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01. PHYSICS CAPTION COMPETITION
Every time we've launched a Planet Science comedy-creativity challenge, we've been inundated with entries. Some good, some garbled, and some groan-inducing - but all imaginative and delivered with tremendous panash! So we think you'll enjoy flexing your grey matter in response to the following competition. (It's for science teachers in particular - but you can have fun taking part in private even if you're not a teacher.) Here's the story: Kerry Parker, the Editor of Physics Education, has arranged for Planet Science to host a caption competition for witty and scientific teachers to enter. The captions are to accompany drawings by the talented Slovenian artist and scientist Gorazd Planinsic. You'll enjoy their elegant style and sciencey slant even if you can't think of a single funny thing to write - and it'll certainly require some pencil-chewing/head-scratching to come up with a caption to beat the rest... Have a look at them here: http://www.planet-science.com/sciteach/index.html?page=/sciteach/caption_comp/index.html (it's the first item there under the big graphic in the middle!) If you CAN think of a great caption or two, get typing and you could win a copy of the utterly sumptuous book, 'The Science of Imaging' by Graham Saxby. What's more, your entry will be published in 'Physics Education' magazine. All the competition details are there on the web page above. "HEY NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL TERMINAL VELOCITY, MATRON!" (woops, just practising the old caption-composing - very addictive) Good luck!  |
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| 02. SCIENCE CAREERS RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS Yes more for teachers. If you're a Year 8 or 9 form teacher (or Scottish equivalent) and you have responsibility for tackling the subject of careers information and advice in PHSE then you might like to look at some new resources we've just posted up on the Planet Science website. As you'll know if you're familiar with the PS website, we have collated a hoard of information from real-life scientists working all over the world in amazing science-related jobs ranging from oceanography, to ballistics, environmental protection, science journalism and forensics. All the scientists are 'role model' types - ie young or young at heart and are full of enthusiasm for their subject. Our feeling is that young people can't aim for careers they've never even heard of, but the Meet Your Match database might give them some ideas. These resources have been devised to help you, as their teacher, to help your students think about what and who motivates them, what they really want from a career, and the kind of pathway they could follow to get where they want to be. Although it's based on our profiles of scientists, what the students will have to think about doesn't just apply to those of a scientific persuasion. There's a version for students with web access and a version with all the information on the sheets - and they're all in glorious (well, photocopyable) black and white. The pdfs of the sheets are all at http:www.planet/science.com/nextsteps/PHSE/ Have a look and let us know what you think! All emails should be sent to katie.walsh@nesta.org.uk. |
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| 03. GET A DNA-50 CD-ROM FREE THIS WEEKEND Here's an offer that should get you bounding out of bed on Sunday morning (even if it's just to run to the newsagent in your slippers before diving straight back under the duvet again!) As you'll be aware, 2003 marks the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA, and no need to remind you either that the past five decades have seen both our knowledge of genetics and the discipline of 'biotechnology' rocket into orbit to the point where there are new developments being announced virtually week to week now. Not least because DNA-related advances will affect our future in many, many ways over the coming years, there's been much effort during 'DNA-50' to try and communicate to the general public some of the science and technology involved, so that everyone can have at least a basic understanding of concepts such as genetics, cloning, GM food and 'gene therapy'. And so to those free CD-Roms: The Bioscience Unit of the Department of Trade and Industry have been working with a range of UK organisations involved in research, policy and public communication of science to produce a set of two CD-Roms called 'Window on Life'. These will be given away with the Sunday Times on 16th and 23rd November. And you should derfinitely have one of each. They may be free (for the price of a newspaper) but they're the result of months of toil, creativity, knowledge and hard work has gone into the production of the CD-Roms, and the reason they're not charging is because the idea is to share the knowledge as widely as possible. There are two of them, and here's the information about them: 1. MY LIFE Where do we come from? How did we evolve? What sets us apart from other species? Join Britain's finest scientific minds on an interactive tour of human life, travelling to the very core of existence and the cutting edge of genetic research. 2. MY WORLD Why clone a sheep? Should we clone humans? Can gene therapy cure Alzheimer's disease? See how advances in genetic research affect the world we live in, and learn about the ethical issues that high-tech science raises. With over 260 pages and more than two hours of video and interactive media, activities and animations, this CD will help you understand the most pressing issues facing our species as we forge ahead in the 21st century. Both are PC- and Mac-compatible, and there's an accompanying website which goes live on Sunday too at: http://www.windowonlife.org |
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| 04. ... ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK: FOX YOUR FRIENDS WITH SURFACE TENSION! This week's activity allows you to challenge your loved ones with a simple but simply baffling challenge - baffling if you don't remember what they taught you in school about surface tension, that is... You will need: A glass or jam-jar with a wide top (a pint glass or something slightly bigger would be ideal) A piece of cork Water A teaspoon What to do (NB read the whole of these instructions before embarking!) 1. Fill the glass up to the top with water* (just fill it from the tap in a casual way - see Step 4 for insider info on this bit.) 2. Float the cork on it. The cork will eventually stop moving about and park itself at the side of the glass. 3. Now challenge your friends to get the cork to settle in the middle of the glass. No hands allowed. Yes, they can blow the cork, but the cork has to come to rest in the middle - if it sneaks back off to the side after a moment that doesn't count. 4. Time for you to show how it's done. You're now going to fill the glass up ABOVE the top of the glass. Your secret assistant, surface tension, will enable you to do this. Using the teaspoon, carefully add more water, one spoon at a time. 5. Eventually the cork will move to the centre and sit there... 6. Take your applause. Your choice now is to be mysterious and not explain a thing, or be scientrific and spread the good word... Your call! What's happening: Surface tension lets the bulge upwards over the level of the top of the glass, rather than spilling. The cork is bouyant, so will float to the highest level it can find - ie. right at the top of the curve, in the middle. |
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| 05. MOUSES AT THE READY: EUREKA! If you're in or around the Halifax area, here's a chance to win a free family pass to the Eureka science centre... If you've not been before, Eureka is a highly interactive science venue - perfect for both kids of all ages AND their ever-loving parents. There are over 400 permanent displays and things-to-do in the centre, and a bustling programme of special events throughout the year. This month the specialist subject under the microscope - or should that be microphone? - is music. Visitors are invited to explore the science of sound and rhythm though a series of interactive Saturday workshops in which they can transform their most expert booming, banging and swishing into drum and percussion rhythms native of South America. (If that sounds slightly too loud for you, there's no doubt a table in the café with your name on it at which you can wait on the others!) Elsewhere in the centre, you'll find areas devoted to the human body, technology and invention, 21st Century work and lifestyle, and a tour through the wonderful world of international gardens and plants. Fancy a free family pass? If so, all you need to do is send an email to anne@planet-science.com with the words EUREKA - I'VE GOT IT! in the title, and a note of your name and address. The draw will be made next Thursday. |
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| 06. THIS WEEK IN SCIENCE HISTORY: PLAY IT AGAIN, MR EDISON In this week in 1877, an announcement appeared in the magazine 'Scientific American' announcing Thomas Edison's invention of the phonograph - the first device capable of recording and playing back sound. Edison's phonograph was a really a clever bit of lateral thinking related to the recently-invented telephone, but it's so much simpler it's hard to imagine now why no-one had come up with it earlier! Edison attached a needle to the diaphragm from the mouthpiece of his telephone. When someone spoke into it, the diaphragm vibrated and the vibrations made the needle move and make indentations in a piece of paper on a rotating drum. Imagine those DIY telephones you can make with two yoghurt pots and a piece of string... (see newsletter 54 for full instructions!) Anyway, Edison's 'microphone' worked just like the yoghurt pot you talk into, which vibrates and transfers the vibrations to the string. He then took a second needle attached to a speaker. And when he dragged it over the indentations made by the first needle, the sound of the person speaking was reproduced. This is just like the string of the toy telephones which makes the second yoghurt pot vibrate, giving the sound. Edison experimented with different materials, starting with paper but settling for tinfoil which brilliantly reproduced his first recorded message, the famous 'Mary had a little lamb'. Its only drawback was that it lasted for just a few plays before the tinfoil ripped. Edison's phonograph was of course eventually replaced by vinyl records, which work in the same way, but last much, much longer. Today sound is usually recorded and replayed digitally, with lasers and electronics being used rather than cranks and needles. But although the quality and durability of the recordings has improved over the decades, the principle is the same. (Though some of today's music would probably blow Edison's socks off, whatever way it was recorded!) Want to hear what Edison sounded like? This is thought to be the earliest recording of his voice: http://www.nps.gov/edis/audio/EDIS-SRP-0155-06.mp3 Instructions of how to build your own phonograph can be found at: http://www27.brinkster.com/phonozoic/a0118.htm. ... but if you have a record player and an old record (you don't mind destroying) try sticking a needle through the bottom of an old yoghurt pot and hold it lightly at the rim, while spinning your disc on the turntable... Let the needle trail along the grooves of the record as it revolves and you should hear the sound. Check out: http://www27.brinkster.com/phonozoic/a0118.htm And we say thank you for the music, Mr Edison! |
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| 07. RECOMMENDED WEBSITE OF THE WEEK If you're tired of food, you're tired of life, isn't that what they say? Here are two great sites to help you get the most out of your food, both nutritionally and in terms of education value too. First of all, you can't beat the BRITISH NUTRITION FOUNDATION'S site at http://www.nutrition.org.uk. It's not the most colourful website in the world, but it's well organised and is crammed with information and resources ranging from recipes, to careers advice and an online survey for parents about packed lunched. Whether you're a teacher or not, check out the Education section for downloadable posters, experiment instructions, recipes and all sorts of other resources about food and healthy eating, including flashcards and PowerPoint presentations. And also on the subject of healthy eating, here's an American site which you might enjoy. It's called FOODFIT, and it can be found at: http://www.foodfit.com/About/about.asp It's more upbeat than the BNF site, and ok there's quite a bit more on the subject of weight control, plus one or two optional extras they'd like you to pay for (and a number references to Thanksgiving and okra etc). But, like the other site, they too want to help you and your family to be food-smart and healthy, and skillful cooks too. Have a look - the free newsletter's very enjoyable too - lots of ideas. So tuck right in! |
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| 08. JOKE OF THE WEEK Two psychiatrists meet at a professional seminar. They both do a double-take as they realise they trained together, many years previously. But while one has remained incredibly youthful, the other looks like an old man... "I don't know, Mike," says the elderly looking one, "Listening to people's problems day in, day out. It's put ten years on me..." His former classmate is confused. "Who listens?" And that's it. Thank you for flying Planet Science today - we hope you've enjoyed your flight with us today and we wish you a pleasant onward journey! If you have any news, activities, events or jokes for forthcoming newsletters, please send them to Anne McNaught on anne@planet-science.com. Have a great week. |
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