According to National Geographic (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/narwhal.html), this "unicorn of the sea" doesn't have a horn at all. It's "unicorn horn" is actually an enormous tooth that grows right through the male narwhal's upper lip and up to a length of almost 9 feet!

In Nature Dome, that amazing tusk not only gives the narwhal a respectable Attack Value on its Power Card, but also makes the narwhal Attack Boost card the most powerful one in the deck.

Put the one-two power of the narwhal to work for you with your own deck of Nature Dome Mammals--available with free shipping at www.NatureDomeGame.com. 

According to National Geographic (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/aye-aye/), aye-ayes are the only primates thought to use echolocation--which they use by tapping on trees with their long middle fingers and listening to locate their insect larvae lunch under the bark.

In Nature Dome Mammals, the aye-aye's clawed toes give it both a respectable Claw Scratch defense and a good Climb Away escape.

Learn more about the kinda cute, kinda weird aye-aye, and how to put its powers to work for you with your own Nature Dome Mammals deck. Order today at www.NatureDomeGame.com.

National Geographic (http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/vampire-bat/) says that unlike some species of bats, vampire bats can walk, run and jump--which is a handy way to get airborne again after drinking up to half its body weight in blood from a cow 10,000 times its own size.

No wonder the vampire bat's Blood Suck is the most powerful attack in the Nature Dome Mammals arsenal. Imagine scaling this 1-ounce creature's remarkably sneaky blood-sucking ability up to human size. Now that's a scary thought!

And, since the vampire bat is the only flying mammal in the Nature Dome Mammals deck, it has an impressive Escape ability, too, making it one of the best all-around cards to have in your hand.

Put the vampire bat's awesome powers to work for yourself with your own Nature Dome Mammals deck, now available with free shipping at www.NatureDomeGame.com.

Just saw Iron Man 2, and enjoyed it very much. The critical knock I'd read about too many plotlines weren't an issue at all for me at all, and I'm no expert in the Iron Man mythology.

The other knock was that Iron Man fights too many versions of himself--that he needs a new kind of villain. But as best I can tell, that has been issue throughout the history of the character, even in the comic books. So there isn't any great surprise that that is reflected in the movies--in fact, as it's presented by Tony Stark's billionaire weapons manufacturing rival Justin Hammer in this movie, it's a subtle commentary on the narrow, uncreative vision and lack of forward thinking that is endemic in our government, our culture, even our species. Look no further than the Katrina or BP oil spill disasters for real-world eveidence of that . . . but that's a whole different blog.

In short, the critics' complaints about Iron Man 2 are more like reasons to go see the movie than not to--but none of them are even the best reason.

The best reason to see Iron Man 2 is to see the Nature Dome!

It's easy to spot, and there are some nice shots of it, since it is the setting of the climactic battle scene. The giant dome filled with rocks, trees and a flowing stream is, in essence, a perfect realization of my vision of the Nature Dome, where young people train to master the art of summoning real-world animal powers as they train to fight evil in the world. All it needed was some more climates, flora and terrain to make it the real deal.

In fact, all I kept thinking during the movie was that if Tony Stark could just summon the ferocious attack power of the tiger, he'd be just fine.

Unfortunately, that kind of action in the Nature Dome is still a good way in the future. But just imagine it. Young martial artists, summoning tiger paw and tortoise shell, shark jaw and eagle wing, mantis arm and hedgehog spine as they master their art, then taking those powers out into the world as defenders of freedom and good. What an awesome movie . . . and cartoon . . . and comic book.

For now, though, you can experience the genesis of all that with your own Nature Dome Mammals deck, available with free shipping at www.NatureDomeGame.com. Train with the mammal powers, embrace new ones from reptiles, fish, insects and birds as they emerge, and by the time Nature Dome comes to a screen near you, you'll be the real master.

Crossing paths with a few teachers at the Tampa Comic Con got me thinking again what a great tool Nature Dome could be for teaching math, science, language arts, art and more in the elementary classroom.

Just a few examples of in-class skills and activities that can be supported by Nature Dome include:

Addition and Subtraction

Basic and multi-step addition and subtraction are essential elements of the game, making it ideal for young players just learning these skills.

Fight or Flight

In nature, any animal can attack, if necessary. And when an animal is attacked, it has the classic choice of “Fight or Flight.” These abilities are reflected in Nature Dome—with each animal having Attack, Defend (Fight) and Escape (Flight) abilities.

Match Game

For a simple Match game, pull out the 5 Attack Boost Cards and the Power Cards for the same animals. Shuffle them, lay them face down and see who can find the most matching pairs.

Use two decks and you can match 2 to 55 pairs of cards for a Match Game difficulties ranging from super-easy to practically impossible.

Grouping and Sorting

Use your Nature Dome Deck to explore differences and similarities in animals of all kinds as you discover ways to group the creatures, including by:

• Animal type
• Size
• Diet
• Where they live
• Predator and prey

Then try grouping them by card characteristics:

• Attack value
• Defense value
• Escape value

Creative Writing

Have students choose an animal from the deck and write a creative story about it. Have them choose two or more animals and write about an encounter between them. Mix it up by randomly dealing out cards for the students to write about.

Research Reports

Have children choose their favorite animal from the deck and write a research report on it, starting with the facts right on the card. Add a little bit mystery to the assignment by dealing cards to students randomly.

Map Skills

Give student groups each a deck of Nature Dome cards and a wall-size map (have them draw the map for even more fun). Then have students attach each animal card to the map, indicating where in the world it lives. 

Food Chain

Have students use Nature Dome cards to create food chains, filling in blanks with their own animal art.

Game Creation

Let students research their own favorite animals and create their own original Nature Dome cards on a standard card template. Combine all your students’ cards into a playable, class-created deck of Nature Dome.

Alternate Rules

Give multiple student groups each a deck of Nature Dome cards and let them invent their own game rules. When they’re done, have the groups share their new game variations with each other.

Take the creativity even further by providing additional game-making and art supplies like dice, spinners, timers, posterboard and markers so students can create game boards and more.