Panda Bear Facts

Swedish Days: six days of fun for kids of all ages

The 62nd annual Swedish Days festival offers everything from dancing on the courthouse lawn to sleeping in a tent at Peck Farm, with lots of music, games, food, carnival rides and lizards in between.

The fun starts Tuesday at Creation Station on the north side of the courthouse lawn. Wii game stations will let participants show off their fancy footwork in the Just Dance music and rhythm game from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. A block away at Fourth and James streets, the Quad Power Jump will open, letting young and old bounce and flip for $6 from 2 to 9 p.m. If that’s too tame, the carnival midway will offer rides and games from 2 to 10 p.m. in the courthouse parking lot. The carnival will operate from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

On Wednesday, kids can explore their roots at the Geneva History Center and Creation Station. After checking out residents’ life stories in the “Every Story Counts” program between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the History Center, kids can make their own family history interview albums from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Creation Station to help glean facts from the past from their parents and grandparents. Then it’s just a short stroll to the Geneva Public Library, which will offer games and giveaways from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

On Thursday, kids who aren’t catching up on the fun at the library and the History Center can visit Creation Station between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. to make slime and pet lizards, spiders and other creepy creatures with the help of volunteers from the SciTech Hands-On Museum in Aurora.

Kids’ Day Friday will offer a full day’s worth of nonstop grins. The Delnor Teddy Bear Clinic will not only hand out free bears, but will teach their new owners how to keep their new friends — and themselves — healthy. Games, martial arts, a visit from Po the Kung Fu Panda will all lead up to the Children’s Parade, which will step off from the library at 12:30 p.m.

Kids’ Day fun will continue in the afternoon with performances by Geneva Park District dancers, gymnasts and cheerleaders; a video game tournament; a juggler; a dunk tank; and other activities. Cap the day with a round of glow-in-the-dark miniature golf at Stone Creek Golf Course in Wheeler Park between 9 p.m. and midnight.

Panda Bear Facts and Bedroom Theme

In the mountainous Bamboo forests of South Western China, you may find a "xiong mao" sitting on an upright position and chewing on a couple of Bamboo leaves. Pandas are considered a national treasure in China. They have been around for millions of years now. These beautiful animals are well-known for their black eye patches, muzzle, legs, shoulders and white fur. The Panda was once considered to be part of the raccoon family because of its similar qualities to the Red Panda. This may be the reason why the Chinese call the Panda, "xiong mao", meaning large bear cat. Believe it or not, the Red Panda is just as obsessed with Bamboo plant as the Panda. Pandas can eat about 3,500 stalks of Bamboo a day. Now that's a lot of Bamboo!

Although the Pandas diet is 99% Bamboo, it is classified as a carnivore because of its powerful jaws that are able to tear flesh. The panda bear is among the world's most adored and protected animal species, and yet the animals' survival continues to be at risk. Recently National Geographic magazine reported that a spokesperson for the World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly the World Wildlife Fund) in China said the panda bear species could be extinct in 2 to 3 generations, if increased development around the pandas' natural habitat is not better controlled. St. Lucia's (and its Government in St. John) in the Caribbean Sea is defying the Great Giant China Panda Bear, who demands they bow before them, and say uncle, kind of like that. In essence, they are telling them what they can and can't do—China that is; in this case, they do now want them (St. Lucia) to allow a delegation from Taiwan to enter their port. I kind of think this game of: you do as I say, as the Chinese Government has bullied the world away from Taiwan for 50-years, should stop. The twin pandas were born on September 7 at the Madrid Zoo Aquarium. The cubs were conceived through artificial insemination in a joint effort by Spain’s National Research council and scientists from China. Recently, the Queen Sofia of Spain has visited the little cubs. The Queen seemed to be very interested in the daily care of this heart-breaking pandas. Although they still remain at the setter, the cubs are growing healthy and they also receive the lovely care of their mother Hua Zui Ba, who despite being a new mother, is proving to be an excellent in the care of her cubs. According the Zoo preservers, Queen Sofia could not hide her excitement and joy to have so close to these gentle animals. It is nearly two weeks since “Kung Fu Panda 2” was hit worldwide cinemas on Thursday, May 26, 2011, the blockbuster has generally got positive reviews with many critics praising its animation, 3D effects and character development. Besides, the “Kung Fu Panda 2” remarkably grossed $5.8 million on its opening day and a total of $108.9 million on its first weekend globally. In China, the motherland of Pandas, the “Kung Fu Panda 2” earned a humongous $19.3 million in just the first two days from some 5,540 situations. According to Paramount’s early estimates, its premier was the all-time highest debut by a foreign film in the market. Other vegetation, fish and small animals (rodents) make up the 1% of its diet. Male Giant Pandas weigh around 175 - 250 pounds, although it all depends on its diet and environment. Their average length is 5 - 6 feet long and the height is about 2 - 3 feet tall. Females tend to weigh and measure less than the male. Pandas are considered a little anti-social since they tend to avoid others and prefer to be alone, most of the time. Unfortunately, only about 1,000 of these beautiful bears survive in the wild. People have been cutting down their main food source (Bamboo) to make way for farming, this making it harder for them to survive.

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