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01. WHODUNIT - HAVE YOU SOLVED IT YET?
 Just a quick reminder that if you or your class are taking part in the Planet Science Whodunit, the closing date for submitting your results is Tuesday 24th June. You can still have lots of fun with the investigations even if you don't make this deadline, but there's is a huge benefit of getting the name of the culprit to us in time, namely PRIZES! Loads of them, including PCs, microscopes, science equipment, PDAs, books and funky personal organisers... check them all out on the official Whodunit website So if you think you know 'Who Done It', and fancy getting your hands on some of those goodies, submit your answer online by close of play on Tuesday 24th June. Just go to the website and click where it says INFORMATION. Then click on 'Submit Results' on the right and off you go (make sure you have your password to hand - you'll need it). And if by any chance your computer blows up just as you're inputting the name of the culprit, remember you can always call the Whodunit Hotline on 0808 800 4000 and they can do the data-entry for you. Good luck.  |
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02. NEW QUIZ AHOY - WIN A DIVERS' WATCH! How deep is your love? Your love of QUIZZES that is? We have been inundated with entries for the Height Quiz, and the winners of the three Giant Sequoia Growing Kits and ready grown sequoia saplings will be announced shortly. In the meantime, the second of our set of 3-dimensional challenges is now ready for you. It's called the DEPTH QUIZ and this time all the questions concern matters of 'deep importance'. The prizes up for grabs are three Casio divers watches - model MD300-7. You'll find the quiz here. |
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03. ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK: MEASURING WIND SPEED This week an activity taken from our extended Science Club Activity Pack. Here's how to make an anemometer and check the windspeed out there. All you need are a few household bits and pieces... What you need: • 5 plastic disposable drinking cups • 3 plastic drinking straws • Sticky tape • A wooden skewer • Coloured tape or a marker • Scissors What to do: a. Take 4 plastic cups and make a small hole in the side of each cup about 1/3 of the way down from the top. (Don't worry if the plastic splits a little, just tape up the crack with some sticky tape.). b. Take a straw and push one end of it through the cup's hole. Make sure 2cm of the straw sticks out into the inside of the cup. c. Bend this 2cm end of the straw over and tape it to the inside of the cup. d. Repeat with the second cup and straw e. You should end up with two cups with straws sticking out of them horizontally and two spare cups still with holes in the side. f. Take the 5th cup and make four small holes about 1/3 of the way down at equal distances around the cup. g. Take one of the cups with a straw attached and thread the free end of the straw through two opposite holes on the 5th cup, so that the straw goes all the way through the cup and the free end of the straw end sticks out of the far side. h. Close this off by attaching one of the spare cups to the free end of the straw, again through its hole. Make sure the open end of the cup faces the opposite way to the first cup. i. Repeat steps g and h with the remaining cups. j. With the fifth cup standing normally on a table, you should now have the four cups arranged in a circle around the top of the fifth cup, suspended on the straws and with all the open ends facing in the same direction (ie. so they'll all catch the wind in the same direction as they turn). k. Pierce the centre of the bottom of the fifth cup with the wooden skewer. l. Push the skewer up into the cup and straight through the point where both straws cross over, thereby pinning them together. Cover the sharp point of the skewer with a small blob of modelling clay. m. Take the final straw and slide it over the part of the skewer that sticks out under the cup. n. Mark one of the cups with coloured tape or marker. o. You can now test your anemometer! How to use the it: Hold your anemometer by the straw surrounding the skewer at the bottom. You can hold it either vertically or horizontally and if you blow at it, it will spin around. Take it outside to see what happens in the wind. Count how many times it spins around in 30 seconds by watching the marked cup. Does it make a difference how you hold it? To work out how fast the wind is going, you will need to calibrate your anemometer. You can then compare the speed given to the number of times your anemometer spins, and make a chart relating the two. |
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04. FOCUS MAGAZINE - OFFER AND FREEBIES If you're a fan of 'Focus' magazine, the popular monthly science and technology publication, hurry hurry hurry to get yourself into our free prize draw to win one of two free year-long subscriptions. Not familiar with Focus? Then check it out at a newsagent's near you soon. It's great. As they say themselves, it's "packed with accessible and jargon-free features that explain scientific issues in plain English. With more great features planned over the coming year, including free pull-out posters covering topics such as ancient Egypt and the universe, we believe Focus is the essential learning partner for everyone interested in science and discovery." Certainly it's a favourite browse in the Planet Science office as it's full of interesting stuff and lovely colour pictures, this month including the mathematical beauty of bubble-blowing, global 'catastrophism' explained, and a very enjoyable 'A-Z of world mysteries' ... So: fancy a nice glossy copy of Focus arriving on your doormat every month? Yes? Then send an email asap to anne@planet-science.com with I'M FEELING FOCUSED! in the subject field, and note of your name and address. Even if you don't win a free subscription, there's a deal on offer, courtesy of Planet Science's Creative Classrooms Campaign. You can save over £7.00 and receive a copy of the bestselling 'The Molecule Hunt' by Martin Jones if you subscribe by Direct Debit, £7.99 each quarter. Or, get 14 issues for the price of 12, at just £35.40, a great saving of 72p every issue. |
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05. SCIENCE BEHIND THE NEWS: HAYFEVER HORROR There are more people in misery with hayfever than ever this year - as you'll no doubt know from your own experience, or from listening to the sneezes of others... Science Line have been investigating why this is the case, and you can read what they've discovered here. |
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06. RECOMMENDED WEBSITES OF THE WEEK This week, an amazing technicoloured dreamcoat of a site for Primary teachers of 9-11 year olds, and an online experiment that demonstrates some of the inner workings of your brain (and has been known to drive people slightly potty if repeated too many times without a cup of tea to break things up... So get the kettle on!) First of all, CHILDREN EXPLORING COLOUR AND INDUSTRY. This is a site that's been created by the Chemical Industry Education Centre (CIEC) at the University of York to introduce children to the wonderful world of colour and the colour industry. A set of 26 activities sheets have been devised for teachers, all of which link in with the National Curriculum - and not just the Art curriculum either, but Science, Mathematics, History, English, Geography and Design & Technology. Practical activities include making your own powder paints, trying to create matching colours, colouring Play Dough in a uniform way, and creating and making 'cave' paintings from natural ingredients, and all relate to teaching points about how dyes and pigments are made and applied. If you want to develop your pupils' skills as future captains of industry, there are also activities that simulate how to be the manager of a colour factory or the project manager on import and distribution issues... Great fun and very interesting, even if you’re way beyond the designated age range! Secondly? Have you heard of the ‘Stroop’ effect? It’s a favourite with psychologists and psychology students, and we’ve found an online version which provides a really easy way to boggle your brain and learn a bit about how it works. Probably the less said about what you have to do the better, as it does explain it all on the site… Here you are: INTERACTIVE STROOP EFFECT EXPERIMENT |
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07. JOKE OF THE WEEK Many thanks to Kathy Westhead who’s emailed this week with a few things to make you smile. She says, "These are not jokes as such, but genuine comments made recently on TV (or in the Radio/TV Times) that just struck me as so unscientific as to be funny. Maybe other people will like them too.” Talking about a Shakespeare play, possibly As You Like It: " .... Viola and her identical twin brother ..." In a football match " .... the top left-hand corner of the ball. " Near the end of Le Mans this weekend " .... and the sun has been shining for the whole of the 24 hours." Fantastic! Any more anyone?! And finally, a ‘real’ joke from Sophie Robinson (aged 8) from Yarm. Sherlock Holmes and Dr.Watson are walking past a bush covered in lead, copper , silver, gold and lots of other chemicals. ”What is this?” says Dr. Watson. Holmes replies "It's an element tree my dear Watson" Sophie – we’re sending you a mini-backpack picnic hamper and we hope you have a lovely summer holiday. Thank you very much! |
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| 08. AOB That’s all for this week… Please send any news, suggested activities, favourite websites or jokes for future newsletters through to Anne McNaught on anne@planet-science.com Meanwhile: have a great week! |
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