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1. Planet Science Whodunit
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 Reminder! You still have a chance to get your hands on some Planet Science Whodunit kits and deduce who stole James Bourne’s guitar…
Ms Dynamite? Zach Shaw? James Beattie? S-Club? Or Blazin' Squad?
Luckily there was plenty of evidence left at the crime scene which, when analysed, would definitively nail the evildoer.
Edulab are offering new kits at a cost of £19 each. If you'd like one, give them a ring on 01366 385 777, or fax them on 01366 386 535. The £19 includes postage and packing.
All the online resources can be found at www.planet-science.com/whodunit, but be careful you might also come across the guilty party!
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2 New July Quiz
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 To celebrate the month of July, named after the most famous Roman of them all, try your hand at our Roman science quiz. If you have your ‘whodunit’ head on and know what Julius Caesar was accused of doing you could be in with a chance to win some great Roman goodies, cook like a Roman and look like a gladiator!
Click to win here
Carpe diem, sandal-wearers!
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3. Planet Science Teachers’ Workshops – Scotland
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Hold the phone! Katie Walsh, the editor of www.planet-science.com is on the line … and she’s got an invitation for you:
“We're busy setting up our 'Introduction to Planet Science' workshops for Scotland at the moment. We've had a great response from the Science Advisors we've been inviting, and now it's time to open up the workshops to primary or secondary science teachers working in Scotland – including - YOU?!
We'd love to meet you and tell you all about what Planet Science can do for you - especially if you have lots of links with other teachers or other schools and can spread the good word …. This being all part of our 2005 masterplan to get as many people using the site as possible, in order to get maximum value for all that public money.
We think 3 hours + a decent cup of coffee + some nice biscuits = a great opportunity to get to know some corners of the site you may not be familiar with!
Here’s where we’ll be and when:
Glasgow AM/PM 23rd Aug
Edinburgh PM 25th Aug
Alloa PM 30th Aug
Kilmarnock PM 1st Sept
Aberdeen PM 2nd Sept
PM workshops are 1.45pm to 4.45pm, and Glasgow AM workshop 9.45-12.
For more information or to book a place please contact Briony Curtis briony.curtis@bes8t.co.uk.”
Thank you!
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4. Activity – How clean are your coins?
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 Keeping with a Roman theme, just how do archaeologists get coins clean? Well, if you have some grubby copper coins in your pocket, try this little experiment and they’ll come up gleaming.
You will need:
- Some grubby copper coins – it helps if they are equally grubby
- Vinegar
- Lemon Juice (one lemon is enough)
- Salt
- Some empty glasses
What to do:
- Put a coin in the bottom of each glass
- Cover each coin with… vinegar, vinegar and a sprinkle of salt, lemon juice, lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt.
- Wait…
- Empty the glasses and pull out your lovely shiny coins.
What’s going on:
To start with we need to know that the tarnish on copper coins is copper oxide and the liquids we are using are acids. You may notice that not all the coins are equally clean. The acid and salt produces chlorine ions that are very reactive. They get in between the copper and oxygen in the copper oxide molecule and take it off the coin’s surface, leaving them shiny and clean. The ones in pure acid take a bit longer to clean, showing how important the free chlorine is!
Of course, archaeologists are slightly more careful when handling old and rare coins (so don’t try this with any amazing coin collection!). They deal with coins that may or may not be improved by simply washing them. To do this they can use an ultrasonic tank that produces sound waves instead of using a brush to remove surface dirt. But since an acid actually attacks the surface of a coin it may be best to leave it tarnished!
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5. Mouses at the Ready for ‘Explosive Experiments’
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 Look out! The Horrible Science squad at Scholastic Books have come up with another hair-raising, eye-popping offer just for Planet Science readers …
This time, we have five copies of their new book ‘Explosive Experiments’, which comes with its own pack of activity cards.
Activities include the amazing anti-gravity bucket of water, moon-shrinking, worm-charming and creating your own ghost.
If you’d like to get into the draw, send an email entitled BOOM! to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk, with a note of your name and address. The draw will take place next Thursday at 5pm.
PS if you’d like to check out the rest of the Horrible Science series, here’s where they’re all listed: http://www.scholastic.co.uk/zone/book_horr-science.htm. All suitably stomach-turning!
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6. Ministry of Mayhem
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 Here is another chance to get on kid’s TV – go on, we all know you want to!
You may know ITV Saturday morning children’s show ‘MOM’ with its science slot ‘The Lab’, where the Dr. performs mind-blowing science experiments. Well, the Dr. is now getting itchy feet and wants to swap the studio for experiments and experiences in the outside world.
He can go anywhere with the aid of his time travelling wardrobe (obviously). And has recently risked life and limb in a human sized Faraday cage at the University of Brighton, being zapped by a million volts of electricity!
Anything that allows the Dr. to get hands on amazing science experiments would be brilliant! So if you have anything of interest then contact Keith Cotton on Keith@foundationtv.co.uk and we’ll try and make it happen.
If you want to have a look at The Lab, it’s on at about 11am every Saturday.
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7. What’s that on your plate? Olives – more than just a tasty pickle
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Love ‘em or hate ‘em, no decent restaurant is without its small bowl of olives before your fabulous meal. But whether  you find them a torture or a treat, nutritionist Simone Baroke gives us the lowdown on these little salty spheres:
 Olive trees are probably the world’s oldest cultivated trees. Peoples of the eastern Mediterranean region have been growing them for well over 5000 years. Among fruit trees, the olive tree is the “wise old man” – it can bear fruit for over 1000 years.
You can buy olives in lots of different shades: green, pink, purple, brown and black. Plant pigments called anthocyanins slowly turn olives from an unripe green to pitch black. Regardless of ripeness, olives fresh off the tree taste truly vile! Their unpalatability is due to oleuropein, a bitter phenolic substance, which protects the olive from disease-causing microbes. To break down the oleuropein, olives are soaked in lye (sodium hydroxide) or pickled in brine. As a result of this necessary “processing”, olives end up with a very high sodium (salt) content. Twelve large olives supply the maximum amount of sodium you should be consuming in a day. Therefore, people with high blood pressure shouldn’t overindulge.
Before we unduly sully the olive’s reputation, let’s point out a couple of its great virtues. Around 20% of the olive’s weight is oil, and it is by now well established that olive oil is profoundly beneficial for cardiovascular health. It’s also very rich in vitamin E, which protects the oil from oxidation (going rancid). Vitamin E performs the very same feat in our bodies. Its powerful antioxidant properties protect our cell membranes, which are made from lipids (fats). This antioxidant activity is believed to play an important role in cancer prevention.
For some colourful olive recipes, plus everything you’ve ever wanted to know about olives, visit this site:
http://www.olives.com/OlivesWeb/Pearls/recipes.aspx
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8. Winning Ways with Whiteboards
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 ICT guru, Roger Frost, takes you through another fab website.
This week… brilliant circuits without all the battery power.
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10. Who are the lucky winners this week?
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 The would-be sleuths with Whodunit kits are:
Pauline Sharp from the Churchill School, Hawkinge in Kent
Gina Rees-Boughton from Queen Mary's High School, Wallsall
Christine Neville from St. Margaret's Preparatory School, Calne in Wiltshire
Chris Millington from Longsands Community College, St Neots, Cambs
Dave Packham from Leigh Primary School, Tameside, Greater Manchester
And these high-flyers who successfully completed the June quiz will receive a kite, let’s hope the wind keeps up!
Julie Madden, Edenbridge, Kent
Joanne Bladen, Bolton
Matthew Henson, Epsom, Surrey
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11. Jokes of the week
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We’d like to thank Madeleine for her fab joke this week!
Q. What do chemistry teachers eat a barbeques?
A. Bunsen burgers!
And to complement a barbecue joke, here are two rain jokes!
Q. What happens when it rains cats and dogs?
A. You have to been careful not to step in a poodle.
Q. What do you call it when it rains chickens and ducks?
A. Fowl weather.
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Yep and that's all for this week, but if you have any contributions including GOOD JOKES for future newsletters please send them in to Anne McNaught on anne.mcnaught@nesta.org.uk.
Have a great week!
PS if you would like to unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time, just reply to this email with the word 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in the title.
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