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01. NEW PLANET SCIENCE QUIZ
Fancy giving your neurons a workout? The second new quiz of the year has just been zapped up to the Planet Science website, and this one's dedicated to the month of February. February, coming of course from the Latin word "februare" meaning "to purify". Great feasts took place in ancient times during this period, purification and feasting apparently not incompatible in those days! Anyway, the quiz is devoted to all matters related to distilling, filtering and purifying - and you stand to win a popular purveyor of filteredness: a personal desktop coffee machine. Fancy a go? You'll find it here.  |
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| 02. LOOK OUT - THERE'S A LOAD OF GRILLERS ON THE LOOSE In addition to the quiz, this week sees the launch (or should that be 'the uncaging'?) of the Planet Science Grillers. Don't worry we haven't gone ape (yeowch - sorry). These Grillers are resources for teachers, and they have been created so that even more of the colourful, wide-ranging content on the Planet Science site can be utilised in the classroom. Quizzes, word puzzles and other brainteasers have been created to relate specifically to material already in existence, such as the keyboard-melting 'Earth Rock Hunter' game, the gastronomically interactive 'Microwhizz Oven' and our nice 'n sneezy 'Colds and Flu' section. The Griller family is quite compact so far, but new additions will soon be popping up thick and fast, each including links to the National Curriculum and a target age range. Here's where they're to be found: http://www.planet-science.com/sciteach/grillers/ |
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| 03. LAB DESIGN SOFTWARE ... and a quick mention for the third new item on the PS website this week: the 'Lab Design' CDRom. This is the software described in a recent newsletter which enables you to design a school laboratory online, try out ideas and fiddle about with your furniture arrangements - without you even having to lift the phone or leave your chair. Brought to you by Planet Science, the Association for Science Education and the Royal Society, the Lab Design software is now downloadable straight from our website and you'll find it at: http://www.planet-science.com/sciteach/labdes/ |
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| 04. ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK: THE SELF-SLICING BANANA In this age of biotechnological wizardry, why not have a go at fooling your loved ones with a cutting edge new variety of "genetically engineered" bananas. They're grown ALREADY SLICED. Or are they...? You will need: * A banana (slightly spotty if poss) * A strong needle * Some gullible friends What to do: 1. Carefully pierce the banana on one of its edges with the needle. 2. Push the needle into the banana (through a spot - for increased camouflage) and wiggle it back and forth, cutting through the flesh. Make sure you reach right over to the other side of the banana, but be careful to leave the skin intact everywhere except the needleprick. 3. Continue at regular intervals up and down until you've internally sliced the whole banana. 4. Now peel the banana. You may be able to take the banana out in one piece and then gently pull off each slice, or the banana may even fall out in slices as you peel it. It's amazing what they can do these days, isn't it? PS You might like to practise with a couple of bananas first before showing your friends ... PPS Be careful with that needle. Not least because it'll be difficult to explain that you "pricked yourself on a banana". Suspicions could be aroused. What's going on: Banana flesh is made up of thousands of tiny fibres, which when ripe makes the fruit easy to tear. A needle can easily slice through this flesh, and the holes the needle makes in the skin are small enough to pass notice at a distance. |
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| 05. MOUSES AT THE READY This week, thanks to the generosity of the Woodland Trust, we have three copies of their brand new activity book for primary teachers, 'Nature Detectives'. Plus - yes, PLUS - three lovely posters that every classroom should have, illustrating the main types of trees to be found in the UK. The book itself is 112-pages in size, spiral-bound to assist with fieldwork and photocopying, and full to bursting with ideas, instructions and resources for indoor and outdoor activities suitable for children aged 4-11. Trees and flowering plants, pondlife, weather, birds and butterflies are just a few of the aspects of nature which are put under under the Detectives' magnifying glasses, and the activities detailed range from growing your own plants, to examining insects, birdwatching (and birdlistening), to games, cookery and drama. All in the name of science of course, but they might also be applied to literacy, numeracy, ICT, geography, social skills, citizenship and even PE, music, design & make, and history... What more can you ask? Black and white copyright-free photocopiable pages? No problem - they've thought of that already. The Woodland Trust are very keen on promoting "phenology", the study of the times of recurring natural phenomena - such as the sound of the first cuckoo or the appearance of blackthorn blossom. This is another rich source of active learning about the natural world, and throughout the 'Nature Detectives' book, teachers and children are encouraged to participate in observing and recording 'nature's calendar', and even entering the results online, so that all the data can be shared and compared around the country. Full details of the recording scheme are included in the book, as is a guide to recording spring and autumn events in Nature's Calendar. If you'd like to buy the book, it's £10 for ASE and WT members or £12 for non-members, and you can order by post from ASE Booksales, College Lane, Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9AA; by fax on 0800 371856 or online at http://www.ase.org.uk But back to those freebies. If you fancy one, send an email to anne@planet-science.com with the words NATURE DETECTIVES PLEASE! in the subject heading, and a note of your name and address. The draw will take place on Thursday at 5pm. PS No multiple entries please, as the Planet Science headmaster is eagle-eyed and takes a very dim view of that kind of thing... |
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| 06. VISIONS OF SCIENCE Are you young, gifted and in possession of a camera? Or do you know someone who is? The annual 'Visions of Science Photographic Awards' have just been announced, and as one of the categories is the 'Young Photographer Award' the organisers would like all teachers and students to know what's going on and feel inspired to get involved. The Young Photographer Award is sponsored by Kodak and NESTA (The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, who are involved with managing Planet Science amongst many other groovy enterprises). Entrants in this category must be 18 or under, and what's required are imaginative, science-related photographs, which "show us science in a different way, make us look again at the world around us, or simply show the beauty of nature." There are two age-groups: '16 Years and Under' and '17-18 Year Old', and the best in each division will win one of the latest Kodak EasyShare Zoom Digital cameras together with £500 from the NESTA Learning Programme for their school or college to spend on science equipment. Additionally, you could win 15 minutes of photo-fame, as every year a selection of winning and short listed images are brought together to form an exhibition which tours venues and festivals around the UK. The panel of judges is made up of scientists, photographers and picture editors, and what they want to see is something they would never have expected. "We don't care whether you use a throw-away camera or a multi-billion-pixel digiwonder; what matters is the picture," says Adam Hart-Davis, one of the panel, "We want to be smacked between the eyes with pictures that we have never seen before or that show some aspect of science or nature in a new way." The categories are: Action, Close-up, People, Concepts and Art - and you might find that you get ideas from switching your brain into playful mode and pondering the length and breadth of these categories, just as much as from taking a stroll or ten with your camera. The organisers say, "Last year, winning entries from students were as diverse as a lovely image of fern leaves showing photosynthesis, a group of white rabbits with the odd black one portraying genetic issues, a chemistry teacher presenting his Christmas show to the class and beautiful images of the natural world, including a rainbow, fungus and flowers." Check out previous winning entries, read more about the competition and download an entry form on the official website at: http://www.visions-of-science.co.uk . Good luck! |
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| 07. THIS WEEK IN SCIENCE HISTORY: PLUTO IS FOUND Pluto the planet, that is. Our roving reporter Alison Begley investigates: On February 18, 1930 our solar system got a little bigger, when Clyde W. Tombaugh discovered Pluto. This tiny planet, smaller than our own moon, follows a strange orbit compared to the rest of the solar system, and has still never been visited by a spacecraft. It's shrouded in mystery even now, and it took a long time to find it... Neptune, which sometimes orbits further out than Pluto, had already been found - not by sight but by careful calculation, as this giant planet pulls at its nearest neighbours and changes their orbits. The calculations pinned the planet down to a certain area of the sky and it was subsequently found by telescope. Pluto, however, is far too tiny to have a measurable effect on other planets, and so a different technique was used to find it. The time-consuming way of finding Pluto is to take a photo of the night sky and then a few weeks later take another picture of exactly the same area. By flicking between the two images, objects can appear to move - just like movements between two frames in a film. This clever technique doesn't always work though, as was shown after Pluto's discovery, when many astronomers went back to their photos to see if they had missed it... Some had. There were 1919 photos, for example, which should have revealed the planet, but unfortunately on the first photo Pluto was hidden by a flaw on the film, and in the second it was out-glared by a nearby bright star. Even once the planet had been discovered, it was another 48 years before Pluto's massive moon, Charon, was discovered in 1978. So it's possible that the planet may hold even more surprises for us in the future. In 2006 NASA plans to launch New Horizons, a mission to fly by Pluto and the asteroid belt beyond it. It's so far away though, that the craft won't arrive until 2015. So we'll have to wait and see... Build your own blink comparator and find your own planets! http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/activities/planetdiscovery/ More about the future mission to Pluto can be found on this page: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=NHORIZONS Facts and figures about Pluto can be found here: http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/pluto.html |
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| 08. RECOMMENDED WEBSITES OF THE WEEK Questions, questions, questions. This week two sites with questions and answers for everyone. First of all, a colourful site for kids: ASK DR UNIVERSE. Dr Universe, is a "cat with connections", and her aim is to answer the questions and wonderings of people who write in to her. Questions like: "What purpose does a cockroach serve in our world?", "Why do we cry?", And er, "What would happen if you farted in space - would it propel you forward?" Some of the questions are familiar golden oldies, eg, 'Why is the sky blue?' but others are more unusual, and the claim of Dr Universe (or perhaps her Washington State University creators) is she'll search through current university research to really find the up to date answers. And she also promises to pull no punches. Apparently, you don't have to confine yourself to asking science questions either. She says: "Dr Universe ... has a whole campus of experts to call on, experts in just about everything. From global warming to neural networks. From Jane Austen to soil nematodes. From cow belching to quasars. And remember - the university is just about the only place left that still employs philosophers. So Dr. Universe can tackle the really big questions." Here's where she lives: http://www.wsu.edu/DrUniverse/ Have a look. It really is a nice-looking site - and if you have any questions, just ask (and let us know how you get on!)  Meanwhile back here in the UK, did you realise the Guardian's 'Notes and Queries' section had become an online resource? If you've come straight from Dr Universe, Notes & Queries is a bit of a culture shock - but a very enjoyable one. It is to Dr Universe, say, what John Lydon is to Jennie Bond. A lot more irreverent, with flashes of genius... and zinging humour ... and total unpredictability. (The links also have a slighty unnerving habit turning invisible after you've visited a particular page - but there's no human equivalent of that characteristic that we're aware of!) Like with Dr Universe, questions to Notes & Queries are welcome on all aspects of the world, including politics, sport and red tape. Needless to say some of these questions are of a rather spikier nature than anything you'd find on Dr Universe - but some are just about the same, eg. "Do insects sleep?". A more important difference though, is that the answers as well as the questions are sent in by readers, so there's no guarantee of reliability in what you'll read. The answers should probably be considered more of a 'starting point' if you really want to know - and a fun way to spend a few minutes or even a few hours. Eg. Question: Why is it that pigeons bob their heads so vigorously when they walk? Answer 1: Like most prey animals, pigeons have eyes on the sides of their heads. They 'bob' so that each eye sees two nearly simultaneous views and can thereby give an approximation to binocular vision. You can try this yourself by covering one eye and moving your head from side to side. Answer 2: They have their scarves tucked into their belts. Answer 10: Because they have all seen "Shaft" and thought he was cool! As you see, a range of answers. And feel free to join in the debate - it's constantly updated, and they're waiting to hear from you. Here's where you'll find it: http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/category/0,5753,-16,00.html |
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| 09. WINNERS WINNERS WINNERS <Drumroll> The winners of last month's 'Four Quiz' have now been drawn, and they were: Michael Harris from the Shrewsbury area, April Hollands from Uxbridge, Linda Holden from Weybridge AND Maggie Nock from Wolverhampton. Congratulations to all of you, you've won an I-Top, and it's spinning its way to you right now... As for the waterbomb offer last week - man, were we ever inundated. Who knew the UK population was so desperate for waterbombs in their lives?! Luckily we were also inundated with waterbombs. These were thankfully empty, and were sent by Judy Vincent, our generous sponsor on this offer. This means we were able to select far more than ten lucky winners. In fact we have TWENTY-SIX: and here's who they are: Elizabeth Akhurst, Janet McKechnie, Pat Leggett, Chris Parry, Liz Ward, Lorna Thorne, Mrs A Blaney, Moyra Lane, Geoffrey Wilkinson, Jackie Thornton, Sue Oliver, Omar Anderson, Ian Mortimer, K Straw, Janet Brady, P Bailey, Meena Barham, Jay Airey, Miss M Reveley, Lachlan Mulholland, Linda Riley, Colette Lane, Gill Vickers, Stephen Groves, Graham Cooksey and Sally Thurlow. Duck! Your waterbombs are on their way. |
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| 10. JOKE OF THE WEEK Nancy Dobson. How we love her. Nancy Dobson of Skipton Girls' High School has been in touch with a selection of Valentine-related jokes to help you through the weekend. Ready? Did you hear about the alga and the fungus? ...they took a lichen to each other. What did the boy geologist say to the girl geologist? You rock my world! Once upon a time there were two red blood cells named Romeo and Juliet... ...Alas, they loved in vein! And for anyone who may be boycotting Valentine's Day for personal or practical reasons, here's a joke with zero romantic connotations: A (handsome, single) man tries to get into a nightclub to meet up with his friends. But when he gets to the door, the bouncer says, "I'm sorry but you can't come in because you haven't got a tie on". The man goes back to his car, and searches for a tie, but can't find one anywhere. However, he spots a pair of jump leads in the boot, so he wraps them round his neck. He walks back up to the bouncer, who looks him up and down and says, "OK, you can come in, but don't start anything". That's all for this week. If you have any news, recommended websites, jokes or other contributions for next week's or future newsletters, please send them to Anne McNaught on anne@planet-science.com. Have a great week! |
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