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1. Aquapharm Activities!
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 Have you visited Aquapharm in our Next Steps section? Well, the section on this NESTA awardee is still growing! New on the site is our first activity, about that all too common biofilm, PLAQUE! (pdf file) What is it? Why does it form? And how do you get rid of it?
Designed for KS4, the activity comes with its own worksheet so it’s all ready to go! With all the health and safety checks in place you have no excuse not to get your toothbrushes out and start reducing your plaque build up today!
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2. Science, Society and Sims - The future of science education
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If you are reading this then you know that scientific knowledge is critical, but how should science be taught? This two-day conference running from 2–3 November in Coventry addresses not only how it should be taught but also who is best placed to determine this and what role should technology play.
This conference is for you if you are…
…in the scientific community or in a science centre
…in technology, software or creative industries
…a teacher, educational specialist or academic
…an education policy maker or opinion former
Pretty much everyone!
For more information or to book your place, go to www.nestafuturelab.org/events or contact NESTA Futurelab on 0117 915 8200 or e-mail events@nestafuturelab.org.
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3. Activity: Put that Fizzy Drink Down!
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 Love the weekly activity? Have you tried Planet Science’s Little Book of Experiments? Here’s a taster of what you’ll find inside and the best bit is the experiments are curriculum linked! In fact we’ve recently updated the Little Book with 31 more experiments, and gone to town to make sure wherever you are in the UK you can search them by curriculum theme or age group.
As if you needed it after all the press, here is another reason not to have too many sugary fizzy drinks…
You will need:
- Some egg-shells
- Some glasses
- A selection of soft-drinks (cola, squash, juice, water)
What to do:
- Hang a few bits of eggshell from a thread, and suspend them in each glass.
- Fill one glass with cola.
- Fill the other glasses with squash, juice, water and whatever else you have decided to test.
- Leave them for a week and then remove the eggshell fragments for comparison.
- The cola-shell will be soft to the touch, the squash and juice may also be soft (although not necessarily as much) and the water ones should be undamaged.
What’s going on:
Certain drinks, like cola, are acidic. The eggshell is mostly made of calcium carbonate, which reacts with the acid to damage the eggshell.
Now for the ‘yuk’ bit – the experiment would have the same effect if you used human teeth instead of eggshells as calcium is the major ingredient in the enamel of your teeth. Sugar also "feeds" the bacteria in your mouth and these produce acids that damage your teeth, causing problems like cavities.
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4. Virtual Reality – Really!
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 Virtual reality may be more popular as a game, but it may soon make an appearance in education. The University College London is carrying out a study to find out how children learn in a virtual environment. And they are looking for volunteers…
This final phase is taking place between 4-14 November, and they are looking for parents of children between the ages of 9 and 11 years old. Designed to be fun, your child will have a great time in their virtual playground and help with the research by carrying out some tasks and then giving the researchers feedback.
For more information about what the tasks involve, who to contact and how to take part, visit their website:
http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/M.Roussou/research/
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5. Colour Chaos! - National Science Week Challenge Pack Available
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In anticipation of National Science Week 2006, which will run from the 10–19 March, the BA (The British Association for the Advancement of Science) have put together a brand new challenge pack called “Colour Chaos!” to spark people’s scientific imaginations.
The pack contains a collection of brilliant hands-on activities based upon the theme of colour in science. So if you want to learn how you can use a cabbage as magic ink, would like to find out how caterpillars utilise colour to avoid being eaten, or are even just looking for a bit of inspiration for a National Science Week activity, then check out Colour Chaos and the National Science Week Website!
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6. Mouses at the Ready for: Big Teeth!
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 As any dentist will tell you, teeth can be fiddly! So how can you cover teeth and oral health in class if you can’t get a good look at the subject?
Thanks to the fab generosity of the people at Philip Harris we have a Dental Care Model to give away this week! This is a two and a half size model of teeth and it comes complete with tongue and scaled-up toothbrush too!
To get into the draw send your name and address in an email to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk, put “Say, Cheese!” in the subject heading. The winner will be picked at random from the entries next Thursday, October 13th.
Philip Harris, http://www.philipharris.co.uk, is the largest supplier of science teaching resources in the UK. Browse their catalogue to see this and what else they have to offer! Call 0845 120 4520 or email info@philipharris.co.uk.
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7. Mouses at the Ready for: Physics and Magic – A Journey Beyond E=mc
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 Magician Tony Drewitt and physicist Dr Sharon Ann Holgate, of Meet Your Match fame, will be exploring the links between magic and science on Sunday 16 October, 11am and 3pm, at The Jewish Museum, Camden Town, London. They’ll be using illusions to explain some of Einstein's grandest ideas in a one-hour family programme.
They’ve kindly donated a family set of tickets, two adults and two children, for the 3pm show to Planet Science readers! To win the set you’ll need to send an email to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk with your name and address. Put “Magic” as the subject, and the winner will be picked at random on Thursday 13th October at 5pm.
If you haven’t been lucky you can book yourself a place by calling 020 7284 1997. There is a minimum age of 5 years. For more info, ticket prices and venue details have a look here.
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8. E-Numbers – The good, the bad and the beautiful
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Nutritionist Simone Baroke is back with all that is colourful in our food. If you’ve been avoiding food with added colours, maybe it is time to brighten things up!
Colourings
 Of all the E-numbers that abound, food colourings are probably the most controversial. Around 50 are permitted in the UK, ranging from E100-E180. Some might argue that food colours are utterly superfluous, but the simple fact is: we just don’t like pallid food. Many colouring agents are of natural origin and entirely innocuous, such as E100, a rich yellowy-orange extract made from curcumin, the turmeric plant. Turmeric powder is a spice added to curries, and you’ll know from accidental spillages just how hard it is to get those stains out. E100 is commonly used to brighten up cheese, margarine and fish fingers.
 E101 is equally wholesome, also known as riboflavin or vitamin B2, and used as a yellow colourant in sauces, soups and jams. E160-E161 encompass many types of carotenoids; yellow, orange and red pigments found in fruit and vegetables. E162 is made from beetroot, and E140 from chlorophyll. However, allergic reactions to natural food colours can occur, for example, to E120 (cochineal), a deep red colour made from crushed cactus beetles (Dactylopius coccus). It takes around 70,000 female insects to make one pound of colour. Cochineal is used in alcoholic beverages, some cheddar cheese varieties, pie fillings, sweets etc.
Popular concern about food colourings tends to be centred around “azo dyes”, a group of synthetic colours made from a by-product of coal distillation. E102, tartrazine, is probably the best known. Azo dyes may cause allergy-type reactions in sensitive people, including some asthmatics.
 A recent and ongoing food scare involves the azo-dye Sudan I, banned for use in foods, which was illegally added to several batches of chilli powder imported from India. The contaminated consignment found its way into a vast number of popular foods, including cooking sauces, ready meals, condiments and spice mixes.
Here is a list of affected products from the UK Foods Standards Agency.
Most likely, you’ll find a stash of blacklisted products festering at the back of your kitchen cupboard. But even though Sudan I is considered carcinogenic (cancer-causing), you’d have to eat a lot of it over a prolonged time period to run any real risk.
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11. The Winners’ Enclosure
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 The ten lucky people winning copies of the latest Flipside Magazine are…
Anne Johnson, Dunstable
Robert Shaw, Blackpool
Mark Camm, Lincoln
Anne Brown, Swanage
Andrea Goetzee, Nottingham
Sophie Woollhead, Bromsgrove
Christopher Davis, Cardiff
Maggie Nock, Wolverhampton
Jay Airey, Birmingham
Ning Yu, London
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 And the ten people who are adding to their Flipside collection are…
Ollie Izzard, Manchester
Pauline Patterson, Fareham
Jean O'Brien, Brighton
Jeanette Faulkner, Fareham
Carol Jackson, Barnoldswick
Barbara Shaw, Blackpool
Andy Rees, Deeside
Clare Maltby-Wehner, Hinckley
Chris Millington, Cambridge
Joseph Krogule, Nottingham
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12. Joke of the week
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Thanks goes to Simon for our joke this week…
Tommy was off to do his paper round and went outside. A couple of minutes later he came back in the house.
“I've got a flat tyre,” he said, “I will have to walk now, cuz it will take ages to mend.”
His brother Joe went and had a look, he came back in laughing.
“What’s the matter Joe?” asked Tommy
Joe turned and said, “THE IDIOT! His tyre isn’t too bad, it’s only flat at the bottom.”
And thanks to everyone for sending in jokes – keep them coming please!
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And here we are at the end again! Thanks for reading and if you have any contributions to make, ideas for events, activities or jokes please email us at planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk
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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ICT guru Roger Frost has come up with another way to make waves in your class by using your interactive whiteboard!
Magic Box