Temperature

Sometimes I am a warm, sunny day, perfect for the playground. I feel like a big, cozy hug from the sun. Other times, I am a chilly little breeze that makes you want to snuggle in a soft blanket. I make your soup steamy and warm, and I make your juice box frosty and cold. I am the reason you shiver when it is snowy outside and feel warm when you stand in the sun. Can you guess who I am. I am Temperature.

For a very, very long time, people just knew I was hot or cold, but they couldn't say how much. It was like knowing a kitten is small but not knowing how many inches tall it is. Then, a long time ago, around the year 1593, a very clever man in Italy named Galileo Galilei made a special tool to watch me go up and down. It was called a thermoscope. It was like a little game of peek-a-boo. A bit later, in the year 1714, another smart inventor named Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit created a thermometer with numbers on it. Finally, people could tell their friends exactly how warm or cool it was. They could say, "It is this much warm today."

Today, knowing about me is so important. I help your grown-ups know if you need to wear a coat or shorts when you go outside to play. I help doctors check if you are healthy when they put a little thermometer in your ear or mouth. I also help bakers make sure your yummy cookies are baked just right in the warm oven. I am always around, helping you stay safe, healthy, and cozy. When you feel the warm sun or a cool raindrop, that’s just me, Temperature, saying hello.