Pluto and Vesuvius - August 24

Out of This World Learning

Sunday, August 24, 2025

Today is Can Opener Day, International Strange Music Day, Pluto Demoted Day, Vesuvius Day, National Waffle Day, Weather Complaint Day, and National Peach Pie Day.

Today's Birthdays
Songs of the Day
Today's Theme:  Pluto and Vesuvius

ON THIS DATE

  • 79 - Mount Vesuvius erupts, burying Pompeii and Herculaneum and killing an estimated 20,000 people.
  • 1814 - British troops invade Washington, DC, and burn the White House along with other buildings.
  • 1932 - Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly nonstop across the U.S.
  • 1960 - Edith Sampson becomes the first black U.S. delegate to the United Nations.
  • 1989 - Pete Rose is banned from baseball for gambling.
  • 2006 - The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term "planet", stripping Pluto of its planet status.

BIRTHDAYS

SONGS OF THE DAY 

  • Gustav Holst - Pluto: The Renewer - LISTEN
  • Bjork - Pluto - LISTEN
  • Sufjan Stevens - Pluto - LISTEN
  • Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup - That's All Right - LISTEN
  • Joni Mitchell - Amelia - LISTEN

THEME: PLUTO

  • Grades PreK-3 - Ready Jet Go!  - Dear Little Frozen Pluto (1:07)  - VIEW
  • Grades PreK-3 - Ready Jet Go!  - Pluto is Not a Planet (1:44) - VIEW
  • Grades 6-8 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Nova - Is Pluto a Planet? (6:06) - VIEW, READ, DO
  • Grades 6-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Nova - Chasing Pluto - (53:07)- VIEW
  • Grades 6-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Nova - Why Study Pluto and Dwarf Planets? (5:54) - VIEW, READ, DO
  • Grades 6-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - NASA - Changing Views of Pluto (Available in Spanish) (5:16) - VIEW, READ, DO 
  • Grades 6-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - NASA - Pluto, A Dwarf Planet in the Kuiper Belt (4:58) - VIEW, READ, DO 
  • Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - PBS Space Time - Is Pluto a Planet? (14:03) - VIEW
  • Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - Be Smart - What Has New Horizons Taught Us About Pluto? (5:55) - VIEW
  • Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - Star Gazers - What Happened To Pluto? (3:40) - VIEW

THEME: VESUVIUS

  • Grades 6-8 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Nova - The Next Pompeii: Plate Tectonics and Volcanoes (Available in Spanish) - VIEW, READ, DO
  • Grades 6-8 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Nova - The Next Pompeii: Using Waves to Study Volcanoes (Available in Spanish) - VIEW, READ, DO
  • Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - Nova - Volcanologists Descend into Mt Vesuvius' Crater (2:58) - VIEW
  • Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - Rick Steve's Europe - Naples and Pompeii (25:05) - VIEW

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