SCIENCE YEAR NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 70 Week ending Friday, 7th June 2002 Is anything happening this week that's not football or royal-related? If you feel there's not, but you really, really, REALLY wish there was, don't worry. Coming up is a treasure trove of activities to keep you fully occupied elsewhere the moment there's any sign of Alan Hansen & Co launching into another heated round of pre-match speculation... And we have some itsy bitsy web-rated activity (very) loosely linked to the opening of the new 'Spiderman' film. Here we go: • EXPERIMENTAL COLLECTION – your country needs YOU • THE BA FESTIVAL – heading for Leicester • RECOMMENDED WEBSITE OF THE WEEK • RECOMMENDED SPIDER-WEBSITES OF THE WEEK • ARACHNID QUESTION OF THE WEEK - 10 inches???!! • SPIDER JOKE OF THE WEEK • A.O.B. OUR ‘LITTLE BOOK OF EXPERIMENTS’ Science Year is currently developing a book of teaching resources for KS2 + KS3 called the 'Little Book of Experiments' and we need your help! We want as many FANTASTIC experiments as possible for inclusion in both the book and an accompanying website. So please let us know about your favourite demo or scientific party-trick. To set the ball rolling, we've been looking on the web for fun experiments/ demonstrations you can do in class (if you’re a teacher or pupil) or just do anywhere you like really if you’re a lone operator! There are some pretty good sites out there, have a browse. For example: ‘The Exploratorium’ We couldn't mention hands-on science activities without referencing the this amazing science centre, and here's the relevant link to the actitivies area their outstanding website ‘Reeko's Mad Scientist Lab’ Anything that starts "Kick off your shoes. Pull up a chair. Make yourself comfortable. Oh yeah, did we mention that protective goggles are required..." has to be good. Enjoy! Lastly, there's 'Whelmers' This promises "Science activities that will catch the eye and mind of even the most indifferent student". Quite a claim (to say the least), and it's got quite a number of experiments. These are good ... but we know you can do EVEN BETTER than any of these sites. Classrooms, lecture theatres and science centres of the UK are busting with all sorts of amazing demonstrations, and we want you (yes YOU) to send us your experiments. We can't guarantee we'll use every contribution, but (safety-permitting) each activity should make it onto the website. And ones that are chosen for the book will be introduced by their contributor (you, that is!), with a quote saying a bit about who you are and a happy smiling photo of you with the experiment. We need experiments from anyone and everyone. Be you scientist, teacher, science communicator, parent or student. The deadline is 3rd July 2002, and all ideas (or questions) should be sent to Alice Bell at alice.bell@scienceyear.com . >top THE BA FESTIVAL RIDES AGAIN Is it that time already?! Advance notice to be sure, but you may want to make a few bookings or even rearrange your holidays for this: The BA Festival of Science will be at the University of Leicester this year, and the dates are 9th - 13th September. As ever at this annual scientific gathering, the programme has been put together to ensure that there’s something for everyone at every age (older than 5 that is). Here’s what the organisers say: "There will be a large programme of activities and events for young people aged 6 - 19 and something for Teachers and parents too. Youngsters aged 6 - 13 will be able to take part in hands-on events everything from exploding custard to how the Leicester Tigers earn their stripes. For older students (15+) there are drama presentations about genetics, discussion events and lectures to take them from one end of the Universe to the other. "There will also be a special science education conference: "Learning About Science in Society - A conference for anyone interested in Science Education in the 21st century"." For more information or a programme about the Leicester BAYSDAY (for 6 – 13 year olds) or the programme for students aged 15 -19 please ring 020 7973 3059. Or – for more information about ANY of the above, check their site at http://www.the-ba.net/ >top And so to spiders … and a few questions ably handled by our friends at Science Line: RECOMMENDED WEBSITE OF THE WEEK Have you seen Brain Pop yet? Life, the universe and everything niftily explained in a series of short animated movies … easy to digest and if you watch one a day, in a couple of months you’ll have the equivalent of an Open University foundation course in science (well, perhaps not quite but you’ll be well on your way!) >top RECOMMENDED SPIDER-WEBSITES OF THE WEEK The webbiest website we could find is The Construction of a Wheel Web which shows how our long-legged friends work their wonders in the garden… Meanwhile, if you can’t get in to see ‘Spiderman’, perhaps this quicktime movie of a tarantula walking – very swiftly and smoothly - across the jungle floor … And Will The Real Spider Please Stand Up?! If you’re a primary teacher and you’d like to teach your class about spiders, you might find this useful and enjoyable. It certainly looks like a lot of effort and game-show humour has been put into it. It’s a spider-based gameshow that along the way teaches arachno-facts to the audience. Cue: audience applause. >top SCIENCE LINE QUESTION OF THE WEEK What is the biggest spider in the world ? What is the most poisonous spider in the world ? What happens to spiders legs when they moult their skin ? The truth about arachnids can be found at: http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Biology/ And while you’re at the site, have a look about at all the other scientific Q&As they’ve sorted out in their time – it’s an amazing resource. If you’d like an answer to a science-related question that’s not on the site already, you can either phone them, on 0808 800 4000 or post it up on the site. The main url is: http://www.sciencenet.org.uk And it’s all FREE! They just want to help out… >top 8-LEGGED JOKES OF THE WEEK (sorry in advance) Q. What happens when a spider gets angry? A. He goes up the wall! Q. Where do spiders play football? A. Webley >top A.O.B. Nothing really… Hope you've enjoyed this week's newsletter and if you have any contributions or ideas for future issues let us know. Send all such emails to: anne.mcnaught@scienceyear.com And - have a great week! >top