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01. WIN YOURSELF A GLITTERBALL - WITH ROTATING MOTOR!
Last week, we promised you the appearance of a new Planet Science Brain Challenge, and we can confirm that it has arrived safely on the Planet Science website*. It's called the 'Southern Hemisphere Quiz' and the aim of the game is to click your way through 10 multiple choice questions and show off your knowledge of the geology, biology, ecology and many another -ology of those lands down-under. Up for grabs is a self-rotating glitterball: a fitting symbol of the sparkling scientific research being carried out at locations all around the world. Or alternatively, just a delightfully retro gadget that will sprinkle your next party with dancing disco lightbeams... Fancy your chances? Find the quiz here. NB although many people who will know the answers to the quiz may well live in Australia and New Zealand, sorry but we will only be able to post prizes UK-wide. * The Planet Science website? Yes, thanks for asking, the site has been officially nominated for the BETT 2004 Award for best Online Learning Resource this week. WHAY HEY! And talking of exciting events:  |
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| 02. ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK: THE GREAT GRAPE LIGHTSHOW Bananas may split ... Raspberries may fool ... But if you're looking for some fruity fun, our humble friend the grape has a demonstration up its sleeve that knocks spots off the opposition... So gather round the microwave, dim the lights, and get ready for a sssZZZZZZssSPARKY sensational sizzle. NB This activity is taken from 'Put Your Teacher on the Spot', the series of Channel 4 short films commissioned as part of Science Year. The videos are still available to view - and we think you'll enjoy them! Go to Sci Teach - scroll right to the bottom of the page and click through on the link. NB2 PLEASE READ ALL THE WAY THROUGH THESE INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDING THE SAFETY INFORMATION BEFORE YOU BEGIN. You will need: 1 green grape 1 table knife 1 microwave oven 1 microwave-safe plate What to do: 1. Cut the grape ALMOST in half, making sure the two halves remain connected by a tiny piece of grapeskin. 2. Place the halves of grape face down in the middle of the plate. 3. Cook the grape on full power for 40 seconds. 4. Enjoy a stunning, sparking light show! SAFETY FIRST: This activity has been safety-checked by the CLEAPS School Science, and they advise that this experiment should not be carried out at home or without the supervision of a teacher or other responsible adult. They say, "40 seconds is plenty of time for the grape to be in the microwave, but any longer can cause damage. Microwaves are not toys and should be treated with respect. If you do this experiment in the classroom, beware, once the experiment is over, you should allow the grape to cool before removing it." What's going on? The light you see is plasma, a very hot ionised gas, similar to lightning. The grape halves act as a tiny antenna, attracting the microwaves to the bit of skin left between them. This grape skin gets very hot and burns, leaving a smell of burnt sugar and causing the plasma. This can happen repeatedly, causing the flashing effect. Surely the biggest reaction you'll ever get out of one grape? (Other than peeling it and handing it to someone in the dark and telling them it's an eyeball - that's fun too.) |
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03.PHYSICS AND PRIMARY TEACHERS AWARDS Talking of super-sparky events, the Institute of Physics have been in touch to remind you about the forthcoming Teachers of Physics and Teachers of Primary Science Awards 2004. Here's what they say: "Do you know a physics teacher who is cosmically inspiring? Does he or she make physics astronomically exciting and challengingly cool? If so, why not nominate them for an Institute of Physics Teachers Award 2004? Each year, the Institute of Physics rewards the excellence of primary science and secondary physics teachers nationwide. Earlier this year four exceptional teachers from all over the country were selected to receive an award. If you know of a teacher who deserves recognition, please tell us. We are looking for teachers who inspire in their pupils a love of physics or science." Forms can be obtained from: Ms Gita Tailor, Teachers Awards 2004, Education Department, Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London, W1B 1NT. Tel: 020 7470 4800; Fax: 020 7470 4848 or e-mail: Gita.Tailor@iop.org. To see previous recipients of the awards or to download a nomination form visit: http://education.iop.org/Schools/suptstu/teachawards.html NB Entries have to reach the Institute by Friday 5 December - so if you'd like to nominate someone, there's no time to lose... |
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| 04. DNA AND PHYSICS - FREE POSTERS ON OFFER Not only do the Institute of Physics want to identify top teachers and reward them, but they want to give everyone, including YOU, a present. Namely, a free set of colourful posters featuring various aspects of th discovery of the structure of DNA. You will absolutely not need reminding that this year is the 50th anniversary of this life-changing, world-changing achievement, but while it's easy to spot the biological nature of the discovery, these posters aim to highlight the important role played by PHYSICS, both 50 years ago, and in biomedical research to this day. There are four posters in the set: - 'DNA - the beginning' - 'DNA, why you are you' - 'DNA - knowing the patient' - 'DNA - chips with everything' All four have as their theme the fact that present-day scientists are continuing to build upon the work done by Rosalind Franklin, whose brilliantly clear crystallographic images of DNA contributed so much to the discovery of DNA's structure. Half a century later, modern biomedical science is of course crucially dependent on DNA technologies - and physics continues to provide an essential underpinning for these developments. If you'd like a set of the posters, all you need to do is write to the Public Relations Department at the Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London W1B 1NT. E-mail: public.relations@iop.org. Please note, for schools the maximum order has had to be limited to three sets of posters per school. But you shouldn't need more than 3 x 4 DNA-physics posters, because otherwise you won't have room on your wall for our second exceedingly generous free offer of the day... |
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| 05. THE MARS LANDER - FREE RESOURCE PACK AVAILABLE Unless you've been hiding under a lump of moonrock for the past six months, you'll know that the ESA Mars Express is, right this moment, hurtling through space towards the Red Planet and is due to land on Christmas Day. The UK's very own on-site investigation laboratory, Beagle 2, is of course onboard the Express... so anticipation, nervousness and excitement are running high. To help us all get the most out of this historic event, PPARC, the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, have created two beautifully designed sets of free resources, and they're available right now. The first is a PPARC Pack for Schools. This contains several seriously eye-catching posters, worksheets, ideas for activities and teacher notes with sections for all age groups (9-11, 11-14, 14-16 and 16+). The pack includes a booklet on 'UK Space Activities 2003' from the British National Space Centre, which covers everything from the UK's Space Policy and weather prediction by satellite, to thorny issues like space debris and those 'Near Earth Objects' which could, er, potentially wipe out life on the entire planet... It's a fascinating guide to space science and its associated technology, and we think essential background reading for any astro-inclined 21st century citizen! To order your copy (one per teacher please) email pr.pus@pparc.ac.uk. The second offer is a web-resource which has been produced for the British national Space Centre by a group of teachers. You can check this out at http://www.bnsc.gov.uk/learningzone - just follow the Beagle 2 link. It contains several lesson plans and worksheets, with more in the pipeline... PS Would this be a good moment to remind all teachers that PPARC continue to offer a 'Moonrock Loan Scheme'? This scheme literally enables you to borrow moonrock and meteorite samples with associated resources for use in your classroom. More information can be found on the PPARC website at: http://www.pparc.ac.uk/Ed/LS/moon.asp. And - in an link Alan Partridge himself would be proud of - that brings us nicely to this week's scientific anniversary, brought to you by our out-of-this-world science reporter, Alison Begley: |
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| 06. THIS WEEK IN SCIENCE HISTORY: A ROCKY EXPERIENCE... Space is a really strange place; and even the seemingly most improbable events can happen, some of them close to home. On 30th November 1954, Mrs Hodges was taking a quiet nap on her sofa in Sylacauga, Alabama when a 3kg meteorite crashed through her roof into her living room, bounced off the radio and hit her. She was lucky and was only left with bruises. Her heart was clearly strong enough to cope with the shock! Meteors form from the rocky debris left in space by passing comets and are pulled in by the Earth's gravity. Most meteors burn up long before they hit the ground, but occasionally they make it all the way, and when they do they become known as 'meteorites'. A surprisingly large number of meteorites hit the Earth every year, over 3300, most landing in the ocean or in deserts. Of these, only about 10 are found after landing, and only half a dozen are ever observed hitting the ground in any year. So seeing one is rare, but being hit by one is utterly amazing. Clearly it does happen though. Mrs Hodges's case was the first ever recorded collision between a person and a meteorite, but more recently in 1992 a 13 year old boy in Uganda was hit on the head by a 3 gram meteorite. Luckily for him he was underneath a banana tree at the time and the leaves slowed the meteorite's approach, as a meteorite that small would otherwise have been travelling at the speed of a bullet. A meteorite hitting you, or me, is so unlikely it is almost impossible to put assign a mathematical probability to it. But in space, you never know what's round the next corner... If you want to see Mrs Hodges' famous meteorite go to this site: http://amnh.ua.edu/collections.html#hodges And to find out more about space - follow these links to tell you more: http://sycd.co.uk/is_there_life/explore/web_links.htm |
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| 07. THE ALTERNATIVE DECEMBER COUNTDOWN Back on Earth, and it's that time of year again. When people start talking about how many shopping days are left, how many non-weekend days they get off work this year, and what the chances of snow are... (Also this year of course, exactly what time will the Mars Express land? How definite is that? And might it create a scheduling conflict with the Queen's Speech?) You know what we're talking about: the Christmas season. It's on its way alright, like a mince-pie shaped meteor heading for Mrs Hodges' house... To help you countdown to the festivities, Wildwalk-At-Bristol have created an 'alternative' online advent calendar for old and young. Particularly aimed at plant and animal enthusiasts, Wildwalk's Christmas calendar launches on 1st December (Tuesday). Every day visitors to the calendar will be able to open a new window, revealing information and an image of a plant or animal that's traditionally associated with Christmas. Rest assured, that doesn't mean it's all about turkeys. Featured animals range from angel sharks to fairy penguins, elf owls to Christmas tree worms - you'll be amazed at the variety of wildlife linked to the festive season. Here's the link: http://www.at-bristol.org.uk/wildwalk/advent. (But it's no use peeking - no windows can be opened until the 1st.) PS You can also send it as an e-card to your mates and share the love! |
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| 08. RECOMMENDED WEBSITES OF THE WEEK This week's RWW has been brought to our attention by Becky Hodson, a teacher and Planet Science Newsletter reader. The site she would like you know to know about is: ENERGY SOURCES at http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg The site is aimed at KS3 pupils and has pages devoted to a wide range of energy sources from fossil fuel and nuclear energy, to solar, wind, tidal, hydro and geothermal power. In each case, an explanation is given for how this energy source works, its advantages and disadvantages, and other useful information. The site is easy to navigate and, according to Becky, it's particularly great for teachers. She says: "I love using this web site for energy sources because the pupils have a worksheet (provided on the site) to complete and also have to fill in missing words online that are then marked for them. I spend the lesson checking everyone's got 100% and initialling it before they go onto the next section. Everyone is very motivated by it and gets loads of useful information in a table at the end." Thanks very much Becky - and please note we would love to hear other people's web recommendations, so keep them coming! Send any ideas to the email address given right at the end of this newsletter. |
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| 09. JOKES OF THE WEEK To infinity and beyond! A few astro-jokes this week. Q. Why don't astronauts get hungry after being blasted into space? A. Because they've just had a big launch. Q. Where do astronauts leave their spaceships? A. At parking meteors. Q. Why don't astronauts keep their jobs very long? A. Because not long after they start they get fired. (Owch - sorry sorry sorry.) And on that bedraggled note, we must end this newsletter. If you have any GOOD jokes, or any other contributions for future newsletters, please send an email to Anne McNaught at: anne@planet-science.com . Meet you back here same time next Friday. Have a great week! |
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