WIN a guide to the night sky!

We have FOUR copies of the brand new book from astrophysicist, Lisa Harvey-Smith – Universal Guide to the Night Sky to give away!

Wherever you are in this world – whether that be in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, in the city or a remote region – this book guides you through the remarkable features of planet Earth’s starry sky.

Receive a personal tour through the wonders of the universe from astrophysicist Lisa Harvey-Smith. Explore comets and meteors, stars, planets and moons. Find galaxies and glowing gas clouds. Spot supernovae and enjoy eclipses. Learn everything you need to know about binoculars, telescopes and photographing the stars. You will never look up at the stars in the same way again.

Featuring intergalactic illustrations by Sophie Beer, this global guide to the sky is your ticket out of this world.

To win one of FOUR copies, answer this question in the comments:

What is the name for scientists who focus on observations of the skies?

A Astronomer
B Biologist
C Chemist

This competition closes at midnight on 31st January 2024 and is open to UK residents only. Whizz Pop Bang competition terms and conditions are here.


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How does huddling help penguins stay warm?

Many animals, including walruses, penguins and monkeys, huddle in groups to keep warm. The centre of a huddle of Emperor penguins can reach 24℃ when the air temperature is as low as -40℃!

Watch a video about how huddling works here!


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Answer their questions this Christmas!

Why do carrots grow underground? Why aren’t rivers salty? Why do bouncy balls bounce? What’s the Moon for? Why don’t human eyes glow like cats’ eyes? Why does ice stick to your skin? Why do we shiver? How is fire made? Why do people have different accents?

If there’s a curious child in your family who never stops asking ‘why?’, Whizz Pop Bang could be just the answer you’re looking for! Give a gift subscription this Christmas and help your scientist-in-training to understand the world around them. Get a free Science Magazine worth £5.99 with every subscription!

Keep reading to find the answers to these questions written by Whizz Pop Bang’s expert team of scientists, and discover why endless questioning is a really important part of your child’s development (even when finding the answers can be challenging!)

Why do children ask so many questions?

Questioning trusted adults is a crucial way for children to understand, and form their own ideas, about the world around them. But it can be exhausting at times – Paul L. Harris, Professor of Education at Harvard, estimates that a child asks 40,000 questions between the ages of two and five.

Every issue of Whizz Pop Bang is packed with fascinating facts, simple scientific explanations, and experiments designed to demonstrate the answers to some of your child’s burning questions. Our team of expert scientists (including our all-knowing robot, Y) are on hand to answer our readers’ questions every issue, too – so if you can’t find the answer to your child’s latest conundrum here, why not email us at y@whizzpopbang.com and see if we can help?

Meanwhile, here are the scientific explanations of a few wonderful questions we’ve been asked recently…

Whizz Pop Bang’s resident robot, Y.

Why do carrots and other vegetables grow underground and not above ground?

We eat at least six different parts of plants. Sometimes we eat the leaves (e.g. lettuce and kale and cabbage). Sometimes we eat the stems (e.g. celery, asparagus, and rhubarb). We eat seeds, such as sunflower seeds and sweetcorn. We eat flowers (such as broccoli) and fruit. And we also eat roots and tubers. A carrot is the main root (or tap root) of a carrot plant. As well as soaking up water and minerals from the soil, it acts as an underground food store for the plant. That makes it a great food for us, too!

Why aren’t rivers salty, like the sea? 

Rain isn’t salty because when water evaporates, anything dissolved in it is left behind. Rivers are topped up by this rainwater, so they aren’t very salty either. But rivers do pick up some salt as they rush over rocks. Eventually, this salt ends up in the sea. Rivers around the world carry 3.6 billion tonnes of salt to the oceans every year! But the oceans don’t just get saltier and saltier, because about the same amount of salt sinks to the seabed each year, becoming part of new rocks.  

Why do bouncy balls bounce and don’t just stick on the ground like a rock?  

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.  

Why do we need the moon?

About 4.5 billion years ago, a giant space rock the size of Mars crashed into Earth and knocked off a chunk of our planet. This chunk of rock became the Moon, and it still orbits Earth, roughly once every 27 days. The Moon is big enough and close enough that its gravity causes bulges in Earth’s water that sweep across the planet’s oceans and seas, causing the tides. Many living things have adapted to depend on the tides for shelter and food. Humans who live near coasts also depend on the tides for catching certain fish and sea creatures, and for sports like surfing. But if the Moon suddenly disappeared it wouldn’t just be coastal life that was disrupted. All life depends on the Moon, because it helps to keep Earth’s climate stable.  

Develop your child’s problem solving skills with the Whizz Pop Bang Science Riddle book!

Why don’t human eyes glow like cats’ eyes do in the dark?

Want to know why cats’ eyes glow? They shine in the dark because each eye has a thin layer of crystals at the back. This layer is called the tapetum lucidum. Its job is to bounce light back into the cat’s eye. This extra light helps cats to see better in the dark. Lots of other crepuscular and nocturnal animals have this light-reflecting layer too. Most animals that are awake in the daytime don’t, including humans. However, you’ll sometimes see human eyes glow red in a photograph, when the bright light of a camera flash bounces off the back of our eyes. 

Why do ice cubes stick to your fingers and ice lollies stick to your tongue?

Heat always moves from a warmer place to a colder place. When you lick a lolly, heat flows from your toasty tongue to the, erm, icy ice. If the lolly is very cold, the saliva coating your tongue drops below 0°C before your body can warm it back up. The saliva freezes and becomes part of the chunk of ice along with the lolly! The same can happen with wet fingers and a very cold ice cube. Never pull your skin away – use room temperature water to melt the ice and set yourself free! 

Why do your teeth chatter when you’re cold?

Want to know why do we shiver? Deep inside your brain, your hypothalamus (say hi-po-thal-a-mus) is busy monitoring your core body temperature. It’s your inbuilt thermostat! But instead of turning on the central heating when you drop below 37°C, the hypothalamus triggers reactions that help keep your organs warm while you find shelter! One of these is shivering. Muscles produce heat as they contract – think how warm you get when you exercise. Shivering is your body’s way of making your muscles contract and relax as you stand still. As your jaw muscles shiver, your lower jaw moves up and down quickly, bumping your teeth together. 

How does fire form?

Heat is one part of the ‘fire triangle’ – the three things needed for a fire to start. The other two are fuel (something to burn) and oxygen (from the air). The heat – from a burning match, lightning or even the Sun’s rays – starts a reaction between the fuel and the oxygen. This produces gases, including water vapour and carbon dioxide. It also releases energy as heat and light. This heat keeps the reaction going until the fuel or oxygen runs out, or the fire is cooled.  

Why do people have different accents?

People can speak the same language with very different accents. This is because we aren’t born speaking a particular language, but with a brain that is brilliant at absorbing and imitating any sounds it hears. This amazing ability to learn is why people tend to speak with the accent they heard most often when they were very young. By the time we are a year old, we are less able to hear different sounds and it becomes harder to pick up a new accent. The ability to imitate stays with us though, so accents can change as people move around, or even during a conversation. In fact, scientists have found that mimicking each other’s speech patterns can help two people to understand each other better, and make friends more quickly.  


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COMPETITION CLOSED – WIN a Mega Connetix Creative Pack

We’ve got THREE bumper sets to give away from Connetix worth £115 each!

We have an epic giveaway this December, this is not one you want to miss out on! We’ve partnered with Connetix and have three massive, 120 piece magnetic construction sets to give away.

The Connetix 120 Piece Pastel Creative Pack makes playtime engaging and educational, sparking boundless creativity and promoting educational, playful experiences for children of all ages. This amazing creative pack offers a spectrum of shapes in 8 delightful pastel colours, making it the perfect canvas for constructing impressive Connetix creations, from intricate designs to grand-scale masterpieces.

Whether children are absorbed in solitary play or engaging with friends and family, constructions toys like this one from Connetix spark STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and, Mathematics) learning while nurturing fine and gross motor skills. Kids can assemble towering castles, futuristic rockets, majestic towers, sturdy bridges, and much more.

The high-quality, open-ended pack seamlessly adapts to your child’s evolving interests and abilities, providing a platform for increasingly complex and imaginative play experience

For your chance to win, simply answer this question in the comments:

Which is the tallest building in the world?

a) The Shard
b) Eiffel tower
c) Burj Khalifa

This competition closes at midnight on Sunday 31st December 2023 and is open to UK residents only. Whizz Pop Bang competition terms and conditions are here.


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COMPETITION CLOSED – WIN a Build Your Own Pinball Machine Advent Calendar!

Are you ready for a fun-filled Christmas countdown with Build Your Own’s limited edition Pinball Machine Advent Calendar.

Hidden behind each door you’ll find a new step of kit instructions. Build step-by-step over 24 days in December; the pieces come together to create a fully functioning Pinball Machine the whole family can enjoy on Christmas Eve.

A planet-friendly take on the traditional arcade game, this super cool tabletop Pinball Machine will provide hours of entertainment over the holiday period. Play alone or challenge friends and family, who will win?

We’ve got THREE Pinball Machine Advent Calendars from Build Your Own to give away to lucky winners! Kids are in for a real treat with this limited-edition advent calendar. The festive countdown just got a whole lot more fun!

To be in with a chance of winning one of three Build Your Own Pinball Machine Advent Calendars, simply answer this question in the comments:

What is fired out of most laser tag guns:

A) X-rays
B) Infrared light
C) Lasers

Good luck!

This competition closes at midnight on Wednesday 15th November 2023 and is open to UK residents only. Whizz Pop Bang competition terms and conditions are here.


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COMPETITION CLOSED – WIN Humungous Fungus by Lynne Boddy

Professor Lynne Boddy is a woodland fungi expert at Cardiff University and she told us all about her amazing career in Whizz Pop Bang 99: Fantastic Fungi.

Lynne has written a beautiful book, Humungous Fungus, an exploration of all things fungi which will amaze young readers, and open their eyes to the fungi thriving all around them and we’ve got four copies to give away!

Simply answer this question in the comments for your chance to win a book.

Which one is a part of a mushroom?
a) Gill
b) Hill
c) Spill

Good luck!

This competition closes at midnight on 31st October 2023 and is open for UK residents only. For full terms and conditions visit whizzpopbang.com/terms

Humongous Fungus, written by Lynne Boddy and illustrated by Wenjia Tang. DK, £12.99. Out Now. 


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Carl Sagan’s Golden Record

Carl Sagan was an astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, professor and science communicator who was fascinated by extra-terrestrial life. You can read about him in Whizz Pop Bang 98: Aliens!

Carl was involved in American space exploration since it began in the 1950s. He put together messages that were sent into outer space in the 1970s on the Voyager Golden Record.

Read more about space in these out-of-this-world issues of Whizz Pop Bang!

By NASA – Great Images in NASA Description, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6455682

Copies of the Golden Record were carried by Voyager I and Voyager II. They contained:

  • Messages in 55 ancient and modern languages
  • Sounds from Earth
  • Images of humans and Earth
By NASA/JPL – The Sounds of Earth Record Cover, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=137443

The discs contained diagrams that explain where Earth is and how to play the record. Scientists spent a long time working out how to communicate these messages to aliens!

Here are some examples of things that were included on Carl Sagan’s Golden Record. You can find a full list of everything that was included here.

Greetings in ancient and modern languages

English (this was recorded by Nick Sagan, Carl’s son, when he was six!)
Akkadian (an ancient language used in Mesopotamia about 6,000 years ago)
“May all be very well.”
Arabic
“Greetings to our friends in the stars. We wish that we will meet you someday.”
Cantonese
“Hi. How are you? Wish you peace, health and happiness.”
Hebrew
“Peace”
Korean
“How are you?”
Nguni
“We greet you, great ones. We wish you longevity”
Polish
“Welcome, creatures from beyond the outer world.”
Rajastani
“Hello to everyone. We are happy here and you be happy there.”
Spanish
“Hello and greetings to all.”
Welsh
“Good health to you now and forever.”

Music

Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F. First Movement, Munich Bach Orchestra, Karl Richter, conductor
New Guinea, men’s house song, recorded by Robert MacLennan
Mexico, “El Cascabel,” performed by Lorenzo Barcelata and the Mariachi México
“Johnny B. Goode,” written and performed by Chuck Berry
Georgian S.S.R., chorus, “Tchakrulo” collected by Radio Moscow
Peru, wedding song, recorded by John Cohen

Images

We can’t include the photographs and diagrams included on the Golden Record because of copyright but you can see some of them here. These show some of the same subjects that featured on it.

If you want to find out more about fantastic scientists like Carl Sagan, subscribe to Whizz Pop Bang, the awesomely amazing science magazine for kids! Learn about inspirational scientists of the past and present every issue – our readers are the in credible scientists of the future!


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Whizz Pop Bang’s trip to Just So Festival was out of this world!

Team Whizz Pop Bang spent a wild weekend meeting hundreds of scientists-in-training at Just So Festival 2023. Thank you so much to Just So Festival for having us back again – we absolutely love being a part of this incredible event.

This year, we brought Jonathan Scott from the European Space Agency (ESA) along to share his amazing knowledge of staying fit and healthy in space. Jon works in the Space Medicine Team at ESA and he used his expert skills to run an Astronaut Training Camp.

Jon brought a replica space suit along for Whizz Pop Bang fans to try on!

We were overwhelmed with the turn out for Jon’s talk and it was fantastic to see so many budding astronauts! A HUGE thank you to Jon, and to all of you who came and joined in the fun. We hope you picked up a thing or two about how astronauts stay fit and healthy on board the International Space Station.

We also ran The Whizz Pop Bang Discovery Den, where young scientists could explore their five senses in some super-fun hands-on experiments.

Children were invited to visit us in ‘The Future’ area in the woodland at Just So Festival and try five different activities linked to the senses.

  • FEEL IT: run your fingers through gloopy cornflour slime (find out how to try this at home here!)
  • SEE IT: trick your brain with optical illusions
  • HEAR IT: test how well sound travels through solids compared to through air using clanger hangers
  • SMELL IT: put your sense of smell to the test
  • TASTE IT: find out how holding your nose affects flavours

They learned some amazing facts, including:

We hope to see lots of you at Just So Festival in future!


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COMPETITION CLOSED – WIN an ION8 water bottle!

When you’re in the savannah you have to keep hydrated! This month’s magazine is all about the African savannah and we’ve got the perfect competition prize, enter to win one of six ION8 water bottles!

We’ve teamed up with ION8 to keep your little one hydrated all summer long. 

These brilliant water bottles are 100% leakproof when closed and made from either stainless steel or BPA-free RECYCLON, (made from organic materials from plants instead of fossil fuels). These refillable and reusable drinks bottle are food safe, odour resistant, easy to hand wash, and keep drinks fresh and full of flavour. Find out more about ION8 products here.

For your chance to win one of six water bottles, simply answer the question below and tell us which design you’d like to win: Cats, Ecologi, Space, Camping, Bugs Life, Frog.

Which is the largest desert in Africa?


A) Namib desert
B) Kalahari desert
C) Sahara desert

Good luck!

This competition closes at midnight on 31st August 2023 and is open for UK residents only. For full terms and conditions visit whizzpopbang.com/terms


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