© 2024 Ideastream Public Media

1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216) 916-6100 | (877) 399-3307

WKSU is a public media service licensed to Kent State University and operated by Ideastream Public Media.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Looking Ahead to Summer

From insects -- to gold medals, we wanted to jump ahead and give you a little peak into what you can look forward to in the coming months.

After RSVP-ing 17 years ago, some long awaited guests will be on their way to the buckeye state very soon. These guests are red-eyed, orange veined, black shelled bugs called cicadas -- known for their loud buzzing.

It's tradition for billions of cicadas to spend a very timely seventeen years growing underground, until they're big enough to join us above the soil. The last time these noisemakers swarmed the region was in 1999. But, don't worry... these bugs aren't dangerous. They're just loud!

Our friends at NASA are helping in the fight against an unwelcome guest. That could carry the Zika virus. Zika is mostly spread through mosquito bites. Scientists created a forecast map showing the potential spread of the virus in the United States.

You can see the southern and eastern U.S. are at higher risks as the warmer summer temperatures creep in. NASA scientists hope the new map will help the U.S. target future search and destroy missions for infected mosquitoes.

The Zika virus is mostly found in South America -- the home to the 2016 Summer Olympics. And one country is traveling prepared. South Korea's stars will wear tracksuits which have been infused with insect repellent, designed to keep mosquitoes away. The Olympic Games will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during the month of August.

But before we find out which top athletes will collect medals on the podium, we'll find out who will represent the major political parties in the 2016 presidential election. After months of campaigning, the numbers will be tallied and we'll find out which two candidates will face off in November. The Republicans will gather right here in Cleveland in mid-July for their convention, followed a week later by the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

Instructional Links

Website Article & Maps: Ohio State University, Periodical Cicadas Distribution Map

http://entomology.osu.edu/bugdoc/PerioCicada/PeriCicadaMap.htm

Website Article: Cicada Mania, Brood V

http://www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/category/broods/brood-v/

Audio File & Transcript: NPR Morning Edition, Insect Sounds: Telling Crickets, Cicadas And Katydids Apart

http://www.npr.org/2015/09/08/438473580/insect-sounds-telling-crickets-cicadas-and-katydids-apart

Website Article & Map: Youngzine, Zika Virus Puts World On Alert

http://www.youngzine.org/article/zika-virus-puts-world-alert

Website Article: U. S. Centers for Disease Control, Zika Virus Disease in the United States, 2015–2016

http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/united-states.html

Website: Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro 2016

http://www.olympic.org/rio-2016-summer-olympics

Website: PBS LearningMedia, Election Central

http://www.pbseduelectioncentral.com/election-collection

Website: C-SPAN Classroom, Campaigns and Elections

http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/Topics/CE/Campaigns-and-Elections.aspx

Website: Democratic Party National Convention 2016, Philadelphia

http://www.phldnc.com/

Website: Republican Party National Convention 2016, Cleveland

https://www.2016cle.com/