Whizz Pop Bang reader Patrick, aged 7, asked a brilliant question: Why do bouncy balls bounce and don’t just stick on the ground like a rock?
Y the robot has the answer! Unlike rocks, bouncy balls are made of elastic materials, such as rubber. Elastic materials are flexible – it’s easy to change their shape. But they return to their original shape after being squashed or stretched. When the ball hits the ground, it is squashed out of shape. Some of its movement energy is changed into elastic energy, stored very briefly inside the ball. Once the ball has come to a stop, this elastic energy is released as the ball returns to its original shape. The ball pushes against the ground and the ground pushes back, sending the ball back up into the air. BOING!
Now watch a ball bounce in slow motion!
Find the answers to loads of science questions like this in every single issue of Whizz Pop Bang magazine!
Have you ever wondered what an ancient Egyptian mummy sounds like?
Scientists have brought the voice of an Egyptian mummy back from the dead with the help of a 3D printer. Nesyamun was an Egyptian priest whose mummified remains were scanned in a hospital CT scanner to measure the dimensions of his vocal tract. A team of researchers then made a 3D-printed copy of the vocal tract and used it with an artificial larynx to recreate the sound of Nesyamun’s voice. So far, they’ve only made one vowel sound but, with the help of computer models, the researchers hope to one day recreate full sentences.
This fascinating news story was featured in Whizz Pop Bang: Splash! Leap into the Science of Ponds which is on sale in our shop.
Want to know more about the science of Ancient Egypt? Then you’ll love issue 55, which is packed with the hidden science of mummies and pyramids!
Are you looking for science news for kids? Whizz Pop Bang features the latest science news, presented for children aged 6 – 11, every issue. Sign up here!
It’s World Book Day on 5 March 2020 and this year, it’s all about Sharing a Million Stories! Joining in is simple: just sign up and pledge to share 10-minutes of storytelling (which includes reading aloud, audiobooks, comics or lots more) as many times as you can throughout World Book Month (27 February – 29 March 2020).
You could win £1,000 of stories to share with your nursery or school during each week of the campaign, simply by sharing stories! Find out more here.
Looking for rainy day science activities? With Storm Dennis on his way, these wet weather science experiments will keep your scientists-in-training entertained and curious. What a great way to make the most of the weather, however wet and windy it gets!
Wondering how to entertain your family over rainy weekend and holidays? Whizz Pop Bang magazine is packed with super-exciting experiments and investigations every month. Sign up now!
Make a Robinson anemometer (wind speed measuring device)
Find out which way the wind is blowing with this simple weather vane activity. Will it stand up to Storm Dennis-strength winds? There’s only one way to find out! Click here for instructions.
If all this rain is prompting lots of wonderful questions, this activity could help you answer a big one: how does it rain? Use a glass jar, paper bowl, ice cubes and boiling water to investigate how rain is formed. Click here for instructions.
Make a rain gauge
The Met Office’s DIY rain gauge project uses an unexpected material to ensure that it takes accurate reading: jelly! Click here for instructions.
OK, so we’re really hoping there won’t be any real tornados this weekend – making a mini tornado in a jar is much more fun, and a great demonstration of this swirling extreme weather phenomenon. Click here for instructions.
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is on 11th February 2020, and it exists to defy gender stereotypes and show that women and girls are a vital part of the science community!
To celebrate The International Day of Women and Girls in Science, meet an amazing female scientist we featured in Whizz Pop Bang’s Space Travel issue…
Meet Katherine Johnson
Katherine was part of a team of women carrying out complicated calculations for engineers, but she didn’t act like a computer – she never stopped asking questions! Her curiosity got her noticed, and Katherine was invited to join a team carrying out exciting research into space flight.
She worked with a team at NASA doing the maths to get America’s first astronaut safely into space in 1961. She went on to calculate the flight paths for many other spacecraft.
Katherine isn’t only famous for her brilliant brain. Rocket science was simple compared to the challenges she faced as an African American woman in the mid-1900s. Until 1964, black Americans faced discrimination at school and work, and were often kept apart from their white co-workers. Katherine helped to break down barriers all through her life, starting when she became one of the first three African Americans to begin a graduate degree at West Virginia University.
Have you ever wondered how the universe began? Or what it takes to put humans on the moon – or even on Mars? What would you do if you could travel through space and time?
The brilliant Lucy Hawking and her father, Professor Stephen Hawking discuss these questions (and many more) in this fantastic new book. We’ve got three copies, signed by Lucy, to give away!
This collection of essays explores the creation of the universe, dark matter, life in space, AI, the climate emergency and more written by the Hawking family and other leading experts. Packed with mind-blowing facts and photos, this beautiful collection is sure to get young minds whirring.
Nics is an army GP doctor who planned and led a 61-day polar expedition for a team of six women (called the Ice Maidens). Here, she shares what inspired her to begin her adventures in science.
My father was a doctor in the army, and I used to hear about his travels all around the world looking after soldiers and fixing them. I am very similar to him so it was no surprise that I wanted to join, too. I needed to make sure I would enjoy it so I looked into it a lot. It is not for everyone, but as soon as I started doing some army work, I knew this was the perfect job for me.
What advice do you have for young scientists?
My top 3 pieces of advice:
“Always do what interests you.”
Nics Wetherill
Always do what interests you, don’t do it because you think it is the right thing to do. I wasn’t very clever at school and didn’t get the straight A’s that most medical students are used to getting, (infact I had to re-take my Spanish A level to get into medical school) but I did really well at the sciences and at medical school because I was so interested in it that I found it really easy.
“You don’t have to be just one type of anything – you can do lots more.”
Nics Wetherill
Don’t carve a path too early – despite knowing I wanted to be a doctor, I had no idea what kind of doctor I wanted to be, I still don’t really know and keep changing my mind. I let life and events and experience guide me to my current career, but even then that might change as I am really interested in emergency medicine – you don’t have to just be one type of anything, you can do lots more.
“Present with a solution, rather than a problem.”
Nics Wetherill
Don’t wait for an opportunity to come to you. If you have an idea, or a vague thought about doing something, don’t wait for someone to offer it to you, go ahead and do your own research and get planning on it yourself. You won’t get it you don’t ask! If you need the support of people higher up, then provide them with the reason why they should support you in your idea – present with a solution rather than a problem.
Star Wars fans will remember the 3D hologram of Princess Leia projected by R2-D2. Now, British scientists have developed a way of making holograms that can be seen, heard and felt! Here’s a video of this new technology in action:
Have you been reading about holograms in Whizz Pop Bang: POLAR SCIENCE? Pretty amazing, aren’t they? Read more about this story in the Polar Science issue – on sale now!
As you move around, it looks like Rudolph’s head turns to follow you! This is called a hollow face illusion. This illusion happens because, when you look at a face, your brain expects it to be convex (budging outwards) and so its fooled into thinking Rudolph’s nose is pointing towards you, when in fact his head is concave (curving outwards).
Download this file, then print, cut out and stick your own amazing Rudolph optical illusion!
Are mountains of festive plastic tat making your Christmas feel a little less than magical? Being an eco-warrior, a super-parent AND Father Christmas can be exhausting stuff, so we’ve sought out some present ideas that bring more cheer and less guilt.
Looking for plastic-free gifts, ethical present ideas, green gifts and other ways to have a green Christmas and make a difference at his time of year? Keep scrolling…
Junko junk modelling kits, from £9.99, www.planetjunko.com
Make junk into toys with this super-creative, eco-friendly toy! Each kit contains a variety of accessories (including wheels, paddle wheels, floats, rubber band drives and more) along with plenty of clip-on and magnetic fixings that can be combined to turn household junk into almost anything you can imagine.
Invented by a dad who wanted to avoid throwaway plastic toys, Junko is fully reusable and made from recycled plastic in England. Its system of clips, magnetic fixings and accessories take junk modelling up a notch, encouraging imaginative play, problem solving and serious FUN!
Whizz Pop Bang subscription, from £20.99, www.whizzpopbang.com
Want to give the gift of science wonder every month of the year? A subscription to Whizz Pop Bang magazine sends science learning and fun rocketing through your letterbox, every single month, with no plastic tat in sight! ⠀
And as if that’s not enough…⠀ 🌳 Printed with vegetable inks on paper from FSC/PEFC suppliers 🌳 Delivered in paper envelopes⠀ 🌳 Advert-free⠀ 🌳 Activities and experiments often reuse household items (like the content of your recycling box and shed!)⠀
First up is an amazing shop dedicated to plastic-free gifts: EcoVibe. From craft kits to lunch bags, building blocks to origami kits, this website promises an easy conscience for all of Santa’s elves. It’s worth having a peek at their adult self-care range too – you might need some TLC after all that shopping!
Throw it and grow it with these easy-gardening seedboms (packed with native wildflower and herb seeds in peat-free compost). There’s even an accompanying books, There’s a Tiger in the Garden, if you’re buying for a younger child (age 4-7). We also love the Make a Pizza for the Birds kit – tasty treats for little tweeters!
Dino Snores for Kids sleepover, £65 per person, www.nhm.ac.uk
Prefer dinosaurs to reindeer? If you’re looking for something that most definitely won’t get lost under the bed, the Natural History Museum’s dino-snores sleepovers offers a thrilling experience to wander the corridors of the pre-historic after dark. Explore a torch-lit trail, make a dinosaur t-shirt and watch a science show. That’s a present they certainly won’t forget!
Adopt a polar bear, from £3 per month, www.wwf.org.uk
Have your kids asked for a puppy for Christmas? How about a polar bear instead? The WWF offers a huge range of animals to ‘adopt’ for Christmas, without the extra hassle of walkies, litter trays and vet bills! From £3 a month, (or from a £36 one-off payment), your little animals will receive a fact pack and regular updates on how their animal is faring in the wild. Upgrade to £5 per month and they’ll get a soft toy of your chosen animal, too! Best of all, your well-earned money will be spent directly on helping the species.
