Category: Fun science activities

Whizz Pop Bang dandelion test flight

All you need to know about SEEDS

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | 2 Comments on All you need to know about SEEDS

Follow the ingenious journeys of seeds with our SUPER SEEDS issue! Learn about seed dispersal with our simple experiments and activities, like this dandelion model test to show just how far seeds can travel.

Whizz Pop Bang dandelion test flight

Dandelion test flight

You will need:

  • Sheet of A4 paper
  • Ruler
  • Scissors
  • Pencil
  • Tape

What you do:

  1. Fold the paper into quarters and cut along the lines
  2. Take one of the quarters and rule a line as shown
  3. Cut lots of slits along the longer section, trying to make them less than 0.5 cm apart
  4. Roll the uncut area of the paper around your pencil as tightly as you can and secure with sticky tape
  5. Pull out the pencil and gently push down the paper strands so that they fan out in all directions

You should find:

You’ve made a model dandelion seed! Try dropping it from a height as a test flight. Throw it upwards into a strong wind and see how far it will go.

How do seeds travel?


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conker in shell

September issue: Super seeds

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | 1 Comment on September issue: Super seeds

In this issue we go mad for conkers and pine cones with fun hands-on science activities to learn all about how seeds spread. Everyone wants a bit of distance from their parents from time to time, but since seeds can’t move, they instead rely on cunning techniques to find their own patch of ground. Imagine being fired away from your parent in a green slimy liquid! Yes, this issue we’re looking at seed dispersal – you can try modelling dandelion seeds, making your own pinecone bird feeders and experimenting with a sycamore seed heli-spinner. Find out about the history of the invention of Velcro, which was inspired by nature’s own burs and take a peek inside a top-secret seed bank buried deep inside an arctic mountain. Happy experimenting kids!

Whizz Pop Bang science magazine for kids issue 26 SUPER SEEDS
Whizz Pop Bang science magazine for kids SUPER SEEDS (issue 26)

Not a subscriber? Click here to start a monthly subscription from just £2.92 a month with FREE Uk delivery. 

Buy this SUPER SEEDS single issue in our online shop packed full of all our super science magazines and bundles!


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Whizz Pop Bang logo round

Summer science ideas whatever the weather!

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on Summer science ideas whatever the weather!

School’s officially out for the summer!!! WHOOOPEEEEE! Get ready for summer science fun with Whizz Pop Bang and our awesome experiments to do in the garden, at the beach, in the park or at the kitchen table when the skies are black…

Science outside:
☀️ Make a solar oven and bake cookies in the garden
☀️ Forensic science blood spatter test
☀️ Minibeast habitats
☀️ Butterfly banquet
☀️ Lay a pitfall trap
☀️ Make your own pooter (a special pot for collecting insects)

In the dark:
⭐️ Hold your own stargazing party
? Night time safari

At the beach:
? Take the super strong sand challenge
? Sandcastle secrets for Whizz Pop Bang scientists!
? Sand ripples in a bowl
? Panning for gold
? Shake it up!

Wet weather science:
☔️ Make a snoop-o-scope
☔️ Take your own finger prints
☔️ Make your own pond skater
☔️ Fireworks on a plate
☔️ Take the paper clip challenge
☔️ Penny drop
☔️ Whooshing pepper
☔️ Make an ocean in a bottle
☔️ Make a water-powered boat
☔️ Make an octopus

Order our summer science bundle here https://whizzpopbang.com/shop/product/899265457

Remember to post up your pics! #summerscience


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Whizz Pop Bang chromatography flowers

FLOWER POWER chromatography competition entries and winners!

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on FLOWER POWER chromatography competition entries and winners!

In our FLOWER POWER issue Whizz Pop Bang readers learnt how to use the power of science to make these gorgeously frilly flowers. Paper chromatography is a neat little science trick that you can use to easily separate the different coloured inks out of felt tip pens.

Readers sent in their photos to enter the flower power competition to win a nature keeper tree diary set. As you’ll appreciate it was a tough job choosing just three winners – you should all be winners for producing these colourful creations! However, there could only be three winners and here they are:

Lula Brown, Aged 9
Isabel Soden, Aged 8
Jasper Warner, Aged 5
Congratulations, you have all won a Learning Resources Nature Keeper and Tree Diary Set perfect for summer science in the garden! Have a browse through all the entries for the competition, so many beautiful flowers and budding young scientists… ? ? ?

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See inside science book review

Winning science book review by Alfie, age 5

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on Winning science book review by Alfie, age 5

 

Whizz Pop Bang science news for kids

A few months ago we ran a competition to win all six of the science books shortlisted for the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2016 including two by our awesomely amazing Whizz Pop Bang writers Isabel Thomas and Dan Green 🙂

Without further ado here’s the winning review by Alfie, age 5. Well done to Alfie for being a super mini scientist AND being so passionate about science. Enjoy those books!

See inside science book review

See Inside Science by Usborne Books

  “It’s about the human body, cells, animals, plants, the beginning of the universe, space, energy and electricity, elements and the periodic table, putting things together, Protons, Neutrons, Electrons and Quarks inside an Atom and the final one, see into the future.
  I’ve learnt that there are all sorts of elements, 92 elements that aren’t made in a lab, if you’re counting the ones in the lab there’s 118, but loads of people forget about Dutrium, so there’s 119.  Dutrium is a gas that Brown Dwarfs fuse.  
  I like it because I like science.  I love science actually.  It’s got atoms in it.  I like it that it has flaps.  It’s easy to understand. 
It’s fun, fun, fun, fun, fun.”
Review by Alfie Jack Pile, age 5

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Whizz Pop Bang science magazine for kids magnifying glass and hair

AWESOME SCIENCE FOR BUDDING YOUNG SCIENTISTS!

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on AWESOME SCIENCE FOR BUDDING YOUNG SCIENTISTS!

Whizz Pop Bang experimenting with nanotubes
A Whizz Pop Bang subscriber experimenting with nanotubes to see how carbon nanotubes behave

This month we zoom in on tiny science!

Imagine what it would be like to shrink to the size of a dot! This issue we’re doing exactly that to see how things work on a minuscule scale. 

This month we’ve got loads of supercool experiments and activities to turn your mini scientists into nano-scientists! Discover how a watch works, find out all about teeny tiny pygmy marmosets and find out what it’s like to be a nanotechnologist. Meet sensational scientist Richard Feynman, who encouraged scientists to “think small”. Plus, our 10 Awesomely Amazing tiny things that live on your body, blurghhh!

As always, happy experimenting 🙂

From the WPB team x


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What’s on for February half term at the UK’s top science museums

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on What’s on for February half term at the UK’s top science museums

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We’ve put together a list of the UK’s top science museums and found out what’s going on in February half term for kids and their families. Do you love hands-on science? Are your children always asking WHY? Go and see what’s on for science-lovers around the country! Just click on the image for each place and it’ll take you directly to the right page on the website to find out what’s going on. And don’t forget to tweet or post your #scienceiscool pics!

Science Museum London

Science Museum London

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/holiday

Museum of Science and Industry Manchester

Museum of science and industry

http://msimanchester.org.uk/whats-on/activity/steam-sweat-spinners

Thinktank Birmingham Science Museum

Thinktank Birmingham science museum

http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/thinktank/whats-on/family-activities-bcb9b340-f2f9-41d9-8d72-104e8ff14300

Discovery Museum Newcastle

Discovery Museum

https://discoverymuseum.org.uk/play-invent

Centre for Life Newcastle

Centre for Life

http://www.life.org.uk/whats-on/family

Catalyst Science Discovery Centre, Cheshire

Catalyst Science Discovery Centre

http://www.catalyst.org.uk

Eureka! The National Children’s Museum, Halifax

Eureka childrens museum

https://www.eureka.org.uk

Winchester Science Centre, Hampshire

Winchester science centre and planetarium

http://www.winchestersciencecentre.org

National Space Centre, Leicester

National Space Centre

http://spacecentre.co.uk/event/gastro-space/

Museum of the History of Science, Oxford

Museum of the history of science Oxford

http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/backfromthedead/

Techniquest, Cardiff

Techniquest

http://www.techniquest.org

World Museum, Liverpool

World Museum Liverpool

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/wml/index.aspx

MAGNA, Rotherham

https://www.visitmagna.co.uk/science-adventure

@Bristol

At-Bristol hands-on science museum

https://www.at-bristol.org.uk/event/february-half-term-0
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How to make fake snow with a disposable nappy!

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on How to make fake snow with a disposable nappy!

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How to make fake snow with a disposable nappy!
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All you need to make your own fake snow at home are some cheap disposable nappies! Tear open the nappies over a large mixing bowl and shake out the small amount of white powder, so that it falls into your bowl. Remove any fluffy bits of nappy padding, then pour in some water, a little at a time, while stirring. You’ll be amazed at how much water the powder can absorb. Watch the spectacular transformation into slushy fake snow! The white powder is sodium polyacrylate, a polymer (a long chain-like molecule) which can absorb 300 times its own weight in water (which is why it’s used in nappies!).
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Whizz Pop Bang January issue SNOWBALL SCIENCE!

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on Whizz Pop Bang January issue SNOWBALL SCIENCE!

whizz-pop-bang-science-magazine-for-kids-snow-science

Happy New Year Whizz Pop Bang readers!

Oh how we love January with wet hats, missing gloves and runny noses. Whether it’s snowing outside or not, snow time like the present to start investigating the winter wonderland! With science magazine Whizz Pop Bang your kids can simulate a snowball flight, investigate the colour of snow, make their own snow globe, make a barometer, a weathervane and a rain gauge – a storm of science fun!

As well as lots of COOL experiments we look at how a freezer works, tell the story of the snowflake and interview a Penguin Aquarist to find out what it’s like working with those adorable creatures. Kids can marvel at 10 Awesomely Amazing Extreme Weather Events, and learn about polar bears (did you know their fur isn’t actually white?) We also tell the fascinating story of the genius Albert Einstein.

Looking forward to a fun-filled year of science with you guys 🙂

From the WPB team x


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November issue : SUPER STRUCTURES & ENGINEERING

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on November issue : SUPER STRUCTURES & ENGINEERING

Whizz Pop Bang science magazine for kids girls-building-suspension-bridge

Put on your hard hat for this engineering extravaganza! This month Tomorrow’s Engineers Week will be celebrating all the awesome things that engineers do which is why we’ve gone SUPER STRUCTURES mad. We talk to real engineers and find out all about their jobs, discover some of the world’s greatest animal engineers and show your kids how to build a suspension bridge with Lego and string just like the one in the photo above sent in by one of our readers. What a happy mini engineer!

With kids science magazine Whizz Pop Bang just imagine what your kids may one day discover…

Not a subscriber? Don’t worry, you can subscribe here or if you’d like to just buy a single copy of this issue go to our back issue shop.

whizz-pop-bang-science-magazine-for-kids-engineering-issue-cover


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