Hmmm… What do we mean by best character design?

Across

1. The Cloning Centre is in the ------- quarter.
2. What quarter is the unknown clone causing chaos in?
5. What energy source is used to convert carbon dioxide to methane?
6. What caused the explosion that caught Methane Man?
9. The unknown clone is trapped in -------- gel.
10. Something is wrong in ------- City!!
11. What is the name of the company that produces methane?

Down

1. The unknown clone was developed for --------- underwater.
3. The stolen clones were not ----------.
4. Methane Man averts further danger by ------- the methane gas.
7. What is growing in the Cloning Centre in the tank behind Miz Ingenuity?
8. Titanium oxide nano-particles are used as a --------.

Find the words below (some appear back to front and diagonally) in the word search .

N	F	B	T	E	S	L	N	F	Y
P	A	Q	I	G	N	O	M	J	R
H	K	M	N	O	T	O	O	P	T
Y	O	U	E	E	L	H	L	K	S
S	L	P	L	N	E	O	Z	C	I
I	C	E	O	M	A	V	G	P	M
C	K	K	G	W	S	H	M	Y	E
S	C	I	E	N	C	E	T	C	H
E	H	T	A	E	R	B	O	E	C
H	E	A	R	T	G	E	F	P	M

BIOLOGY
BREATHE
CHEMISTRY
CLONE
HEART
LUNGS
METHANEMAN
PHYSICS
SCIENCE
SKELETON

On the third page of the comic strip different body parts are growing in the cloning centre. Create your own superhero(ine) or villain(ess) clone in this activity.

What you will need:

• Three sheets of plain A4 card (suitable for a printer or photocopier) or paper
• 8 paper fasteners
• Colouring pens or pencils

(Younger children may find the parts difficult to cut round. The templates can be enlarged using a photocopier or by printing them on A3).

What to do:

Step 1
Click here (pdf 66kb) to open and print the main organ template.


Step 2
Carefully cut out the body parts: trunk, upper and lower arms, upper and lower legs.
To view example of this step click here (pdf 89kb).


Step 3
Colour in the main organs: 1 - heart (red), 2 - lungs (light brown), 3 - stomach (pink) and 4 - small and large intestines (pink and brown).

Step 4
Click here (pdf 66kb) to open and print the the skeleton template.


Step 5
Carefully cut out the skeleton parts: upper body made up of the ribs, pelvis, spine and skull, upper and lower arms, upper and lower legs.
To view example of this step click here (pdf 89kb)

Step 6
Click here (pdf 66kb) to open and print the costume template.


Step 7
Carefully cut out the parts - trunk, upper and lower arms, upper and lower legs.
To view example of this step click here (pdf 89kb)


Step 8
Design, draw and colour in the superhero/ine.

Step 9
Make small holes (a drawing pin can be used on an old folded over newspaper that is deeper than the drawing pin) where the small round circles are in each body part.

Step 10
Fasten all the parts of the superhero/ine together using the paper fasteners (push the faster through the hole and open the two parts) starting with the main organs at the back, then the skeleton in the middle and your superhero/ine design on top.
To view example of this step click here (pdf 89kb)

Safety: Be careful when making the holes - drawing pins are sharp and can damage surfaces.

Capture CO2 in this honeycomb candy superhero snack.

What you will need

• 12 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons water
• 11/2 teaspoons baking soda (a.k.a. sodium bicarbonate or bicarbonate of soda)
• small amount of butter or oil
• tablespoon
• teaspoon
• baking sheet
• whisk
• saucepan
• cooker

Warning!

This activity involves heating the ingredients up to very hot temperatures. Wear kitchen gloves and keep skin covered. Always take care in the kitchen and be very careful when handling hot items to avoid splashes and spills.

• The final steps must be carried out quickly. Before you start cooking have everything ready.
• Grease the baking tray with butter or oil.
• Measure out 1 ½ teaspoons of baking soda and place in a cup/glass.
• Measure out 12 tablespoons of sugar and spread it out evenly in the bottom of the saucepan.
• Add two tablespoons of honey to the sugar in the saucepan.
• Add two tablespoons of water to the sugar and honey in the saucepan.
• Cook the sugar, honey and water mixture on a high heat, you do not need to stir, until the mixture starts to change colour.

[You should first observe the sugar dissolving and the mixture turns clear. Next small bubbles form then larger bubbles form. Finally the mixture (syrup) starts to caramelise (the process of heating sugar until it browns and starts to burn) and changes colour from clear to orange/amber.]

• When the mixture turns orange/amber immediately remove it from the heat.
• Quickly add the baking soda and whisk for about 15-30 seconds until the baking soda is mixed in.
• Then, in one quick motion, turn the saucepan upside down and dump the foaming mixture onto the greased baking tray.
• Do not spread or disturb - it will deflate if you do! Just leave it to cool down.
• When it is cool enough to touch, about 10 minutes, break or cut into pieces and eat.
• Transfer any remaining pieces to an airtight container to keep it crisp.

[If your honeycomb candy has a really burnt taste it has been heated for too long. The mixture is still being heated in the saucepan immediately after it is taken off the cooker.]

What's going on?

When the sugar dissolves the mixture turns clear. At this point the solid sugar reaches its melting point and turns into a liquid. The water in the mixture starts to boil and the water turns into steam. The number and size of the bubbles increase as the mixture gets hotter. On further heating it undergoes a chemical change and changes colour to orange/amber. When the sodium bicarbonate is added to the mixture it heats up and the following chemical reaction takes place releasing carbon dioxide gas: 2NaHCO3(s) → Na2CO3(s) + CO2(g) + H2O(l)

The carbon dioxide gas creates bubbles in the syrup, which are trapped as the mixture cools and turns back into a solid.

Try comparing this recipe with the Cinder Toffee recipe in the Planet Science Diner that uses vinegar and heat to release the CO2.