SCIENCE YEAR NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 79 Week ending Friday, 9th August 2002 Welcome to another holiday edition of news and competitions. Anne's taking a well earned break from the Science Year office, so for the next couple of weeks you'll get to know various members of the team as they take over the reins for a week. Now the sunny weather has disappeared we at Science Year are longing more and more to escape to some far away place, so here's some holiday fun and games to keep you smiling for the next week. We've got more free tickets, competition details, a summer magic activity and a holiday joke to keep you smiling despite the rain... • FREE TECHNIQUEST TICKETS • FREE 'BUILD A KIT PACKS'- first come first served • ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK - magic coin trick • EDUCATION CONVENTION - details of the annual North-West Event • EXAM AGONY • COMPETITION CLUES • RECOMMENDED HOLIDAY SITE OF THE WEEK • QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK • HOLIDAY JOKE OF THE WEEK • A.O.B. As ever we start with congratulations to last week's winners. Sylvia Bastow, Jean Smith, Claire Percy, Luisa Jannetta, David Guest, Pam Waite, Ginny Harris and Cressida, Gideon & Isaac Jones. Your prizes are winging their way to you as we speak. And so it's on to this week's summer science offer... FREE TICKETS FOR TECHNIQUEST Set in the heart of Cardiff Bay Techniquest has a collection of over 150 interactive exhibits. Each exhibit is capable of being appreciated at a variety of levels and is suitable for all ages from 4 to 94! Launch a hot air balloon, play a harp without strings and create your own animation are just some of the fun and exciting exhibits on offer. Techniquest also houses a purpose built planetarium. You can see the stars by day and tour the solar system. Enjoy a free show in the 100-seat Science Theatre. Each show lasts 30 minutes and shows vary throughout the year. Techniquest also has its very own Discovery Room, children of all ages will enjoy the 15 curiosity boxes on offer. The topics are varied and include bridge building, optical illusions and fossils. Visit Techniquest this summer and explore the mysteries of you and me. Join the presenters in the Science Theatre as they discover what makes us who we are. Dabble in DNA in the Lab and have a go at creating your own creature on the exhibition - all this and much more. Techniquest is open daily for more information visit http://www.techniquest.org For the chance to win one of 2 free family passes send an email to david.tasker@scienceyear.com with TECHNIQUEST in the title. >top MORE FREEBIES Build you own buggy or rocket with this week's freebies. We've got 2 kits to help keep you this week. To get your hands on one all you need to do is send an email to katie.walsh@scienceyear.com with "buggy building" in the title. Remember it's first come first served - so get typing now! >top SUMMER ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK: Magic coin trick! How can you make a coin move without touching it? It's easy when you know how. You'll need: • a 2 litre plastic bottle (without a lid) • water • a coin (could be some left over holiday Euros but any coin about the size of a 2p will do) What to do: Put the bottle in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Dip the coin in some water. Take the bottle out of the freezer and immediately place the coin on top. Amaze your friends as they watch and wait for the coin to start moving. What's going on science-wise? The air inside the bottle starts to expand as it warms up. It rushes out of the top of the bottle and makes the coin move up and down. Remember there are lots of other magic tricks you can try in the magic box. >top NORTH WEST EDUCATION EVENT This is an early call for anybody in striking distance of the Reebok Stadium , Bolton. The 5th annual North-West Education event (NWEC 2002) is being held on 17th and 18th October 2002. Almost 40 conference seminars covering a huge will be on offer. Two leading educationalists, Nye Goodwin from Oldham LEA and Doug Brown Divisional Manager of NGfL, DfES are confirmed to give keynote speeches with dozens of other high profile speakers. These include Gervase Phinn, Bill Laar and Alan Gibbons providing seminars and workshops focusing on the latest issues in schools and colleges today. Exhibitors will be offering hands-on workshops, demonstrations, samples and advice in addition to displaying the most up to date resources, books and services currently on the market. The event is suitable for Senior Management members and headteachers, class and subject teachers, co-ordinators, trainee teachers, non-teaching staff, library authority staff, advisors, corporate education or project managers, careers and student personal advisors, governors and parents. Tickets and full conference programmes can be obtained by contacting Educational Exhibitions PO Box 25203 London N12 8WS. Tel 020 8445 1757, fax 020 8446 8214 or email Edex@educational-exhibitions.com. >top EXAM AGONY With exam results looming we've got some help with careers up our sleeve. Check out Next Steps where you can search the careers database by A-Level results and a reminder that you can email agonyteam@scienceyear.com. >top HINTS AND TIPS Okay, so some of you seem to be having a few problems with the Eco Quiz. So here are a few things to think about when you're answering the questions. 200 Camels bumped into some crazy ants in the middle of a tropical rainforest. (Read the questions - all will become clear) Why not have another try for the chance to win a bumper pack of outdoor goodies. >top RECOMMENDED WEBSITE OF THE WEEK We couldn't let this week go by without a mention of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dirac - one of the greatest British physicists and pioneer of Quantum Mechanics. Find out more about his Nobel Prize at http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates And if you want to find out some more about quantum mechanics and particle physics try http://particleadventure.org/ for a quick tour of the atom. >top QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK So what is quantum mechanics anyway? Find out from Science Line at http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Physics/0103/p01455d.html And what about making a quantum leap? Remember the old sci-fi show? Is it possible. Well here's your answer http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Physics/9610/p00511d.html Don't forget you can explore other questions and answers while you're there. And you can post your own question by email or telephone too. Their lines are open from Monday to Saturday 1pm-7pm, on Freephone 0808 800 4000. >top HOLIDAY HUMOUR Back to the holiday theme to finish us off for the day Crossing the border While crossing the US-Mexican border on his bicycle, the man was stopped by a guard who pointed to two sacks the man had on his shoulders. "What's in the bags?", asked the guard. "Sand," said the cyclist. "Get them off - we'll take a look," said the guard. The Cyclist did as he was told, emptied the bags, and proving they contained nothing but sand, reloaded the bags, put them on his shoulders and continued across the border. Two weeks later, the same thing happened. Again the guard demanded to see the two bags, which again contained nothing but sand. This went on every week for six months, until one day the cyclist with the sand bags failed to appear. A few days later, the guard happened to meet the cyclist downtown. "Say friend, you sure had us crazy", said the guard. "We knew you were smuggling something across the border. I won't say a word - but what is it you were smuggling?" "Bicycles!" >top A.O.B. That's all from me (Jenni French), but Sophie Duncan will be here next Friday. So if you have any contributions you'd like us to include, please send them to sophie.duncan@scienceyear.com. And have a great week! >top