|
 |
 |
||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
01. WHODUNIT CAST-LIST
 Last week we revealed the Planet Science Whodunit - a hands-on forensic investigation for school groups, with a free evidence kit and teachers' handbook available for the first 30,000 eligible groups who register. The case opens on 12th May, and no details can be revealed yet as to what the heinous crime is... or what the clues are. However we CAN now reveal the names of the celebrities who have agreed to be involved. And they're a very groovy bunch too – prepare to be wowed! In alphabetical order, the stars taking part in the Whodunit are: • James Beattie • Blazin' Squad • Busted • Ms Dynamite • S Club • Zach Shaw James Beattie is of course an up and coming England footballer, and Zach Shaw is a world class BMX dude - both very cool for cats. As for Blazin' Squad, Busted, Ms Dynamite and S Club, they're four of the biggest names in the UK music charts, rarely out of the teen mags, and kids LOVE 'em! Just ask any under-18 year old. (And then sneak off to the newsagent for a copy of Smash Hits to do a spot of undercover homework...) Want to read more about the event, and register your class? Click through to http://www.planet-science.com/whodunit for full details and an online registration.  |
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
02. FREE EARTH SCIENCE INSETs FOR SCHOOLS  More news for teachers in the England area… The Earth Science Education Unit has been in touch to let you know about their free INSET programme. Basically, they’re taking bookings right now for members of their team to come out to schools and provide hands-on activities, and other support in the form of advice, ideas and resources for the teaching of National Curriculum earth science at KS3/4. All they ask is that you pay their petrol costs… You can make bookings on the EARTH SCIENCE EDUCATION website and even if you don’t need an INSET course for some reason you’ll find they’ve got loads of other printable resources on their site which might come in handy. Even if you’re not a teacher. We like: Spot That Rock: rock interpretation for beginners. (Which can of course be enhanced by a quick trip to the corner shop to buy chocolate bars such are Aero, Milky Ways, Dairy Milk, Crunchie etc to illustrate the similarities in composition – see ‘Choccy Rocks’ section in the printed version of the Little Book of Experiments. Always a winner!) |
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
03. ACTIVITIES OF THE WEEK – DO OUR EYES DECEIVE US? No nails required – this activity is really about how your brain sees the world… You will need:
What to do:
Now try these two experiments… HOLE IN THE HAND Take the first, thicker, tube that you made from the full sheet of paper and put it up to your right eye. Keep both eyes open. Place your left hand against the side of the tube so that you can see the palm of your hand. Move your left hand backwards and forwards and, keeping the tube against your right eye, move the tube up and down. One of your eyes sees a hole… and the other sees a hand. And when your brain combines these images, you get a hole in your hand. Thankyouverymuchladiesandgentlemen…! Now let’s try another one… we call it: THROUGH A TUBE DARKLY Take the first, thicker tube you made, and put it up to your right eye. Keep both eyes open. Look at the wall. Notice that the bit of the wall that you see through the tube is lighter than the rest of the wall. Try the same thing with the thinner tube you made out of a strip of paper. This time the wall looks darker through your left eye… What’s going on? When light receptors in your eyes receive light, they send a signal to your brain. The receptor also sends signals to other receptors, telling them to turn down their sensitivity to light. When you look through the tube made from a full sheet of paper, the spot appears brighter. This is because the receptors here are not turned down as the thick tube creates a surrounding dark ring so no signals are sent. When you look through the thin walled tube, the spot appears darker. This is because light comes through the sides of the tube, causing the receptors at the centre of your view to be turned down. This is known as LATERAL INHIBITION. You can read more about this and have a look at some more optical illusions at the following site: TRICKS OF THE EYE, WISDOM OF THE BRAIN. |
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
04. SCIENCE BEHIND THE NEWS This week, Science Line have been investigating the science and technology involved in the computer simulation of Oscar-winning crowd scenes – generated by means of computer graphics… and a few hundred cotton buds. Read all about it here: http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/slup/CuttingEdge/Mar03/effects.html |
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
| 05. RECOMMENDED WEBSITES OF THE WEEK Spring has sprung, and it’s time to get your green fingers out… If you’ve got young children you’re trying to introduce to the wonderful world of gardening, and enforced listening to Gardeners Question Time hasn’t quite done the trick, check out... KINDER GARDEN http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/kindergarden/kinder.htm  This is a colourful site with lots of ideas for creating children’s gardens, activities for kids and tips for getting young people interested in the green world (eg. “Instant gratification helps a lot. Plant radishes even if you don't like them - they come up in three or four days.”) For anyone a bit older, check out... GARDEN ADVICE http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk  This is a very well-laid out site (those head gardeners know what they’re doing) with information and advice on all aspects of plant-growing from houseplants, or organic gardening to lawns, trees and kids’ activities. And finally HOW STUFF WORKS http://science.howstuffworks.com/grass.htm  If it’s the green, green (or patchy, weedy) grass of home you’re concerned about, How Stuff Works has advice for you... |
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
06. OBSCURE SCIENCE POETRY Newsletter reader Jonathan Forgham has been in touch to throw down the gauntlet of obscure science poetry... The example he’s sent in was, he says, penned by Fernando Pessoa, Portugeuse alcoholic metaphysical poet, writing in the 1920's-1930's. He had four different persona, this one under the name of Alvaro de Campos. Here it is: Newton's Binomial Theory Newton's binomial theory is as beautiful as the Venus of Milo, The fact is, precious few people care O!O!O!O!---O!O!O!O!O!O! O!O!O!--- O!O!O!O!O!O!O! O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O! (The wind out there) Reckon you can do better? If you have an obscure poem up your sleeve, send it in to us (email anne@planet-science.com) - a suitably obscure prize will be awarded to the best entry. Criteria include: obscureness, science-relatedness, brevity, punchiness and ‘sparkle’. Jonathan will be the overall judge, as it was his idea and someone’s got to suffer, er, enjoy the privilege! Thanks Jonathan! |
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
07. JOKE OF THE WEEK Following last week’s rib-ticklers, Ewen McLaughlin has been in touch with two one-liners for anyone employed in the hospitality industry: - Will my burger be long? - No, it’ll be round And - ‘How much is a pint?' - '568 ml' OK, but that’s enough humour. Instead, let’s have a JOKE OF THE WEEK. An old lady goes into a department store to buy some wool. “I want to knit a coat for my dog,” she tells the assistant. “How big is he?” the assistant asks her. The old lady has great trouble deciding on the size… “Perhaps you could bring him in,” suggests the assistant. “Oh dear me, no!” she exclaims, “I want it to be a surprise!” Awwwww. By the way: - What do you get if you lie under a cow? - A pat on the head. |
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
| 08. AOB That’s all for this week. Please send any items for future editions of the newsletter to Anne McNaught on anne@planet-science.com The store is now closing, would all customers make their way to the check-out desks… And have a good week. |
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||
