COMPETITION CLOSED – Win brilliant science books by Dr Helen Scales!

Helen Scales is a marine biologist, writer, broadcaster, teacher and scuba diver who stars as our Science Hero in Whizz Pop Bang 96: Coasts. Read more about her in this issue, now available in our shop. She tells us all about her exciting job, including some of the books she has written, and we’re so excited to have five sets of two of these books to give away to mini marine biologists!

Scientists in the Wild: Galápagos by Helen Scales follows a group of marine biologists as they set sail to study the amazing wildlife and habitats of the Galápagos. To get the job done they will climb volcanoes, get sneezed on by marine iguanas, watch dancing birds, launch a deep-diving submersible and explore the dazzling underwater wonders of Galápagos.

Great Barrier Reef by Helen Scales (released 6th July 2023) introduces this incredible, intricate Australian ecosystem to young readers. Discover the plant and animal inhabitants of the Great Barrier Reef in this beautifully illustrated book, then find out what we can all do to ensure its survival.

To enter the competition, simply answer the following question in the comments:

Where is the Great Barrier Reef?

a) Australia

b) South America

c) Antarctica

The competition closes at midnight on 31st July 2023. For full terms and conditions, please visit: https://www.whizzpopbang.com/terms-and-conditions/.

Want to know more about Whizz Pop Bang – the awesomely amazing science magazine for kids?

  • Whizz Pop Bang is an award-winning science magazine that brings science to life for children aged six to twelve (and their parents too)!
  • Each monthly issue is packed with experiments, puzzles, science news, crafts, jokes, inspiring scientists, competitions and more!
  • Our aim is simple – to help children develop a love of science. We love to imagine what they might discover or invent one day!


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Grow your own pet – A FREE seed germination science activity

Whizz Pop Bang is the world’s most awesomely amazing kids’ science magazine, bursting with hands-on experiments, facts and fun, and we want to help support you when teaching your children about science!

Here is a FREE science activity for your child to grow their own pet which will help you entertain, excite and educate any primary aged child while teaching them all about living things.

Our free science experiments are downloadable and printable and are designed for children from 6 to 12, but this downloadable activity is particularly perfect for year 2, P3 (Scotland) and 6-year-olds and 7-year-olds as they tie in with the relevant National Curriculum objectives and topics.

grow your own pet activity instructions

Grow your own grass pets to learn about what seeds need in order to grow.

Design and make your own grass head pets, then discover what plants need in order to grow!

You will need:
Soil or compost
2 tbsp. grass seed
Old nylon tights
Plant pot or bowl
Elastic bands
Googly eyes, felt or beads
Needle and thread or glue

Bonus activity: how to walk like a cat!

Find out what’s special about how cats walk.

Topic links: Year 2 plants and P3 biodiversity and interdependence

If you have any comments or questions about our free year 2 science experiments and reading comprehensions, please leave a comment for us. Or do you have any science homeschool ideas or general home educating ideas for 6- and 7-year-olds? We’d love to hear from you!

Find loads more science activities, puzzles and games in our award-winning monthly kids science magazine, Whizz Pop Bang!

Title: Hands-on Science Lessons Ready to Go! With a quote from a Year 6 teacher and children playing in the school yard.

Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your school’s science teaching:

  • We provide downloadable science lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, hands-on investigations and science reading comprehensions written by primary school teachers.
  • Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources link to the National Curriculum, ensuring correct coverage.
  • All of our resources are year group specific, ensuring progression between the years.
  • We make cross-curricular links to other subjects, such as English, Maths, History, Geography, Art, Design and Technology and PSHE.

Prices from as little as £197.99 per year for a copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine through the post each month and whole-school access to our ever-growing library of downloadable teaching resources, with unlimited teacher logins.

We’ve also launched a new individual teacher resources membership option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources for just £20 for the whole year


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Learn to love nettles!

Nettles are know mainly for one thing, and it doesn’t make them too popular: their stings! In fact, these much-maligned plants play an important role in our natural world.

Image: Shutterstock

They provide a home for insect species, including butterflies and moths, and are a safe place to live as many grazing animals avoid eating them (for one obvious and painful reason!) Over winter, they are a good habitat for aphids, providing an early food source for ladybirds and blue tits. Later in the year, they produce large amounts of seeds which are very useful for seed-eating birds.

They’re also a great source of nutrients for humans, and spring is a great time to go and harvest some nettles. Just remember to wear gloves and pick away from busy roads and above the height of a cocked dog’s leg 😉

Nettle bread
Nettle crisps

Nettle scones

PLUS you can find a recipe for tasty nettle soup in Whizz Pop Bang: ROCK ON!

Did you know that rocks can morph from one type to another? It’s all happening right under your feet! In this rocking edition of Whizz Pop Bang, get busy cooking up a chocolate rock cycle, making your own fossils, starting a rock collection, and cutting out and making a twisty rock cycler toy!

You can also find out about mountain goats, make nettle soup and meet space geologist Katie Joy, who studies rocks from the Moon! Find how pneumatic drills can smash up almost anything, discover ten awesomely amazing rocks with superpowers, meet James Hutton, the first person to realise how the rock cycle works, and chip away at the mystery of the walking stones of Death Valley! Rock on!


Let us know if you give nettles a try! Find out more here


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FREE science activities for year 3 and P4!

Now that schools are closed, have you become a home educator overnight? Whizz Pop Bang is the world’s most awesomely amazing kids’ science magazine, bursting with hands-on experiments, facts and fun, and we want to help you and your children with the huge transition that many of us face.

Here are some FREE science activities and experiments to help you entertain, excite and educate your year 3 child! Meet an orthopaedic vet, be inspired by an amazing female scientist, do a walking water experiment, investigate air pressure and surface tension and make bendy bones!

Our experiments are designed for children from 6 to 12, but this list of experiments is particularly perfect for year 3, P4 (Scotland), 7-year-olds and 8-year-olds as they tie in with the relevant National Curriculum objectives and topics.

The reading comprehensions included here were designed to be read at A3 size, so text may appear too small when printed at A4. They work really well on a tablet or monitor, or you may need to print them on two pages of A4 if your printer allows.

If you have any comments or questions about our free year 3 science experiments and reading comprehensions, please leave a comment for us. Or do you have any science homeschool ideas or general home educating ideas for 7- and 8-year-olds? We’d love to hear from you!

Find loads more science activities, puzzles and games in our award-winning monthly kids science magazine, Whizz Pop Bang!


Interview with an orthopaedic vet reading comprehension

This is a great one for animal lovers! An interview with Toby Gemmill, whose job is to put broken pets back together after an accident. He explains how long bones take to mend, describes the trickiest operation he’s performed and gives some top tips on how to become a vet. Small snippets of text ideal for reluctant readers. 

This downloadable reading pack includes: 
– An interview with Toby Gemmill for you to print or for your child to read on a tablet.
–  Reading comprehension question sheet and answer sheet.

Topic links: Year 2 Animals including humans


Agnes Arber reading comprehension

Read about sensational scientist Agnes Arber, whose career as a plant scientist started when she was just 13! Her dedication to botany helped the world to realise the amazing talent of women in science.

This downloadable reading pack includes: 
– A feature about Agnes Arber for you to print or for your child to read on a tablet.
–  Reading comprehension question sheet and answer sheet.

Topic links: Year 3 Plants and P3 Biodiversity and interdependence


Walking water activity

Ask your child if they think water can ‘walk’? Set up a nifty experiment together to prove that it actually can move and discover how plants transport water using capillary action.

You will need:
Water
Kitchen towels
Food colouring

Bonus activity: upside-down glass experiment

Investigate surface tension and air pressure while learning a neat trick: how to turn a glass of water upside down without spilling a drop!

Topic links: Year 3 Plants and P4 Biodiversity and interdependence


Make a bendy backbone

Discover how the backbone is able to bend, even though it’s made of rigid elements, by creating a model backbone from vertebrae and cartilage!

You will need:
A 5 cm paperclip
A drinking straw
Scissors
A ruler
Sticky tack or Plasticine

Bonus activity: bendy bones experiment

Discover what happens when bones don’t contain enough calcium in this intriguing experiment.

You will need:
2 chicken bones (legs are ideal)
Jar with a lid (large enough to hold one bone with space at the top)
Vinegar
Cling film

Topic links: Year 3 Animals including humans and P4 Biological systems.


Are you home educating children in other year groups? Then you might find these posts helpful:
Free science activities for year 2 and P3
Free science activities for year 4 and P5
Free science activities for year 5 and P6
Free science activities for year 6 and P7


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FREE science activities for year 2 and P3!

Now that schools are closed, have you become a home educator overnight? Whizz Pop Bang is the world’s most awesomely amazing kids’ science magazine, bursting with hands-on experiments, facts and fun, and we want to help you and your children with the huge transition that many of us face.

Here are some FREE science activities and experiments to help you entertain, excite and educate your year 2 child! You’ll find reading comprehensions about harvest mice and crabs, find out how to grow a grass head pet while learning about seed germination, discover how to make plastic from milk and create a working wind turbine!

Our experiments are designed for children from 6 to 12, but this list of experiments is particularly perfect for year 2, P3 (Scotland) and 6-year-olds and 7-year-olds as they tie in with the relevant National Curriculum objectives and topics.

The reading comprehensions included here were designed to be read at A3 size, so text may appear too small when printed at A4. They work really well on a tablet or monitor, or you may need to print them on two pages of A4 if your printer allows. 

If you have any comments or questions about our free year 2 science experiments and reading comprehensions, please leave a comment for us. Or do you have any science homeschool ideas or general home educating ideas for 6- and 7-year-olds? We’d love to hear from you!

Find loads more science activities, puzzles and games in our award-winning monthly kids science magazine, Whizz Pop Bang!

Harvest mice reading comprehension

Read all about the smallest rodent in Europe, the tiny harvest mouse!
Find out how they are related to other rodents, how much they weigh, what they use their tails for, how they protect themselves from predators, where they build their nests and what their babies are called. 

This downloadable reading pack includes: 
– A reading spread about harvest mice for you to print or for your child to read on a tablet.
–  Reading comprehension question sheet and answer sheet

Topic links: Year 2 living things and habitats, P3 Biodiversity and interdependence


Seed germination: grow your own plant pet!

Grow grass pets to learn about what seeds need in order to grow.  Design and make your own grass head pets, then discover what plants need in order to grow!

You will need:
Soil or compost
2 tbsp. grass seed
Old nylon tights
Plant pot or bowl
Elastic bands
Googly eyes, felt or beads
Needle and thread or glue

Bonus activity: how to walk like a cat!

Find out what’s special about how cats walk.

Topic links: Year 2 plants and P3 biodiversity and interdependence


Make your own plastic

Explore making plastic from milk (casein plastic) in this fun free science experiment using household items.

You will need:
Milk
White wine vinegar
A sieve
Paper towels

Bonus activity: Try out a leak-proof bag

These activities are taken from Whizz Pop Bang’s Awesomely Amazing Science Club – download the entire pack here!

Topic links: Year 2 Materials and P3 Properties and uses of substances


Crabs reading comprehension

Read about the ultimate recyclers of the seas, crabs! Discover why these cool crustaceans have an exoskeleton, how they walk and more!

This downloadable reading pack includes: 
– A reading spread about crabs for you to print or for your child to read on a tablet.
–  Reading comprehension question sheet and answer sheet.

Topic links: Year 2 living things and habitats, P3 Biodiversity and interdependence

Make a wind turbine

Print, cut and craft a working wind turbine!

You will need:
Printable template (below)
A paper straw
A wooden skewer
A stapler and staples
A few beads that are large enough to thread onto the skewer
Sticky tack

Bonus activity: upside-down glass experiment

This activity is taken from Whizz Pop Bang’s Awesomely Amazing Science Club – download the entire pack here!


Are you home educating children in other year groups? Then you might find these posts helpful:
Free science activities for year 3 and P4
Free science activities for year 4 and P5
Free science activities for year 5 and P6
Free science activities for year 6 and P7


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