Miscellaneous Systems

There are so many systems in our world that many of them don't fit into a particular category.

Sample some of the following activities to learn more about the miscellaneous systems around us.

Places To Go | People To See | Things To Do | Teacher Resources

Places To Go

There must be a system for milking a cow correctly and efficiently. Visit the Jensen Living Historical Farm near Logan or Wheeler Historic Farm in Salt Lake City.

How Did Lunch End Up On Your Tray
Take a virtual tour of this school's cafeteria and discover the system behind serving up your school lunch.

National Park System.
The United States has a park system! How about exploring Utah's National Parks? We have 13 national parks or national monuments in our state, and we have 45 state parks! Compare our scenic wonders to other states. Do we have more or less than most states? If your travelling budget is limited, visit the parks virtually.

How to Create a Virtual Tour
Learn how to make your own virtual field trips. Make a virtual tour of your school.

The Crayola Factory
Binney & Smith is the company that makes crayons, and they make 5 million crayons each day! Take a tour of the factory and discover their system for making crayons. What are the two main ingredients in crayons? According to this official crayon site, what are kids' favorite crayon colors? Even though there are 96 different crayon colors, the labels that go on the crayons are made in fewer colors than that. How many label colors are there? In 1991, the crayon people retired 8 classic crayon colors to make way for new colors. Which colors were retired and what are the new colors?

Hersey’s Factory Virtual Tour
Learn more about how this giant chocolate corporation uses a well-refined system to make their delicious treats.

Jelly Belly Factory Virtual Tour
What do you call a misshapen Jelly Belly? How about a “belly flop”. This virtual tour takes you to a Jelly Belly plant in northern California to learn more about the system for making your favorite jelly beans.

People To See

Education systems: Do you really know what the principal of your school does? (He or she is kind of like the conductor of a big symphony orchestra---principals keep everything and everyone playing in harmony.) Jim DeNeff - jim.deneff@slc.k12.ut.us, a principal in Salt Lake City School District, can tell you everything you've always wanted to know about principals. He loves to get emails from students.

Talk to your local school or public librarian. Librarians get really excited about the Dewey Decimal system.

Things To Do

Tree of Life
Find out about the system used to classify plants and animals.

Do We Really Know Dewey?
The Dewey Decimal System.......it's worth learning more about.....793.8 is the section to find books about learning magic tricks and 398.2 is the section about folk and fairy tales.

Yo-Yo Tricks
Learn the system for a new yo-yo trick. Yo-yos have been around for a long time. Ask an older friend or member of your family if they know how to "walk the dog" (It's a yo-yo trick.)

Cracker Jacks
Cracker Jacks.....you know, popcorn and peanuts with a prize inside the box. The system for keeping the molasses-covered popcorn morsels from sticking together was discovered in 1896. This secret formula is still in use and is still a secret to this day.

What's your system for catching a fish? Shore fishing? From a boat? What do you use for bait? Lures? Powerbait? Check out Utah's Current Angler's Records.....these people must have a system for catching BIG fish. Scroll down to the bottom of the page. Some people actually catch fish with spears and by using a bow and arrow! Where were most of these record-breaking fish caught? Some were caught at Lake Powell.

Systems of burial! What ancient culture buried important people in pyramids? (That's too easy). What ancient culture buried important people in ziggurats? In the United States, what large city has such a high water table (the level at which ground water is close to the surface) that in many parts of the city they can't dig graves--they have to use crypts and bury people above the ground. You know Trigger, Roy Rogers' famous horse--where is his final resting place? Dale Rogers' horse, Buttermilk, and Roy and Dale's dog, Bullet, share Trigger's resting place. (BTW, Mr. Ed's real name was Bamboo Harvester, and his grave site is at an undisclosed private residence.) Where is the original Flipper buried? (The original flipper was really a female dolphin, and her name was Mitzi).

United States Amateur Jump Rope Federation
Do you have a system for how you jump in during Double Dutch? Scroll down from here to see a list of American jumpers. Notice their names - Jumperoos, Air Bears.....if you were part of a professional team from your school, what creative name would you give your team? Jumping rope is good for your circulatory system. Do you like jump rope rhymes? The book Anna Banana : 101 Jump-Rope Rhymes by Joanna Cole (she's the author of the Magic School Bus books!) is a fun one. Check it out from your school or public library.

The Abacus : The Art of Calculating With Beads
An abacus is a system for adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing numbers. It's a low-tech calculator. The ancient Babylonians, Chinese, and Aztecs all developed their own versions of an abacus. Check out the virtual abacus at this site.

How UPC Bar Codes Work
You know those little black lines on the products that you buy that the checkers at the grocery store scan to enter the price--how do those lines contain information? What does UPC stand for? There are also bar codes on the books that you check out from the library. Find out about the system that makes bar codes work.

Alaska Pipeline Facts
Learn about one of the largest pipeline systems in the world. It's also one of the most difficult engineering feats of our time, and it's the only way to get crude oil off the formidable Alaskan North Slope and down to tankers waiting at Valdez, the nearest ice-free port. The trans-Alaska pipeline moves oil at rates approaching 88,000 barrels an hour on its 800 mile journey.

A Walk Through Time
Learn about historic systems for keeping time.

Teacher Resources

Lesson Plans/Webquests/Activities

The Amazing Abacus
From Thinkquest Junior, students learn part of the abacus, bead values, finger movement, etc.