ideas. Often our creative ideas can lead to new and exciting things. If you ever have an idea be sure to write it down, make your own story, or draw a picture of it. George’s ideas sparked the imagination of millions, and got many young people interested in space and making their own movies. 

Watching movies is a helpful way to relax our brains and open them up to new ideas. Spend some time thinking about what you might do to be creative, because you never know what your own ideas will lead to!

The post The George Lucas and the Making of Star Wars for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.