PLANET SCIENCE NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 06 Stardate: Friday 18th October 2002 Did you know you can choose to receive this weekly news update free by email? sign up here Science meets fiction and friction in this weeks edition of the newsletter. Go sleuthing with detectives old and new, get gadgetted-up with 007, and on a more 'holiday' note, discover the (scientific) secret of successful stone-skimming. All that and another £600,000's worth of free and subsidised equipment on it's way to school laboratories. 01. FREE SCHOOL EQUIPMENT BONANZA - don't miss out 02. Planet Science Celebrates BLACK HISTORY MONTH 03. SCIENCE / FICTION - Sherlock Holmes honoured by RSC 04. ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK - invisibility for beginners 05. MOUSES AT THE READY - Free tickets to 007 exhibition (London) 06. FORENSICS and CAREERS – at Leeds Grammar School 07. FREE TICKETS FOR SCIENCE CLUBS - Newcastle and E Sussex 08. PPARC wants your help! 09. SCIENCE BEHIND THE NEWS 10. RWW: another ‘Joule’ of a site 11. JOKE OF THE WEEK 12. AOB + stone-skimming MORE EQUIPMENT ON ITS WAY TO SCHOOLS If you're a secondary Science or D & T teacher, you may remember that earlier this year, the Royal Society gave away £1 million in free and subsidised equipment for school labs. This offer was part of the Science Year 'KitPot', and it seemed to go down really rather well. Demand was enormous and within three weeks all the equipment available had been snapped up. Subsequently 93% of schools have reported that the kit was 'good' or 'excellent' and bags of thank-you letters from appreciative teachers were received by Middlesex University who administered the giveaway. Now – and it just proves you should always write thank-you letters - it's been decided that a further £600,000 in advanced laboratory kit will be offered to maintained secondaries throughout the UK in November. Stephen Twigg MP made the announcement of the offer on a ministerial visit to Kingsmead School in Enfield on Wednesday, when he also seemed to very much enjoy himself checking out some of the equipment the school acquired in the last giveaway. Here’s how to make sure you get yours: Heads of Science and Design & Technology departments will be receiving letters and documentation from the SEP and the TEP in coming weeks. If you want the free kit, you must reply to this correspondence - and you need to be v v quick or you could lose out to others... Presuming you reply fast enough, then you can just go off, have a lovely Christmas break, and look forward to the equipment arriving sometime during or just after January. Not bad eh? And just a word of thanks to our generous sponsors on this! Namely: the Royal Society, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, Middlesex University, the National Centre for Biotechnology Education (NCBE), the Science Enhancement Programme (SEP), the Technology Enhancement Programme (TEP) and SAPS (Science and Plants for Schools). Back to top BLACK HISTORY MONTH Meanwhile, October is ‘Black History Month’ and Planet Science is celebrating the achievements of black scientists, technologists and inventors with a series of fascinating biographies on our website. Click Here to find out more. David Bromfield, former science teacher and now BBC Education correspondent introduces this area of the site – and we hope you’ll agree it’s an inspiring read. Also – teachers – we’ve also prepared a downloadable BHM-related assembly drama idea. You’ll need a few props and a bit of preparation, but the end result should really capture the imagination of staff and students alike and teach them a lot of new things about the contribution of black scientists and technologists to our modern world. Click Here to download the PDF file. Back to top SHERLOCK HOLMES You don't need to be a super-sleuth to have picked up from the media this week that the Royal Society of Chemistry has taken the unusual step of honouring a figure of fiction this week. Sherlock Holmes is the character who has been bestowed with an Extraordinary Honorary Fellowship of the RSC, and the reason for this is that he was "the first detective to exploit chemical science as a means of detection." The evidence in the case includes: Exhibit A - in 'A Study in Scarlet', the first Holmes story, when Watson first meets Holmes it's in the chemical laboratory at Barts, where Holmes is working on an "infallibale" test for bloodstains. Exhibit B - in 'The Naval Treaty', Watson comes into the room and Holmes is sitting at his chemical bench. He says 'you have come at a crisis, Watson. If this litmus papers says blue, all is well. If it turns red, it means a man's life.' It does turn red. Holmes mutters, "I thought as much" and sends a telegram to Scotland Yard, presumably to have the murderer arrested. Exhibit C - From 'The "Gloria Scott"', we know that Holmes worked on organic chemistry when he first came to London, and he did research into coal tar derivatives in France during the Great Hiatus when he was presumed to be dead. So SH was definitely a scientist then ... but should a learned society be honouring non-real life people? Discuss. Whatever your opinion, it's certainly achieved rare world-wide feel good popular press coverage for chemistry, and RSC Media Relations Manager, Brian Emsley says, "It's been controversial, but it's better than being ignored". Fiction aside, the real-life inspiration for Sherlock Holmes was Dr Joseph Bell, a brilliant and deductive doctor who taught Conan Doyle at Edinburgh University Medical School in the late 19th Century. And you can read all about him and much, much, MUCH more at the Sherlock Holmes cyber-shrine at: http://www.siracd.com. There's even a page where you can ask Sherlock Holmes a question and he'll answer it for you. Slightly perturbed by his response, "No, I do not think so," as the sample question entered was, "Will the Planet Science newsletter be finished on time this week?" So, er, must crack on! Back to top ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK This week, continuing our forensic intelligence theme, the activity is 'The Mystery of the Disappearing Lemon Juice'. Or invisible ink, in other words. What you'll need: A lemon A knife and chopping board A piece of paper A cotton bud An iron What to do: 1. Before cutting the lemon, give it a good pummel to make it more juicy. Then cut it in half. 2. Use your cotton bud (pen) and lemon juice (ink) to write a message on the paper. 3. When the ink dries observe how it becomes invisible to the naked eye… (Well, virtually - stop quibbling you up the back!) To read the message: Run a hot iron. Obviously care and attention are needed and don’t iron near or on top of anything flammable or meltable … Slowly you will see the message emerge. What’s going on science wise: The lemon juice is very nearly clear so does not show up on the paper when it is dry. When you heat the paper, the lemon juice starts to burn. Like all organic material (i.e. anything that was once living), the lemon juice contains carbon. When it burns, some of the carbon is released in the same way a candle releases soot. The brown writing is just the carbon that has come out of the charred lemon juice. You can try this with other organic compounds like milk and even white wine. Enjoy! Back to top MOUSES AT THE READY James Bond and his screentastic blend of art, science and technology have arrived in Kensington, London. "Bond, James Bond - the Official 007 Exhibition" started this week at the Science Museum and we have two 4-person family passes to give away... The exhibition was put together by EON Productions, the Bond films' producers, in partnership with the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, and the organisers claim that this is the greatest collection of original 007 objects, images, concept drawings, storyboards and costume designs ever assembled. Artefacts include Rosa Klebb's infamous flick-knife shoe through to plans for spectacular stunts and Oddjob's killer bowler hat... No passive visitors are allowed, only ones that secretly fancy themselves as a 007 type! That's because you'll be stepping inside a series of spectacular themed areas to experience a mission briefing in M's office, a familiarisation visit to Q's gadget workshop, and training in the 'dark arts' of espionage. Oh and before you leave you've got to do a death-defying stunt too. Easy peasy. If you fancy one of our family passes, all you need to do, is email anne@planet-science.com with your name, address and daytime phone number and with the words 'I'M SHAKEN NOT STIRRED' in the subject field. Good luck Bond. Back to top FORENSICS IN LEEDS Meanwhile, still on the subject of secret intelligence and interesting careers... Leeds Grammar Schools would like you to know about two events they’re holding shortly, to which you are cordially invited. 1. Forensic Science - Monday 4th November 2002 7:30 "A fascinating insight into solving serious crime by specialist forensic biologists Dr Gemma Escott and Dr Michelle Walton. Because of the nature of the subjects dealt with in this lecture - which includes retrieving samples for DNA testing e.g. from murder scenes and rapes members of the audience must be aged 13 years and above. "Admittance: £2.00 per person. Light refreshments will be served from 7:30pm. As part of the Leeds Grammar School's Science Week, we are pleased to extend this invitation to all subscribers of the Planet Science newsletters and their guests. We hope that you can join us. 2. Science Careers Fair - Thursday 7th November 13:00-16:00 "An opportunity for students to meet a wide range of professional organisations and individuals pursuing and involved in science careers. Wander round, and chat informally. "Participating organisations include: BNFL, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Royal Society of Chemistry, British Ecological Society, Institute of Biology, Croda International, Ove Arup, Universities of Birmingham, Oxford, Cambridge and Durham. "A senior visiting speaker from UCAS will speak at 1:30 and 2:30 pm. Admittance is free with complimentary refreshments." And Rakesh Patel, who contacted us with this information, adds, "If there are any other organisations who wish to participate in this career's fair please do not hesitate to contact me on 17441@thefreeinternet.co.uk" Back to top FREE TICKETS FOR SCIENCE CLUBS News for any schools/science clubs in Newcastle or East Sussex. SciZmic, the science discovery clubs network have been in touch to offer you some good stuff to do for European Science and Technology Week. Firstly, ‘A Day Trip to Mars’ "Calling all schools in East Sussex, The Observatory Science Centre has 40 free places to offer for its 'Take a trip to Mars' event on November 6th. If you have pupils in yrs 6-8, why not take them along, learn about some of the hazards of space travel, try your hands at making a spacecraft that can land on Mars, and make a comet! Please contact Pat Isteed at The Observatory (info@the-observatory.org, Tel. 01323 832731) Secondly, ‘The Great Debate’ "The Centre for Life in Newcastle have 200 FREE places for yrs 8-10 for their 'Great Debate' on November 8th (a maximum of 10 per school). Tackling a topical issue - which we can exclusively reveal will be something to do with Stem Cells - students will listen to both sides of the debate, undertake their own research into the topic, and then discuss the issues themselves. Please contact Sam Kellie at The Centre for Life to reserve spaces NOW (sam.kellie@centre-for-life.co.uk, Tel. 0191 2438243)." Back to top PPARC WANT YOUR HELP The Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council have also been in touch to say that they too have free resources they’d like you to take advantage … but they’d also appreciate some assistance. PPARC as you may know, produce a free booklet called ‘A Resources Guide for Teaching’ which lists all sorts of books and other materials they consider helpful. However, things can always drop out of date, and right now they’re inviting commments and updates for a revision of this guide. Stocks of the guide are currently limited, so they say they would be particularly please if you would search for it online on the PPARC website at http://www.pparc.ac.uk/Ed/pubs.asp. As you’ll see there are all sorts of other resources on offer too (not to mention their classroom samples of lunar rocks and meteorites which are available for schools to borrow.) So if you can help them out, please do! All updates should be sent to Margaret Penston on mjp@ast.cam.ac.uk Back to top SCIENCE BEHIND THE NEWS This week: Paula Radcliffe – is she superhuman? For the benefit of us all, Science Line has been investigating how one woman can run so far, so fast, when most of the rest of us are … pretty rubbish really. Here’s where all the info can be found: http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/slup/CuttingEdge/Oct02/marathon.html Back to top RECOMMENDED WEBSITE OF THE WEEK This week hat’s off to the Museum of Science and Industry Manchesters' ‘Joule and Energy’ site, which can be found at: http://www.msim.org.uk/joule/index.htm We all know what Joules are – they’re a bit like Calories, and they appear right next to them on food labels. But they’re not just relevant to food, joules are a ‘measure of energy’ that can crop up anywhere as this site explains. What MSIM have done is brought local scientist James Prescott Joule to life, and you can follow his experiments in animated/video form, do the virtual version of his work and then, especially interesting, watch as he answers questions about what he did. There's lots of teachers info as well, all clearly marked for Key Stages. All this, and the site looks really gorgeous too. To get the best out of this high-tech site you need plug-ins, but it’s well worth it, and you’re guided through the process of getting these very clearly. Have a look – joule be glad you did J Back to top JOKE OF THE WEEK Many thanks to Ewen McLaughlin who sent in the following joke absolutely ages ago… sorry it got lost for a while there. Well worth the wait though: Q. Where does Mercury come from? A. Hg Wells And PLEASE NOTE in-built link back to our previous Victorian Fiction theme there. We don't just throw these newsletters together you know! Back to top A.O.B As ever, we welcome all shareable contributions to the newsletter so please get in touch if you have news, activities, projects or jokes you’d like us to publicise. And as for the aforementioned stone-skimming… Did you know the world record is 34 jumps? And any idea how fast a stone would have to be moving to achieve that sort of bounce? Or how the stone could be tampered with to achieve a better result? A French scientist has been applying himself to all these questions, and you can read about it in this weeks New Scientist – page 19. Have a great week! Especially if you happen to be near some still water and flat stones… Back to top