Fun with Geography

Aimee, from Adventures and Pursuits, is organizing The Great American Postcard Swap. Each week we receive a postcard from a different state and this is Arkansas' week!

Fun facts about Arkansas:

- only diamond producing state.

- almost half of America's rice is grown here. Other top agriculture endeavors: chicken, soybeans, cattle and cotton.

- home of largest bauxite deposits in US. Bauxite is a mineral used to make aluminum cans and foil.

- headquarters for Wal-Mart, Heifer International, Clinton Presidential Library, Tyson, FamilyLife.

- belonged to Spain then France before obtaining statehood. The four blue stars on the flag symbolize the nations that have ruled Arkansas: Spain, France, United States and the Confederacy. The twenty-five white stars represent that Arkansas was the twenty-fifth state to be admitted to the Union.

-places of interest:

* Historic Hot Springs and Oaklawn which is a horse track that hosts one of the prep-races for the Kentucky Derby;

* fly-fishing on the Little Red River;

* historic Little Rock Central High, where a battle for race integration was fought in 1957.

GIVEAWAY (Jessica won!)

Leave a comment stating the state from which you're typing (make sure to leave your email, if you're not a blogger). Wednesday I'll randomly choose a winner for a couple of educational DVDs about Arkansas that were produced by the Secretary of State's office. If you don't win, check out this website designed for kids to learn about Arkansas. We especially liked the activity book and printed several pages.

There are still states needed for other swaps, if you are interested in participating. You don't have to have a blog to join the swap. It has been great fun so far. Mr. Intensity delights checking the mail for his fun postcard for the week. Through the Secretary of State's office we obtained 50 free postcards.