STARDATE 347 | Friday 25th March 2010
So which is the strongest beetle? The rhino or the dung? As Harry Hill would say - there’s only one way to find out.... Figgghhhht! Actually we don’t have to. According to the Telegraph, “tests have shown that male specimens of Onthophagus Taurus can move the equivalent of an average person pulling six fully laden double decker buses”. Lummy! We’ll just stick to lifting choccie Easter eggs up to our mouths and down again. Happy Easter one and all!The line-up this week:
- Gimme Five - Facts about eggs
- Mouses at the Ready – Egglings
- Planet Pick of the Week – The Egg Box
- Activity of the Week – Attack of the Enzymes
- Noticeboard – FYI
- Recommended websites of the week
- Winners Enclosure
- Joke of the Week
1. Gimme Five... fascinating facts about eggs
1. A bald eagle builds one of the largest nests for its eggs. Nests can be 10 feet across.2. Hummingbird eggs are the size of a jelly bean, or smaller.
3. Male seahorses carry fertilized eggs in a pouch until their offspring hatch.
4. Sea turtles lay up to 200 soft, round eggs at a time.
5. The male king penguin has a pouch of fat that helps to keep his egg warm in very cold weather.
These facts came from www.eurekalert.org
Have you got FIVE facts about anything/everything? Preferably science-based of course (we’re not called Planet Science for nothing you know). If so, send it along to us at planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk with GIMME FIVE in the subject line.
2. Mouses at the Ready
Now we’re no egg-sperts - but surely eggs hatch into animals not plants? Not in this case. Here we have an Eggling, a petunia in an egg. Growing Egglings is easier than dipping soldiers - simply crack the top open by tapping it with a spoon, place the Eggling on its terracotta drip tray, add water to the soil and place it in a bright spot.
Want one? We’ve TWO to give away!Send your name and address and the words ‘EGG PLANT’ in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk. The draw will take place at 4pm on Wednesday 31 March.
3. Planet Pick of the Week
Oooo. Isn’t it parky? If only you had a handy doodah to warm your frozen mitts. Well there’s no need to get your knickers in a twist because we have just the thing. A pair of handy, reusable little hot pants handwarmers. We’ve got FOUR pairs to give away.So how do they work anyway? Well draw closer my friend (conspiratorial whisper), in a nutshell - crystallisation of sodium acetate. So there you have it.
If you want to win one, send your name and address and the words ‘HOT PANTS’ in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk. The draw will take place at 4pm on Wednesday 20 January.
4. Activity of the Week
Another trawl through the Planet Science website unearths yet another topical resource - Frosty the SnowmanThe tale of Frosty raises several science questions. Why was it hot in winter? (Global warming perhaps?) What do we have in common with a snowman? (Answer we both contain a lot of water!) and why did Frosty run away from the children?
This is aimed at 7-11 yrs and gives activity ideas and web links around the idea of ice and melting. Plus you have the lyrics of the song for a good ol’ winter warming singalong!
5. NOTICEBOARD
a) Young Engineers - Airbus project eggs factor challenge
www.youngeng.orgYour task is to design and build a system that will allow two raw hen’s eggs (medium size) to cross a ‘bottomless’ chasm at an angle and climb a cliff without damaging the eggs. The eggs must be moved from one side of a chasm to a way point on a cliff then cross the rest of the chasm and climb another cliff! You are not allowed to touch the eggs at any time during the pick-up/crossing/cliff climb/setdown at the finish point. How the eggs complete their journey is left to the creativity, imagination and discretion of the individual teams but the solutions MUST have a physical structure and not be simply catapult or rocket based solution. The eggs cannot fly or be flown. The minimum width of the chasm is 1.5m.
For more details: www.youngeng.org Term 2 End Date - 16th April 2010
b) Pandora’s Box: Curiosity and the Dangerous Pursuit of Knowledge - free
This week, starting on Weds 24th at 9pm on More 4, a seven week season of Ancient World films. The series starts with a new documentary about the neglected culture of Alexandria. Exploring the life of the wonderful pagan philosopher and proto-scientist Hypatia, who met a terrible end when she was lynched for her beliefs in her beloved city.This is sixteen hours of in-depth analysis of antiquity, with new material from the splendidly redeveloped Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
If you do not have access to British TV, you can watch each episode online after it airs on television at www.channel4.com
More about Hypatia here
6. Recommended websites of the week
We’re pleased to remind you of that fab free resource for secondary school science - Upd8. It’s so topical, so relevant, so totally AWESOME and above all it’s free (shakes head in disbelief).In particular the activity called Inside Easter Eggs might be an apt choice for this time of year. Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?
To tell us about your favourite science websites - drop us an email with the words RWW in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk.
7. The Winners’ Enclosure
Last time we had two family tickets to Magna to give away. The lucky winners are Kevin Straw from Nottingham and Annette Smart from Worcester. Enjoy your visit!8. Joke of the Week
A man signs up with a personal trainer at the gym.“Can you teach me to do the splits?” he asks.
The trainer replies, “How flexible are you?”
“I can't do Thursdays.”
And if you think that’s bad, you should see the jokes in the Planet Science joke collection
Have a great week!
If you would like to view the Planet Science Newsletter Archive click here.
You can also read back issues of Wired-Up for younger teens here.
Or you can read back issues of Hay-Wire for Under 10s.
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