VOTE! From Marbles to Machines
Faces - The Magazine of People, Places and Cultures for Kids|September 2020
People have dropped marbles into baskets, drawn Xs by names, colored in dots, and pulled levers to elect their leaders during the past 2,000 years. Early voters used simple, inexpensive objects to cast their votes. The ancient Greeks, the first known voters, placed black-and-white pebbles into pots. Roman soldiers tossed small clay balls into their helmets. Early colonists in the Americas used colored beans and kernels of corn. Today’s election traditions and terms have ancient roots. Voters now often mark ballots, or pieces of paper, to cast their votes. The term comes from the Italian word ballotta meaning “little ball.”
Kerrily Sapet
VOTE! From Marbles to Machines

People around the world vote in many different ways. Some methods resemble early elections while others are highly technical. Whether voters use beans or machines, the process is designed to be fair. Each person gets to cast only one vote, which must be accurately counted. Also important is the idea that a person’s vote is private.

The ancient Romans sometimes voted out loud, or viva voce. In some areas, like Appenzell, Switzerland, people still gather in the town square to voice their votes, as they have for hundreds of years. But some feel it can be intimidating to state your choices aloud, and therefore, the individual may not express his or her true opinion. The idea of voting privately by paper ballot is said to have originated in Australia and is sometimes called kangaroo voting. Most people around the world, though, use secret ballots, marking their choices behind curtains or screens or inside voting booths. Whatever method voters use to make their choices, they want to know that their vote counts and that no one can change it. Many different styles of voting machines have been invented to make counting more accurate. They’ve featured mechanical levers, switches, buttons, and hole punchers. Computers can scan the voter’s marks on a ballot and record the vote. Machines are often used because they are faster and more precise than counting votes by hand.

Mechanical voting machines can cause problems, though. Sometimes voters get confused by the directions. If they fill out the ballot incorrectly or even use a pen instead of a pencil, the machine won’t count it. Machines can break down or jam, leaving the final vote count unknown. People also worry that machines can be tampered with or illegally adjusted to change the results of the election.

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Animal Central
Faces - The Magazine of People, Places and Cultures for Kids

Animal Central

From golden frogs to big cats to colorful birds, the national animals of Central America represent the geography and cultures of the region. For a quick sampling of creatures plain and beautiful, common and rare, read on.

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3 mins  |
January 2021
31 Countries Biosphere
Faces - The Magazine of People, Places and Cultures for Kids

31 Countries Biosphere

The Trifinio Fraternidad Biosphere Reserve is located at a spot where El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras converge. A biosphere is the layer of planet Earth where life exists.

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2 mins  |
January 2021
THE LEGEND OF THE QUETZAL BIRD
Faces - The Magazine of People, Places and Cultures for Kids

THE LEGEND OF THE QUETZAL BIRD

A Mayan Tale retold by Pat Betteley illustrated by Amanda Shepherd

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4 mins  |
January 2021
Semana Santa GUATEMALA'S HOLY WEEK
Faces - The Magazine of People, Places and Cultures for Kids

Semana Santa GUATEMALA'S HOLY WEEK

What if Easter preparations meant dyeing sand, collecting pine needles, and staying up all night to work on an art project that you knew would be ruined the very next day? Well, welcome to Guatemala’s Semana Santa, or Holy Week.

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4 mins  |
January 2021
ME OH-MAYA!
Faces - The Magazine of People, Places and Cultures for Kids

ME OH-MAYA!

The Maya are groups of people who live in parts of Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. Their ancestors created a great society. At its peak, from 600-900 C.E., the Maya civilization was more advanced than its neighbors in the Americas.

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3 mins  |
January 2021
Playing Games Honduras-style
Faces - The Magazine of People, Places and Cultures for Kids

Playing Games Honduras-style

Would you play the same games in Honduras that you do in the United States? You might. Children in Honduras enjoy many of the same games North Americans do. They go fishing and shoot baskets. They play sandlot baseball—called bate (BAH tay). They fly kites and ride bikes. Their parents may go horseback riding or play golf or tennis.

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3 mins  |
January 2021
LIVING A LONG LIFE IN THE Blue Zone
Faces - The Magazine of People, Places and Cultures for Kids

LIVING A LONG LIFE IN THE Blue Zone

Most people would like to live as long a life as possible. No one really knows why some people live longer than others, but did you know that where you live can play a big part in how many years you’ll be alive? If you live in a Blue Zone, chances are that you will live much longer than people in other parts of the world.

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2 mins  |
January 2021
ATTENTION WORLD: Belize Saves Their Coral Reef
Faces - The Magazine of People, Places and Cultures for Kids

ATTENTION WORLD: Belize Saves Their Coral Reef

Sea turtles float in clear waters, colorful corals hug the ocean floor, and aquatic animals glide among the mangrove roots. Welcome to the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, the second-largest coral reef in the world (Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is number one). Several years ago, this reef was in crisis, heading toward destruction. But the people of Belize fought back to save their reef’s health.

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3 mins  |
January 2021
The Panama Canal
Faces - The Magazine of People, Places and Cultures for Kids

The Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a 51-mile long canal that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

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2 mins  |
January 2021
This is Central America!
Faces - The Magazine of People, Places and Cultures for Kids

This is Central America!

It’s time to visit Central America. But first, it helps to know exactly where Central America is. Despite its name, it is the southernmost part of North America, which can seem a little confusing. It makes up most of the isthmus dividing the Pacific Ocean from the Caribbean Sea. An isthmus is a narrow strip of land that connects two larger landmasses and has water on both sides.

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4 mins  |
January 2021