Kidsday: A trip to Babylon's Old Town Hall

Our class took a trip to the Old Town Hall in Babylon. We learned about the rich history of our town. We learned about the original inhabitants, the Native Americans, and how they helped teach early settlers how to survive and flourish. We also learned that Babylon provided a resource in salt hay grass, which fueled the local economy.

We learned about historical figures such as Mile-a-Minute Murphy, who rode a mile on his bicycle in under a minute. Finally we learned about the history of the town seals for the Towns of Babylon and Huntington. The Town of Babylon became independent from the Town of Huntington in 1872. The seal displays animals which represent important aspects of the town. The animals on the Babylon Town seal are an eagle, clam, oyster, fish and an eel. The eagle represents the nation. The clam, oyster, eel and the fish represent the town economic industry. The official town seal was authorized on April 2, 1878.

Our trip provided us with an understanding of the deep history of the town that we live in. I learned to appreciate how the town was created and the peaceful approach the leaders took to accomplish their goal of separating from the town from Huntington.

Old Town Hall is at 47 W. Main St., Babylon.

A mystery we recommend

We read the adventure mystery "The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable" by Dan Gutman (Harper). The characters names are Coke and Pepsi. Thoughts raced through their minds of things that happened during their trip looking for a secret code. They were being chased around the country by bad guys. It was a lot of trouble, but they finally got out of it and headed to Washington, D.C., for their aunt's wedding.

We would recommend this book, because readers would have to figure out the mysteries. This book kept us guessing and predicting what will happen next. Everyone should read it, because it makes you feel all different emotions. Trust us, it's worth it.

RATING: 5 of 5

--Kidsday Reporters Ethan Leacock, Kayla Martinelli and Phillipe Janvier

Semi-good vibrations

I thought the VoiceRockrz Mic (First Act Discovery Toys) was OK. The reason for this is it makes your voice sound scratchy. However, I do think it is cool, because you don't need an MP3 player to sing in it. If you don't have an MP3 player, you could still sing, but without music. If you have an MP3 player, you can sing with the music playing. My mom and I tested it out. My mom sang, "Good Vibrations." I sang "Stronger." It was funny, because we kept messing up. Also, the mic changed our voices. It made them sound like Alvin from "Alvin and the Chipmunks." I think everyone should buy this mic because it would make you laugh, and you could have family time singing together.

--Kidsday Reporter Kayla Martinelli

CLASS OF THE WEEK: Anna Maria Montuori's fourth-grade class, PARLIAMENT PLACE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, North Babylon