1844 the world’s first mechanically frozen ice-rink, the Glaciarium, opens in London – so make an ice rink for your toys by putting a plate of water in the freezer overnight.
1889 the Eiffel Tower revealed at the Paris Universal Exposition – can you build it?
1994 Channel Tunnel opens
Also today:
Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you)
1871 the National Association, the first pro baseball league, starts playing – so play baseball!
1972 Greenpeace named – so get environmental!
1655 Bartolomeo Cristofori, inventor of the piano, born – so get playing!
1852 Alice Liddell (inspired Wonderland) born
Bird Day (US: towards the conservation of birds – so bring bird seed and binoculars out with you)
Cassinga Day (Namibia commemorates the Battle of Cassinga against South African forces in 1978)
Japan Greenery Day – the blog above is so cute.
Latvian Declaration of Independence Day
Death of Milan Rastislav Štefánik Day (Slovakia’s co-founder, died in 1919)
International Firefighters’ Day
https://spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com/blog/party-central/16-fireman-birthday-party-ideas
Roodmas/Finding of the Holy Cross Day. The church above which the cross was found, built by St Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, is still to be found in Jerusalem.
Japan Constitution Memorial Day – see 11th February
Poland National/Constitution Day
In 966 A.D. Mieszko I, ruler of the land that is now Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it became part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1772–95 Poland was partitioned among Prussia, the Russian Empire, and Austria. It regained its independence at the end of World War I and became the Second Polish Republic.
In 1939, World War II was started when the Nazis and Russia invaded Poland. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war. After the war Poland became a satellite state of the Soviet Union. In 1989 Poland’s Marxist–Leninist government was overthrown and Poland became a democracy called the Third Polish Republic.
It has one of the oldest mountain ranges on earth (the Jura range) and a desert with sand 40 metres deep! They have a national reforestation scheme aiming to cover a THIRD of the country in forest (they’re only about 3% off the target) and a lot of the landscape is protected.
Famous Polish people include Marie Curie (moved to Paris when she was 24); Copernicus, and Chopin. They invented the polonaise. And you got to check out the Wieliczka Salt Mine.
Birth Anniversary of Third Druk Gyalpo (Bhutan celebrates the ‘father of Modern Bhutan’)
Lord Buddha’s Birthday (Hongkong – people wash baby Buddha statues in sweet tea and wish everyone happy birthday)
Madrid Day (celebrating the 2 May uprising against the French occupation in 1808) – maybe celebrate with churros and chocolate
Poland Flag Day – see 11th November
Around the World with the Kids 