Texas History for Kids: Lone Star Lives and Legends, with 21 Activities
able shape on the map That area covers a vari ety of geographical terrains and people But Texas is also an attitude Texans like to brag that they do things big in the Lone Star State That includes the history From the early dinosaurs to fly ing in space Texas delights in the stories of its land and people For years a story has circulated that Texans were quite upset at losing the distinction of being the largest state in the Union when Alaska was admitted as a state in 1959 Alaska at over twice the size of Texas was upstaging Texas and that just would not do The story says that some Texans got together and joked about melting Alaska Texas has a population of over 26 million people Coming in second to California But Texans have more room to move around with 96 3 people per square mile California has to fit 239 1 people into the same area Author John Steinbeck may have said it best in Travels with Charley 1962 I have said that Texas is a state of mind but I think it is more than that It is a mystique closely approximating a religion Texas is the obsession the proper study and the passionate possession of all Texans Texas Fast Facts Capital Austin
State Nickname The Lone Star State State Motto Friendship Entered Union December 29 1845 Population 2012 estimate 26 059 203 Percentage of population under 18 years old 2012 26 8 Total Land Area 268 201 square miles Length of coastline 367 miles tidal shore line 3 359 miles Highest Point Guadalupe Peak 8 751 feet Lowest Point 0 feet where the Rio Grande meets the Gulf of Mexico Largest City Houston fourth largest in United States Second Largest City San Antonio National Park Acreage 8 618 acres Official State Flower Bluebonnet Official Mammal Longhorn Official State Dish Chili First Word spoken on the Moon Houston Number of Amusement Parks 12 Number of Oil Wells 832 Average Number of Tornados Each Year 139 more than any other state How Often Hurricanes Strike the Texas Coast Roughly once every 9 to 16 years
Cretaceous Times he sun was shining upon Glen Rose in the north central part of Texas It was the kind of day made for being outdoors And that's just where nine year old George Adams was Instead of going to school one day in 1909 George decided to go exploring at the nearby Wheeler Branch Creek which was part of the Paluxey River George prob ably scanned the ground for interesting bugs and tested himself by throwing rocks toward the other side of the
Tracks found in Dinosaur Valley State Park Fredlyfish4 Wikimedia Commons George stopped what he was doing as soon as he saw something strange in the shallow clear water the tracks of a large animal with three toes on each foot It looked like the tracks of a giant bird George was interested and a little scared He ran to school to tell his teacher and principal what he found The school had an impromptu field trip to see the tracks They weren't the only people to see the tracks at the Paluxy The river was also popular with moon shiners like Charlie Moss who was scouting loca tions to set up a still to brew illegal liquor when he came across the tracks Southern Methodist University paleontologist Dr
