Learning About Tanzania

Basic Information

Tanzania is a country in eastern Africa. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia to the west, Malawi and Mozambique to the south. The terrain is mainly grasslands and the climate ranges from tropical along the coast to temperate in the highland regions.

Population: around 61,000,000

Size: 365,755 square miles

Capital: Dodoma

Type of government: republic

Currency: Tanzanian shilling

National Anthem: Mungu ibariki Afrika (God bless Africa)

National Language: Swahili

National Animal: the Maasai Giraffe

Famous Places

The Serengeti: The Serengeti is a large grassland in northern Tanzania that includes the Serengeti National Park and several game reserves. It is home to a vast amount of wildlife including lions, zebra, cheetahs, giraffes, wildebeest, elephants, hyena, over 500 species of birds, and more.

Learn more about the Serengeti with this documentary on YouTube: Wild Life- Serengeti National Park

Lake Victoria: Lake Victoria, located in northern Tanzania, is Africa's largest lake. It is also the second largest fresh water lake in the world (Lake Superior in the United States is the largest).

Lakes Malawi and Tanganyika: Lakes Malawi and Tanganyika are two large freshwater lakes located along the western boarder of Tanzania. These ancient lakes are famous for their colorful cichlid fish. The wide variety of niches within the lake that the cichlids occupy, has resulted in over 1,500 unique species. Their bright colors and patterns have made them a favorite in the aquarium industry.

Mt. Kilimanjaro: Mt. Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano located in eastern Tanzania. It is also Africa's highest peak.

Recipes

African Doughnuts: We tried making African doughnuts, also known as drop doughnuts. They were tasty! Here's the recipe we used: African Doughnut

Other recipes to try:

-Ugali na maharage ya nazi

-Pilau rice

Crafts and Activities

Learn about Maasai Beadwork and Make Maasai Style Jewelry

The Maasai are the native people of northern Tanzania and southern Kenya. You can learn a little about their history and culture here: The Maasai History and Culture and you can watch some traditional Maasai dancers here: https://youtu.be/JLDwn9Jo6Kg.

The Maasai are known for their beautiful beadwork. Traditionally, colored beads were made from bone, clay, ivory, shells, and seeds. Today they use bright colored glass beads. Look at some pictures of Maasai beadwork (Google Images gives you lots of great pictures) and learn a little more about the importance of beadwork to the Maasai people here: Maasai Beadwork Beauty and Tradition.

Then grab some glass beads and cord and try making some beaded jewelry of your own!

Lion Craft

Tanzania has the highest population of lions of any country in the world. It is home to an estimated 14,000+ lions.

Here's a short video from Nat Geo Wild with some fun facts about lions: Lions 101.

For this lion craft you will need:

-A paper plate

-Crayons

-Yellow and brown tissue paper

-Glue

-Craft eyes

Start by coloring your paper plate yellow or brown. Glue two craft eyes toward the center of the plate. Draw a nose and a mouth with a black crayon.

Cut a couple sheets of tissue paper into small squares about 1 inch by 1 inch. Crumple the squares a little and glue them around the outside edge of the paper plate to make the lion's mane.

African Cichlid Activity

There are over 1,500 unique species of African cichlids living in Lakes Malawi, Tanganyika, and Victoria and they come in just about every color and pattern you could imagine!

Watch this short video that showcases some of the species living in Lake Malawi: Diving in Lake Malawi and then try the African cichlid craft below.

For this craft you will need:

-White paper

-A pen

-Colored tissue paper

-Craft eyes

Start by drawing a large outline of a fish on a white piece of paper and then cut it out.

Make colorful patterns on the fish by gluing on small pieces of tissue paper. You can add details with some markers if you want. When your finished add a craft eye.

Additional Resources

Websites:

-Tanzania- National Geographic Kids has lots of facts and pictures for kids

-Geography for Kids- Tanzania from Ducksters

Videos:

-Lions 101 video from Nat Geo Wild

-Giraffes for Kids video from FreeSchool

-Elephants for Children video from FreeSchool

Books:

-Where is the Serengeti? by Nico Medina and Who HQ (for 8-12 year olds)

-National Geographic Kids Safari (for 4-6 year olds)

If you enjoyed this post be sure to check out the other posts in my Learning About the Countries of the World series

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