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Welcome to another groovitating edition of Planet Science's weekly guide to life. This week: go surfing in paradise, get rich quick, and relax with a nice, if somewhat puzzling, cup of tea. Ready? Here we go. Are you up to all that excitement? OK, we're going in... 1. SURF'S UP on PLANET SCIENCE: catch the wave! Here we go: 01. SURF'S UP ON PLANET SCIENCE Aloha from our new Hawaiian themed home page! If you've not seen it yet, take a peek at http://www.planet-science.com. Paradise in pixels... And in a spookily Hawaii-esque way, a cluster of new and beautiful islands of natural bounty has just emerged from the cyber-ocean, and we hope you'll enjoy visiting them. Here's a quick guide to a few of the new destinations: UNDER-11s When Planet Science, then named Science Year, was created way back in 2001, the target audience was 11-19 year olds and their teachers and families. However, over the years, it has become clear that a lot of interest in our activities, experiments and offers comes from primary teachers, and the parents of primary-age children. So, after much toil in the vineyards of science, we are proud to present a whole new section of the Planet Science website devoted to pre-school and primary age kids, and their teachers and parents. Here's the link for the Under-11s homepage: And it's features include: PLAYBOX http://www.planet-science.com/under11s/playbox/index.html Designed with tiny children in mind, this is the first instalment of a set of science-themed interactive puzzles for junior scientists. Pair up pictures of insects, weather elements or body parts; or put together a dolphin or astronaut puzzle. Your reward will be funky musak and bouncing heads (sounds horrid, but give it a go, you may find you like it!) There's no reading involved, just looking and clicking. And if you and your child manage to finish them all, you can come back for more very soon as we'll be adding other games and activities in the near future. PLAYGROUND PAINTING http://www.planet-science.com/under11s/playground/index.html Especially for all primary teachers and head teachers. With a bit of paint and just a little bit of artistic pan ash, you can transform your school playground in a relatively cheap and very colourful way to inject a bit of science into playtime, or outdoor lessons. Now's a good time to start planning so you're ready to paint when the good weather gets here, and we've created a guide to planning your painting with your class. There are also some dos and don't for the painting process, and a few ready made ideas to get you started. PS If you've already got some science painting in your playground, we'd love to feature it - if so, write to katie.walsh@nesta.org.uk with PLAYGROUND in the subject line. HAVE YOU GOT A SCIENCE KID ON YOUR HANDS? http://www.planet-science.com/parents/scikid/index.html Young children are natural scientists. They love to explore, observe, experiment and try to figure out how the world works. Ok, this may at times take the form of a desperate desire to play with matches, collect ALL the shells on the beach, or microwave golf balls to "see what happens" (not recommended), but this is creative scientific thinking in action and should be encouraged. Many parents feel somewhat daunted by their junior Einstein however and aren't always sure how, or perhaps even whether, to foster their child's scientific leanings. If that's how you feel, have a look at our SCIENCE KID section as it aims to give you exactly the information and support you need. And it shouldn't just be your child who has fun in the process! SCIENCE NURSERY RHYMES http://www.planet-science.com/under11s/nurseryrhymes/index.html A while ago we asked you to turn your creative talents to coming up with scientific versions of well-known nursery rhymes. Many thanks again to everyone who participated. The results have now been collated, lovingly illustrated and turned into a downloadable booklet, with helpful captions explaining the science in the rhyme. The booklet stars our new four-legged friend, Science Dog, and as you can see he's been running about all over the place, very excited about the prospect of helping inspire your little ones to a life of science. NB If you find yourself inspired to send in more rhymes for volume two, please write to katie.walsh@nesta.org.uk with Science Nursery Rhymes in the subject line.
02. APRIL DRAGON QUIZ - LAST CHANCE TO WIN If you've not yet entered the Planet Science April Dragon Quiz, but you think you know your dragons, and you fancy winning a Dino Dig kit which will enable you to chip away at an old block and uncover a replica reptilian relic of a bygone time... Well then, what are you waiting for? http://www.planet-science.com/wired/comp_quiz/04_04_Dragon/index.html and put your drago-knowledge to the test. It is St George's Day after all...
03. ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK: CASH WITH QUESTIONS Want to be rich? Well, ok we can't make you rich in the sense that your bank manager would like to hear about, but we can make you look like you just increased your wealth faster than any stock market bonanza could! You will need:
What to do:
What's going on? Normally we don't realise that our eyes are effectively taking a sequence of lots and lots of still photos of the world around us. The retina at the back of the eye acts like the film in a camera, with each 'shot' it takes a while for the retina to clear and there is an afterimage. When the coins are moving both the afterimage and the true image are visible at the same time and it looks like there are three coins not two...
04. AVENTIS SCIENCE BOOK PRIZES - JUNIOR SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED Interest in children's science books appears to be on a rampaging increase, currently accounting for 12% of non-fiction sales, according to a recent publishers' survey. The amount of entries to the junior section of the Aventis Book Prizes has risen too, according to the Royal Society, which means those that have made it through to the shortlist are have fought off even more competition than usual... That shortlist was announced this week, and you may be interested in checking out these books at the library or bookshop, so here's the full, and very varied, list:
600 Children of age 14 and under, who have been recruited through SciZmic, the UK-wide network of science clubs, now have the job of reading and judging each of the shortlisted entries before selecting a winner. The winner will be announced at the Aventis Prizes award ceremony on the 14 June - and we'll keep you posted!
05. THE ROYAL SOCIETY SUMMER EXHIBITION 2004 The Royal Society has been in touch to ask us to tell all teachers of post-16 science students that you can now register to visit this year's Summer Science Exhibition. As you may know already, the Exhibition is an annual event which is organised by the Royal Society. Its aim is to bring together a diverse range of the UK's leading researchers to meet students and give them the chance to find out for themselves what's happening at the cutting-edge of the science subjects they are studying in the school lab - or perhaps seeing on TV or even in sci-fi movies. This year, the subjects range from vulcanology, to plant nutrition, cell biology, space exploration, hearing, the effects of exercise on the aging process and the truth about the possibilities of face transplantation. So there truly should be something for everyone. The venue is the Royal Society itself, a lovely building near Trafalgar Square in London. This year the exhibition will be running from Tuesday 6 to Thursday 8 July 2004, and it's free for post-16 school groups to attend. What you do need to do however, is register to visit on a particular date and time. If you're a teacher and you'd like to organise a group visit, download the registration form from the Royal Society website at http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/education and return it to Beth Jones, Science Communication Section, by Monday 10 May. Meanwhile detailed descriptions of last year's exhibitors can be found online at http://www.sc1.ac.uk - a science website created for 16-19 year olds. If you can't bring students to this year's exhibition, you will still be able to experience what's on offer when this year's programme is posted on the web in July.
06. THIS WEEK IN SCIENCE HISTORY: THE CHERNOBYL DISASTER April 26 1986 was the date of the worst nuclear power disaster ever, as the Ukrainian Chernobyl nuclear power plant experienced a meltdown which created an enormous explosion and leaked radiation into the surroundings and atmosphere. Alison Begley has been investigating: Nuclear reactors work in a number of different ways, but they are all based on the same principles. A nuclear fuel such as uranium is placed in the reactor and high energy neutrons are fired at it. The uranium atoms split apart releasing loads of heat as well as further neutrons that in turn split more and more atoms. One way in which electricity can be generated from the heat is by changing water into steam, which can then be used to turn a turbine. During tests in which the Chernobyl reactor was run on low power, a chain reaction occurred which was to prove calamitous. Too many of the control rods, which would normally absorb excess neutrons and act as a control mechanism, were removed, and the cooling water was reduced, so the temperature started to rise. Some of the fuel then melted and a steam explosion destroyed the nuclear core. A second explosion a few seconds later caused further damage, lifting the lid off the entire reactor. The Chernobyl disaster served as a wake-up call to all nations using nuclear power, and generally their safety standards have increased since. But there are always both advantages and disadvantages with nuclear power, and today one of the main worries about this form of power production surrounds the disposal of nuclear waste because, like the contamination around Chernobyl, nuclear waste will be with us for a very, very long time.
Find out more about Chernobyl Just how does nuclear power work? If you want to find out more about nuclear power in the UK visit this site:
07. RECOMMENDED WEBSITES OF THE WEEK Nigel Saunders is science teacher, author and fan of Star Trek and Formula 1 racing. He's also an inventive website producer, and his CREATIVE CHEMISTRY website is recommended for secondary school science teachers and anyone else with an interest in chemistry - particularly if you're facing GCSEs or A Levels... The site is non-gimmicky and absolutely packed with quality resources. To get the full flavour, you'll need to take time to explore it properly, but the treasure trove includes worksheets and teaching notes, ideas for practical classroom activities, revision quizzes, games and information on every aspect of school chemistry we could think of - with biochemistry will be coming along shortly. There's even an online scientific calculator, featuring all the functions any A level student should ever need. There's plenty for advanced students, but if you're further down the chemistry food-chain, you can still have fun making an Alien Mask out of plaster of Paris, or challenge your grey matter with, for example, the 'Name that Apparatus Quiz'. Whatever you choose to do, there are usually easy-to-understand explanations given, with just the right amount of humour to jolly things along while maintaining the tone as a seriously credible science resource. Here's the url: http://www.biology.creative-chemistry.org.uk/ One of the 'Fun Activities' on the Creative Chemistry site is fingerprinting (http://www.creative-chemistry.org.uk/activities/fingerprinting.htm) and this is a really good guide for older children and adults. However we've also found a printable worksheet suitable for little kids, and you can find it in Dynamo's Lab on the BBC Education website at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/dynamo/lab/prints.htm What Dynamo gets the child to do is use an inkpad or paint to take fingerprints of both him or herself, and a friend, so that they can compare them and learn that there are differences between people. If you print off more than one sheet, you could collect lots of different ones, cut out the fingerprint strips and staple them together to make a booklet... (There - that's one rainy afternoon taken care off.)
08. AWKWARD QUESTION So, how did you get on with those pirates last week? Here's a reminder of their tricky situation: The pirates on the Grey Marlin have a problem. They are in a landlocked lagoon, but the King's onshore men have spotted them from afar and are galloping ever closer to the lagoon. They only way the pirates can save their ill-gotten hoard of gold, currently hidden deep in the bow of their ship, is by throwing it overboard. The captain plans to hide a map on a nearby sandbank and come and find the treasure later. But not everyone is happy with the idea - surely by throwing the treasure overboard the water level will rise and the sandbank will disappear? The pirates are threatening to mutiny. What is their best course of action? PS you are kindly asked to accept the whole pirate scenario and not look too closely at the plot details - the important thing is that water level... Will it rise, fall or stay the same? NB there are no tidal forces in the lagoon! Any thoughts...? Or guesses? Here's the answer: The captain has the right idea, which is probably how he got to be a captain! The water level in the lagoon will actually drop when they throw the treasure overboard and the map will be perfectly safe. It's all about buoyancy... Buoyancy is what allows things to float. When something is thrown into water a certain amount of water is displaced. If the weight of the displaced water is greater than the weight of the object then the object will float. The heavier the object the more water that needs to be displaced to keep it afloat. While the pirates have the treasure on their boat it is floating. The treasure is surrounded by air and together they displace a lot of water. Once the treasure is thrown overboard it sinks (like gold) and only displaces a tiny amount of water. The result? The water level in the lagoon actually drops. It's a good thing too - if the treasure floated the pirates would be caught for sure!
If last week's conundrum has left you gasping for a cuppa, put the kettle on and get ready for this week's poser: Susan is exhausted - what she needs is a nice cup of tea. She has managed to fill her cup with hot water but just can't find the energy to get the tea bag. Her long suffering friend, Laura, fetches a tea bag for her and dangles it in the cup Susan's holding. But Susan now starts to complain about the cup being too heavy now. Laura finally cracks and tells her it couldn't possibly be heavier since she is still holding the tea bag by the string. Is the cup heavier? Or is Susan just a whinger? (OK, she's definitely a whinger - but is she RIGHT?!)
Answer next week.
09. WINNERS OF LAST WEEK'S 'VISIONS OF SCIENCE' POSTER OFFER And the winners are... <fanfare> ... virtually everyone who wrote in. We originally had eight posters to give away, but wowed by the huge number of entrants in the draw - and perhaps swayed by some of the messages ("this would look great in our school lab", "We've all got our fingers crossed" and "PRETTY PLEASE!!") the generous organisers of the 'Visions of Science' competition have undertaken to send posters to everyone who asked. This will keep their staff busy for a good couple of hours at least as we did have an overwhelming response, so many thanks again to everyone at V of S. Congratulations winners - your posters should be with you soon. Please note that the offer is now closed - and that we will not be able to send posters to anyone who didn't include their postal address in their email.
10. JOKES OF THE WEEK Nurse! The screens! It's time for some medical jokes...
Doctor, Doctor, I can't stop stealing things.
Doctor, doctor, nobody understands me.
Doctor, doctor, I keep thinking I'm invisible.
Doctor, doctor, I keep getting into fights.
Doctor, doctor, I feel like a small bucket. (They say laughter is the best medicine, but have they fully investigated the effects of groaning?) Anyway, on a different note: A boy goes into a pet shop and says "I'd like to buy a pet wasp please." The pet shop owner says, "We don't sell wasps." The boy replies, "Well, you've got one in the window..."
That's all for now, if you have any contributions for future newsletters please send them in to Anne McNaught on anne@planet-science.com. Have a great week!
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