Category: Famous scientists

WIN Project Superhero and Chasing Captain America books by Professor E. Paul Zehr!

Posted on | by Jo at Whizz Pop Bang | 21 Comments on WIN Project Superhero and Chasing Captain America books by Professor E. Paul Zehr!

Whizz Pop Bang’s seven days of prizes: day six!

If you’ve read the SCIENCE HEROES feature in WHIZZ POP BANG: SCIENCE SUPERPOWERS, you’ll know all about Professor E. Paul Zehr. He’s a neuroscientist, author and martial artist who studies the adaptability of the human body at the University of Victoria, Canada.

We’ve got two of Paul’s books about the science behind superpowers to give away. PROJECT SUPERHERO is aimed at readers aged 8 – 12, while CHASING CAPTAIN AMERICA is for adults, so here’s a prize you can share with your parents, grandparents, Scout leader, next-door neighbour, or any other grown up superhero fans you know!

PROJECT SUPERHERO is the diary of Jessie, a 13 year old girl who is doing project on superheroes. Read advice from real-life heroes (including Olympian Clara Hughes, sailor Jessica Watson and Captain Marvel writer Kelly Sue De Connick) as one ordinary girl investigates what it would take to be Batgirl.

CHASING CAPTAIN AMERICA: How advances in science, engineering, and biotechnology will produce a superhuman is a book for adults about whether we can create a real-life superhuman by changing human biology itself!

To be in with a chance of winning these two books, just answer this question in the comments:

How long can a naked mole rat survive without any oxygen?

  1. 18 seconds
  2. 18 minutes
  3. 18 hours

This competition closes at midnight on 31st December 2019. For full terms and conditions visit whizzpopbang.com/terms


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How to get the most out of one issue of Whizz Pop Bang science magazine

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on How to get the most out of one issue of Whizz Pop Bang science magazine

Mr Tyler, a Year 2 teacher at Great Moor Community Infant School in Stockport, answers the question ‘how can teachers help to get kids and parents more involved in science?’ He came up with a simple answer that’s really easy to implement!

Each month, when Whizz Pop Bang arrives in his classroom, Mr Tyler creates a new Whizz Pop Bang scrapbook.

The children take it in turns to bring both the scrapbook and the copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine home for the weekend so they can have fun doing a STEM activity, reading the magazine or just doing the puzzles. The children love writing in the scrapbook and proudly sticking in their photos, experiment results and observations. It’s not compulsory, it’s not homework – it’s all about having fun with science at home – and kids, parents, teachers and even Ofsted are loving it!

Toby Tyler, Teacher at Great Moor Infant School in Stockport

Mr Tyler also uses the tag #WPBShare on Twitter to proudly share his class’s Whizz Pop Bang achievements – check it out and tweet us your class’s science achievements too @whizzpopbangmag


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Primary science teaching resources on light

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on Primary science teaching resources on light

Hello teachers! Our newest resources are available to download, and they make the perfect accompaniment to the awesome Eye Spy edition of Whizz Pop Bang.

Year 6 and P7: Make a Periscope Lesson Pack

Make a periscope science resource pack from Whizz Pop Bang
Whizz Pop Bang investigation pack for year 6 and P7,
linking to the ‘light’ and ‘vibration and waves’

In this light investigation lesson pack, pupils will discover how light travels in straight lines and reflects off objects so we can see them. Pupils will learn about the different parts of the eye, including the cornea, lens, pupil, retina and iris. Using mirrors and a kitchen roll, pupils will investigate light by building a simple periscope.

This downloadable pack includes:

  • A lesson plan, complete with top tips for setting up the activity
  • Printable instructions for the activity
  • A PowerPoint presentation that explains how we see
  • A writing frame for an explanation text with a diagram of the eye, to be used in English lessons
  • Three speedy science activities

Year 6 and P7: Bionic Eye Interview Reading Comprehension

Whizz Pop Bang interview with a biomedical engineer

This non-fiction Bionic Eye Interview text links to the ‘light’ and ‘vibrations and waves’ topics for year 6 and P7. The interview with Gregg Suaning, a Professor of Biomedical Engineering, explains how his team is developing a bionic eye called Phoenix99 that could help people who have lost their sight to see again.

This downloadable reading pack includes:

  • An A3 reading spread for you to print
  • Reading comprehension question sheet
  • An answer sheet including the objective for each question, which is taken from the reading National Curriculum

This historical scientist biography text for year 6 and P7, linking to the topics *light* and *vibrations and waves*, describes how Patricia Bath invented the ‘Laserphaco Probe’. This invention uses lasers to help break up and remove cataracts through a cut in the eye just 1 mm long. It has been used by eye doctors around the world.

Year 6 and P7: Historical Scientist Patricia Bath Reading Comprehension

Whizz Pop Bang reading pack on historical scientist Patricia Bath

This downloadable reading pack includes:

  • An A3 reading spread for you to print
  • A reading comprehension question sheet
  • An answer sheet including the objective for each question, which is taken from the reading national curriculum

Inside this eye-poppingly exciting edition of Whizz Pop Bang you’ll find all sorts of ways to trick your eyes!

You’ll meet a cheetah – they’re spotted, speedy and have super-sharp sight – and learn how creatures who live in the dark sense their surroundings.

You can also discover how microscopes work and have a go at making some fantastic 3D glasses.

Not yet a subscriber to our downloadable teaching resources?
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Cool science gifts for kids!

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on Cool science gifts for kids!

Are your kids obsessed with space and the wonder of black holes? This intriguing 50p coin was recently released by the Royal Mint to commemorate the life and achievements of physicist and cosmologist, Professor Stephen Hawking. It’s the perfect gift for science lovers (of
any age!).

A little piece of genius 

Who’d have thought it was possible to fit a black hole onto a 50p piece?! Professor Hawking is renowned for his incredible discoveries about space, including the Bekenstein-Hawking theory, which relates to black hole entropy. This complex formula features alongside a brilliant graphic of a black hole on one side of the coin.    

Image: Zero Gravity Corp

A clever celebration 

Hawking’s daughter, Lucy, says, “It is a great privilege to be featured on a coin and I hope my father would be pleased to be alongside Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin as scientists who have made it on to money.” It’s a fitting way to honor a lifetime of incredible contributions to science. 

Build a collection 

Unfortunately, this little beauty isn’t going to turn up in your supermarket change as it’s not being put into general circulation, but if you know a Hawking-in-the-making who would love to add this to their science kit, head to the Royal Mint’s online shop 

It’s available in to buy in a commemorative pack – what a perfect present for a science or space fan!  

And there’s more… 

Image credit royalmint.com

The Royal Mint have announced that this is the first in a series of four 50p coins celebrating innovators in science, but are keeping the specific subjects of the next three under wraps. A complete set would make amazing science gifts for girls and boys. Which famous scientists would you like to see on future 50p coins? Let us know in the comments! 

Images and quotes from www.royalmint.com 


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