The best time to spot the Lyrid meteor in the UK in 2022 is on the night of 22nd – 23rd April. The Lyrids begin on the 14th April this year which is 2 days before a full moon so the sky will still be pretty bright at the peak of the shower which will make spotting meteors a bit tricky – but don’t be deterred! Follow these tips from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich for the best chance of meteor-spotting.
☄️Find a dark site with an unobstructed view of the sky. ☄️The best time to see the shower is in the early morning of the peak day, which this year is the morning of the 23rd April (the night of the 22nd April). ☄️Fill your view with the sky and wait! Lying on the ground is a great way to see as much as possible. ☄️Look towards the Vega constellation – here’s a handy map showing how to find it at this time of year thanks to Astronomy Now. ☄️Blanket optional but highly recommended. Reclining deckchairs make an even more comfortable way to view the sky. ☄️Remember to wrap up warm!
Image: Canva
Whizz Pop Bang is a top-quality, gender-neutral, advert-free science magazine for families everywhere. Each issue is packed with experiments, activities, amazing facts, puzzles, jokes, riddles and more. Find out more here and flick through a space-themed issue here!
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 printable, hands-on science experiment to make a model wind turbine which will help you entertain, excite and educate any primary aged child!
Our science activities 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.
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
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!
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 membership option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources for just £20 for the whole year.
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 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
Topic links: Year 2 plantsand 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!
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.
Win a brilliant Earth Science dig kit and get stuck in with erupting volcanoes, growing crystals and uncovering pyrite!
The National Geographic Explorer Science Series Earth Science Kit is a must-have for any promising young scientist! There are so many fun activities in this kit that it’s perfect to share. It’s a great way to spend quality family time together or to use as part of your home school curriculum. Plus, you can learn the science behind crystals, volcanoes, tornadoes, and gemstones together with the help of the full-colour learning guides.
We have 3 Science Activity kits to give away!
To be in for a chance of winning, just answer this question in the comments:
It’s your chance to win the galaxy’s most wacky activity book. Grab your pencils, Earthlings. Let our mission commence!
3, 2, 1…blast off! Are you ready to journey out of this world to discover what lies beyond? From space pirates and surfing aliens to galactic shark ships and mysterious planets, strap in, put on your alien mask and zoom through the stars for the ultimate cosmic activity adventure. We’ve got FIVE copies of The Cosmic Book of Space, Aliens and Beyond! to give away!
To win one of FIVE copies, just answer this question in the comments:
Uncover hours of fun with this Ultimate Gemstone Dig Kit from National Geographic!
The extra-large dig brick has 20 amazing gemstones hidden inside. Your kids will love discovering them all using the included dig tool and brush and then get a close-up view of each with the magnifying glass. A full-colour learning guide provides fascinating facts about each gemstone, and easy-to-follow instructions make excavating each gemstone a whole lot of fun! Gemstones include two types of agate, three types of quartz, tiger’s eye, snowflake obsidian, amethyst, aragonite, aventurine, hematite, desert rose, a geode piece, green fluorite, pyrite, red jasper, sodalite, turquenite, blue calcite, and labradorite.
Our very knowledgeable robot, Y, has another challenge for you this week. Y’s Wonder Club club is for budding scientists to share their adventures in science with our robot, Y, and other Whizz Pop Bang readers. All Whizz Pop Bang subscribers are automatically joined to Y’s Wonder Club and for a limited time this summer we’re opening up the club for everyone!
We have two weeks left so get ready for your scientist in training to put their capes on and become an Eco Hero! If you missed our previous weeks, go back and have a look at the Wildlife Watcher and Super Scientist badges to collect them all! We’ve got some great summer holiday activities that not only keep the kids entertained but do good for the planet too!
Complete these three challenges to earn your Whizz Pop Bang Eco Hero badge…
1) Upcycle something
Choose an item that’s reaching the end of its life or is destined for the bin and transform it into something useful. For example, you could make a pencil case from an old bag, tie-die a stained t-shirt or freshen up an old wooden stool with bright paints.
2) Make an environmentally friendly change
Make a lifestyle change that enables you or your family to cause less harm to the environment. Perhaps you could ask your parents if you could walk, cycle or scoot into school or to the park, instead of driving. Maybe you could reduce the amount of single-use plastics you use at home, eat less meat, or help your family to reduce your food waste.
3) Help to raise awareness
Spread the word about an environmental issue that you feel strongly about. You could design and put up a poster about an environmental issue, e.g. reminding your school friends to bring in reusable water bottles or encouraging awareness in your neighbourhood of toads or hedgehogs on the roads. You could write to your MP or your local shops or cafes to ask them to make environmentally friendly changes. Or maybe you could join an environmental campaign or protest.
Here’s how to apply for your badge:
1. Download the Eco Hero application form. Print it out and complete the first page of the application form to tell us about how you’ve helped the environment. Attach any photos or drawings that you’d like to send to us. If you don’t have a printer, you can type your answers into an email or write your answers on a plain piece of paper and send us a photograph of it.
2. Ask your parent or guardian to pay the £1-per-badge postage and packing fee, which can be done online at whizzpopbang.com/shop/719619/badge-postage-and-packing/. Add the order confirmation number to the second page of the application form.
3. Ask your parent or guardian to fill in the second page of the form.
4. Photograph or scan your completed form and any other documents and email them to Y@whizzpopbang.com with the subject line as ‘Eco Hero Badge’. Alternatively, post your completed application to Eco Hero Badge, Whizz Pop Bang, Unit 7, Global Business Park, 14 Wilkinson Road, Cirencester, GL7 1YZ. Please note that it can take up to 12 weeks for delivery of the badges.
Another week of the summer holidays is here, –are you looking for screen-free activities to keep those little brains entertained? For a limited time only, applying for Y’s Wonder Club badges is open to everyone (not just Whizz Pop Bang subscribers)!
This week we’re earning our Super Scientist badges. We’ll take you through the actual steps that scientists follow to study and investigate while ensuring they are conducting a fair test!
Earn a collectible high-quality enamel Super Scientist badge by getting curious! Think up a question, investigate it and record the results and conclusions.
Challenge 1: Think up a question What would you like to investigate? It could be almost anything… Do birds sing more often when it’s sunny? Which type of surface is best for bouncing balls on? Does your pet hamster have a favourite colour?! Make a prediction of what you think your results will be (scientists call this a hypothesis).
Challenge 2: Investigate it Plan and carry out an experiment to investigate your question. When you’re experimenting, remember to only change one thing at a time and try to keep all other variables the same. For example, if you’re trying to find out which surface is best for bouncing, you would need to always drop the ball from the same height, always use the same ball and measure the height of its first bounce. It would be more accurate to repeat the tests a few times on each surface and calculate the average bounce height if you can.
Challenge 3: Tell us what you discovered! Tell us about your results and conclusions. Did they surprise you? Did they lead to more questions that you’d like to investigate further?
How did you get on? Did you follow along with our Super Scientist week? Send your application in to us to receive your badge just like these super-duper scientists!
Download the Super Scientist application form. Print it out and complete the first page of the application form to tell us about your science investigation. Attach any photos or drawings that you’d like to send to us. If you don’t have a printer, you can type your answers into an email or write your answers on a plain piece of paper and send us a photograph of it.
Ask your parent or guardian to fill in the second page of the form. The postage and packing for the first 500 successful applicants is being sponsored by The Great Science Share for Schools so there’s no need to pay postage and packing for this badge. We will update this page and the form once the 500 badge limit has been used up.
Email your completed form (or a photograph or scan of it), together with any other documents to Y@whizzpopbang.com with the subject line as ‘Super Scientist badge’. Alternatively, post your completed application to Super Scientist Badge, Whizz Pop Bang, Unit 7, Global Business Park, 14 Wilkinson Road, Cirencester, GL7 1YZ. Please note that it can take up to 12 weeks for delivery of the badges.
It’s that time of year again! School’s out for summer and you may be scratching your head for things to do over the summer holidays. We could have just the solution you’re looking for – a chance to earn collectible enamel science badges throughout the holidays!
Did you know that when you subscribe to Whizz Pop Bang magazine, you automatically become a member of Y’s Wonder Club? Find out all about it here! Your mini-scientist will love being put to the test with a science challenge!
GREAT NEWS! Y’s Wonder Club is being opened up to EVERYONE for a limited time over the summer holidays! Each week, we’ll post some ideas for how your Whizz Pop Bang fan can earn each badge in the collection and enjoy these summer holiday activities. First up is the Wildlife Watcher badge. Mini scientists will love following along learning about their local wildlife and at the end of the challenge, they can send their application in to get their badge!
Do you know a scientist-in-training who might like to become an official Whizz Pop Bang Wildlife Watcher? To earn a badge, they need to…
Make something to help wildlife close to home
Spot some wildlife and record it
Do something to help wildlife
All of these activities can be done from home – what a great way to keep busy and help nature!
Challenge 1: Make something to help wildlife in your area (e.g. make a mini-pond, bug hotel, butterfly feeder or hedgehog house, etc.).
Here’s your first challenge to earn the Wildlife Watcher badge! Wildlife is a vital part of life here on Earth, but many areas of natural habitat are in decline, threatening the existence of many creatures. If we all did our part to help the wildlife living in our gardens, it would have a huge positive impact. This challenge is all about getting crafty and creating something that will help the creatures living all around you. It’s a great way to encourage kids to help wildlife.
Challenge 2: Spot some wildlife and record it (e.g. describe, draw, count or photograph it).
As a scientist, watching and recording is a huge part of the job! Monitoring species and their habitats is how scientists learn all about our world and behaviour. This challenge will get your scientist-in-training learning to think about how animals look and behave. They will be sure to learn a thing or two about the creatures living in their backyards – and you might too!
Monitoring and recording the world around us is a great way for inquisitive minds to get used to asking questions. So why not record all of your findings in our scrapbook? Find out more here.
Challenge 3: Do something to help wildlife (e.g. create a wildflower area in a garden or window box, clear litter from a park or beach, take part in a citizen science project that helps wildlife, etc.). These are great hands on science activities that also benefit the planet.
The final challenge before your mini scientists can send away their application to get that hard-earned badge. Getting involved and helping wildlife makes a huge impact on our planet. So your scientist-in-training will have to think of a way to positively impact the wildlife around them.
Send your application to us to receive your badge just like these wildlife watchers!
Download the Wildlife Watcher application form. Print it out and complete the first page of the application form to tell us about how you’ve helped wildlife in your area. Attach any photos or drawings that you’d like to send to us. If you don’t have a printer, you can type your answers into an email or write your answers on a plain piece of paper and send us a photograph of it.
Ask your parent or guardian to pay the £1-per-badge postage and packing fee, which can be done online at whizzpopbang.com/shop/719619/badge-postage-and-packing/. Add the order confirmation number to the second page of the application form.
Ask your parent or guardian to fill in the second page of the form.
Photograph or scan your completed form and any other documents and email them to Y@whizzpopbang.com with the subject line as ‘Wildlife Watcher badge’. Alternatively, post your completed application to Wildlife Watcher Badge, Whizz Pop Bang, Unit 7, Global Business Park, 14 Wilkinson Road, Cirencester, GL7 1YZ. Please note that it can take up to 12 weeks for delivery of the badges.
It’s not long until the fantastic Just So Festival kicks off – it’s running at Rode Hall, Cheshire on 20th – 22nd August. It’s an incredible outdoor adventure for families from bumps to great grandparents, and Whizz Pop Bang are so excited to be a part of the fun that’s in store!
Photo: Teneight
The Whizz Pop Bang team will be popping in to run an out-of-this-world Mission to Mars workshop, where interplanetary explorers-in-training will get to explore one of our closest neighbours in space. Come along and look for signs of life, extract Martian core samples and experience the seven minutes of terror faced by spacecraft preparing to land on this fascinating planet!
Find out more about the festival at justsofestival.org.uk, where the line up has been announced! Discover a celestial celebration of the planets in The Observatory, live bands and dance workshops on the Footlights Stage, stories galore in the Spellbound Forest, and so much enchanted adventure throughout the site. There’s something for every member of the family!
Photo: Samuel Mills Photography
Whizz Pop Bang is an awesomely amazing monthly science magazine that brings science to life for children aged six to twelve (and their parents too)! There’s lab-loads of hands-on experiments, mind-boggling facts, puzzles, news and fun packed into each month’s magazine. Whizz Pop Bang sparks imaginations and inspires the scientists of the future from the moment it comes bursting through their letterbox. Subscribe today at whizzpopbang.com!
If you’re not lucky enough to be going to Just So Festival this year, but want to learn more about the red planet, you can pick up Whizz Pop Bang: MISSION TO MARS in our shop now!
