There are lots of places you can play chess online.  Today, we will be using a site called chess.org which has an easy interface to play chess against friends.  

Searching for Bobby Fisher is a true story about Josh, a typical  7 year old, who happens to be a chess prodigy.  The movie is available on Netflix, Amazon and others.  

We are going to use a website called chess.com to learn how to play chess.  This site is "self-paced" which means you learn at your own speed.  You can ask your parents to get you a login, if you want to track your progress and play chess against other people including your friends.  Next week I'll show you another site that allows you to play chess against your friends.  

So how does the Boston Technologies robot know how to dance?  That's right, someone programmed the robots to dance to "Do you love me?" Do you think robots can learn on their own, like you and me?  Today's theme is Artificial Intelligence.  It's also called Machine Learning.  Artificial intelligence is when a computer is programmed to be able to learn stuff on its own.

​Remember a while back, we played TIC-TAC-TOE?  If we programmed a computer to play TIC-TAC-TOE, we would have to come up with every possible scenario and tell the computer exactly what to do in each circumstance.

With artificial intelligence, we'd program the computer to learn based on playing the game. The same way we learn. They would be programmed with the rules and then they would play the game.  Based on how they do, the would try and figure out patterns for how to win and apply them the next time they played.  

Google AI Experiments is a showcase for simple experiments that make it easier for anyone to start exploring machine learning, through pictures, drawings, language, music, and more.  For each experiment, you can click on "Overview" to learn how the app works or "Launch" to try it out for yourself.  Here are two I thought we could try today.  

In celebration of Chinese New Year, we thought we'd recognize Pandas here in Washington DC at the National Zoo. The first video was taken during a recent snow storm.  The second introduces Xiao Qi Ji, the new panda cub at the zoo.

Today is Chinese New Year. Chinese people usually greet each other by saying "Gong Xi Fa Cai".  It's like saying "Happy New Year." It means "May you attain great wealth."  I like to think that wealth is more than money.  It's also health and happiness.  

Chinese people have 12 zodiacs.  This year is the year of the ox.  ​Having an honest nature, Oxes are known for diligence, dependability, strength and determination. These reflect traditional conservative characteristics.

We are making Valentine's Day art.  You can make any project you want. For example, you can make a drawing on paper or use Drawing Pad on your iPad. If you'd like, you can try one of the activities below using the colored strips of paper we provided.  You can also cut your own paper strips.  For this project you will need a stapler, double sided tape, single sided tape and/or glue.  When you're done, we would like a photo of you and your project to post.  If you're done in time, we can take a photo of you through Zoom.  Or you can email it to Ms. Lockwood.  
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We will share our photos with the world on the Global Virtual Valentines Day Project!

It was so much fun meeting everyone's furry and scaly friends.  Please pardon the low resolution images from our screen shots. 

Back in December we did a Fun & Games about feeding birds in the winter.  Here's a video I took this morning of my bird feeder:

OK, this isn't a "baby animal", but it's one of my favorite dog videos.  This would be my dog if he was in this contest.

Today we are going to get to know each other better by introducing our furry friends.  Please introduce your pet and/or favorite stuffed animal.  We'd love to know a little about him/her:

• What's their name?
• What breed of dog or cat are they?
• How old are they?
• Do they know how to do any tricks?
• Do you have an interesting story to share?

Let's search for the hidden animals...