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Friday 1st June 2007: Issue: 70

Pinch, punch first of the month! It’s the first of June and Haywire’s here to make sure you get off to a flying start.

  1. Planet Picks – June Quiz
  2. The Buzz – Wandering walruses
  3. Up for Grabs – Family ticket to Bob Live
  4. Web Watch – Great Inventors and Wacky Inventions
  5. Winners – Stopwatch

1. Planet Picks – News from the world of Planet Science…

This month’s quiz is about exams.  So all of you who’ve just finished your SATs can have a well-deserved chortle at those poor bods who still have it all to come! Have a bash at the June Exam Quiz. Your prizes are things that may help if you find yourself having to revise again in the future… USB plug-in gadgets such as a keyboard vacuum cleaner and shoulder massager kit.  Plus a retro flip date clock for that authentic deadline feeling!

Ready? You may open your paper.

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2. The Buzz – Science news delivered to your inbox…

Eight walruses were tagged with sat-nav type devices so that scientists could track where they migrate to in the summer.  Hopefully this will give the scientists some idea of whether global warming is affecting the walruses. The walruses of west Greenland were found lazing about on ice. The creatures - which can be bigger and weigh more than a small car – are often found in groups of two to three. However, despite the fact that eight were tagged, there is only one walrus left with its tag intact.  The others seem to have disappeared, probably due to the fact that walrus hides are tough and can be worn away quickly or maybe the tags have been scraped off when the walruses pull themselves across the ice with their strong tusks. So come on everyone, let’s hear it for Walrus 2, the only remaining walrus who can tell us – where DO walruses go in the summer?

Click here to Walrus Watch on the interactive map.

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3. Up for Grabs – You’ve got to be in it to win it...

Can he fix it?  Yes he can!! It’s Build it with Bob live at the Science Museum!

Build it with Bob live at the Science Museum is a science-based show for young children.

The fun and engaging 45 minute show – aimed at 3-5 year olds - will feature Bob the Builder with Wendy TM and Spud TM in Sunflower Valley learning about structures, water flow, patterns, numbers and the all important 3 Rs, Reducing, Re-using and Re-cycling.

Build it with Bob live at the Science Museum runs until Friday 7 September 2007

Book on 0870 870 4868 (booking fee applies) or visit www.sciencemuseum.org.uk for more details.

Those nice folks at the Science Museum have given us a family ticket to give away (for 1 child and 2 adults). If you want to win it, send us your name, age and address to: Hay-wire.Clubhouse@nesta.org.uk with ‘BOB BUILDER’ as the subject. The winners will be picked at random at 5pm, on Wednesday 13th June 2007.

Good luck!

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4. Web Watch – Don’t surf the Internet alone…

Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, sculptor, and author. He decided that most people seem to want to do things the hard way rather then the simple way.  He drew cartoons to show how man can put maximum effort into achieving minimal results. Check out www.rube-goldberg.com/ Look in the Artwork Gallery for ‘Safety Device for Walking on Icy Pavements’

In the US Rube Goldberg competition 2007 entrants were asked to make a machine that squeezes an orange into a cup in the most roundabout manner possible.

Are you in Year 5? Fancy yourself as a bit of an inventor? Have a look at  www.crackingideas.com/.  Tell your teacher all about it! There are lots of prizes to be won for your school. The competition launches on 4 June and there will be an interactive website featuring Wallace & Gromit and classroom activities and lesson plans.  Pass the Wensleydale, would you, Gromit lad?

If you’re interested in great inventors of the past then look at By Kids For Kids Famous Inventors.

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5. Winners – Has your name been picked out of the bag?

Remember Issue 69 when we were giving away a stopwatch? Well the lucky winner is Miss B. Carter (very formal there, miss B age 8!) of the Isle of Wight.  Congratulations!

So remember – keep entering ‘cos next time it could be you!

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INFORMATION OVERLOAD

Planet Science has gone Hay-Wire and now you have too!

That’s all for this issue. The next issue of Hay-Wire will be with you in two weeks time so until then, why not ask your friends to join the Hay-Wire Club?

They can visit the Clubhouse for more details (the password is Sciwoof )

Bye for now!