Fancy taking a spin on the Moon? Archival restorers have updated the original footage taken by Apollo 16 astronauts driving a Moon buggy across the lunar surface so that it really feels like you’re there!
Find out loads about the story of the Moon in the current issue of Whizz Pop Bang magazine.
To celebrate the new issue of Whizz Pop Bang: On The Move, we’ve got a brilliant competition that is bound to keep tomorrow’s scientists busy over the holidays.
Discover amazing animal migrations in ON THE MOVE – it’s available in our shop right now!
Build a fully functioning telescope with this incredibly clever kit from Build Your Own. Simply press out parts then slot them together to construct a fun, tactile and robust working telescope. We’ve got THREE to give away to lucky winners!
Everything you need to create the telescope is inside the box, including a specialist glass optic lens which provides 16 x magnification so children can enjoy incredible sights in detail.
Even better, it’s made from sustainable cardboard using minimal plastics, the fully functioning telescope includes a focus tube which extends up to 72cm.
Once built, kids will love using it to explore wildlife during the day, and the Moon’s craters after dark (PS If they’re interested in the Moon, they will LOVE September’s issue of Whizz Pop Bang – be one of the first to receive it by signing up here by 4th September 2020!)
To be in with a chance of winning one of three Build Your Own telescope kits, simply answer this question in the comments:
Chile’s VLT telescope facility is also known as:
A Very Large Telescope
B Very Low Temperature
C Video Live Telescope
Good luck!
This competition closes at midnight on Monday 31st August 2020. Whizz Pop Bang competition terms and conditions are here.
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!
The August edition of Whizz Pop Bang: ON THE MOVE is about amazing migrations and is packed with the science behind all sorts of incredible journeys made by animals and humans!
Inside, we chat to Tristan Gooley, a natural navigator who looks for nature’s clues and works out how they can help us to find our way. Learning more about this fascinating skill is a brilliant way to engage children with the natural word – keep reading to learn a nifty tricky you can teach them when you’re outdoors together.
We asked Tristan to explain a little about his unusual job:
“Every single plant, every single animal, even every single cloud is telling us something about what’s going on around us. I’m a nature detective, trying to solve each clue. I don’t look for specific things that are interesting or amazing: instead, I wonder what the signs around me can reveal. Sometimes it’s a plant showing me which way is north, or a stinging nettle telling me I’m near a town. It’s so much fun!”
Tristan Gooley in Whizz Pop Bang: ON THE MOVE
If you’re wondering how to keep children entertained on a long walk or how to help your child connect with nature, here’s a tip from Tristan all about the secrets of stinging nettles:
If you teach children a trick that is related to their experience of the wild then you could grab their attention
Find an area with both stinging nettles and white dead-nettles:
Ask the children what the white dead-nettle is – they will probably guess ‘stinging nettle’. Most kids can identify this before any other wildflower, because it has a big impact on their experience of the outdoors!
Next, show how brave you are by running your hands up and down the white dead-nettle, then dare them to do the same. Once they realise that white dead-nettles are different to stinging nettles, they take an interest. They understand that the white flower is the important clue to which one stings, and that’s something worth remembering!
It also tends to stick as this is a great trick for showing it off to other kids!
Nature appreciation that leads to fewer stings AND the ability to show off? That’s a recipe for getting kids interested!
Find out more in this brilliant blog post about engaging children with nature. Want more tips like this? Head over to Tristan’s website to discover all sorts of intriguing ways to read nature’s clues – they’re guaranteed to liven up a long walk with children!
Read more about Tristan’s fascinating job in Whizz Pop Bang: ON THE MOVE – it’s in our shop now.
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!
Find out about some of the most amazing animal migrations on Earth in the brand-new edition of Whizz Pop Bang: ON THE MOVE!
Come on an epic journey to investigate the science of migrations and travel. This issue, we’ll…
🐦 Build a welcoming bird bath
🧭 Make a compass in a jar
🌊 Investigate the impact of oil pollution
🐯 Learn how animal tracking devices work
🦜 Craft a brilliant balancing bird
Plus experiments, jokes, riddles, quizzes, competitions and more! Sign up by 4th August 2020 to receive this issue.
Here’s a list of the extra bits you’ll need to complete every activity this month. As ever, there is loads of science fun to be had, even if you don’t have every single thing on the list. Let’s get going!
Here’s a printable version of this month’s kit list 👇
Want to win some brilliant games? We’ve got five sets of this inspiring bingo game to give away!
Wonder Women Bingo (written by Whizz Pop Bang writer, Isabel Thomas and illustrated by Laura Bernard) is based around the amazing achievements of 44 women, including loads of scientists!
Each set includes a booklet telling the stories of these women – did you know that mathematician Ada Lovelace realised the potential of computers back in the 1800s, or that cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova zoomed around Earth 48 times in 1963?
This fab game will be available from Laurence King’s online shop and good book shops from August, but if you can’t wait until then, answer this question to be in with a chance of winning:
Which elements did Marie Curie discover?
a. Radium and polonium
b. Rhodium and palladium
c. Radon and platinum
This competition closes at midnight on Friday 31st July 2020. Whizz Pop Bang competition terms and conditions are here.
Want to watch an amazing octopus video? Using special skin cells called chromatophores, Caribbean reef octopuses can change colour at high speed to blend seamlessly into their coral home. This allows them to sneak up on prey and hide from predators.
See one in action here!
Discover more awesomely amazing coral reef residents in Whizz Pop Bang: REMARKABLE REEFS, available in our shop now!
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!
Have you been reading about coral polyps in Whizz Pop Bang’s REMARKABLE REEFS edition?
This video shows how you can make your own edible polyp using banana, biscuits and sweets. Yum!
Find out more in REMARKABLE REEFS, available in our shop now!
This is great activity for schools teaching Animals, including humans and Living things and habitats at Key Stage 2. If you’re looking for science activities linked to coral reefs, give it a try!
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!
After the first rainfall of the wet season, tens of millions of red crabs on Christmas Island, Australia, travel from their forest burrows to the ocean to breed.
Have you been reading about amazing animal migrations in Whizz Pop Bang’s ON THE MOVE edition? Perhaps you’ve always wanted to see what it looks like when millions of mini red crabs travel across Christmas Island?
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!
by Helly Douglas
Reducing capacity of schools has had a huge impact on children, particularly those in year six. Leaving primary school is always a challenging time, but this year it feels harder than ever.
We asked childhood mental health specialist Dr Naira Wilson for ideas to help you support your child as they prepare to finish school during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Has your child recently returned to school, or are they going back soon? Read Naira’s advice on how to handle returning to school during the pandemic here.
You can’t change a global pandemic. Acknowledge how unfair it is but don’t dwell on the negatives.
Naira suggests, “Limit how long you spend thinking about things that are out of your control. Remember regular self-care like having enough sleep, enjoying activities and getting into nature. It doesn’t help to keep worrying.”
As children grow up, they see that worries are a normal part of life. Worries don’t have to control our actions or make choices for us. Instead we learn to live with them. If your child is struggling to cope with the impact of the pandemic on life generally, check out Naira’s tips here.
Every school has rituals and celebrations for school leavers. It’s a chance for reflection, to come together and say goodbye.
Rather than dwelling on what lockdown restrictions have spoilt, we can accept the chance to make new experiences. It’s time to create different rites of passage.
Your child could:
It’s inevitable they will feel a sense of deflation that usual events won’t happen. Emphasise what they can do. Make the end of term feel special, rather than let it slide by uncelebrated.
There’s never just one version of events. Everyone has different stories they can tell about their lockdown experience. Your child could focus on the negatives or choose to tell a positive story about how they coped with the changes. What’s the story they will take from this experience?
Naira recommends your child writing a letter to themselves six months in the future. Keep it to send back to them. “How did you grow? What was stressful or tense? What new opportunities did this bring?” she suggests asking. “These questions help them see that this experience will make them different, in a good way.”
Saying goodbye to primary school is always bittersweet. There’s lots to look forward to but much to miss. Naira explains, “We grow from feeling uncomfortable and experiencing changes. It helps us develop and we are better because of it.”
Talk together about school and favourite memories. Let them share their feelings about changing school. Reassure them it is normal to feel anxious about leaving a familiar place.
Moving onto secondary causes anxiety because there are many unknowns. You can help by giving them agency over preparations for year seven. They can plan what they need to prepare for the start of term and practise their route to school.
Information helps us feel in control of new situations. Look at photos and share news and emails from the new school. Naira suggests being confident in not knowing everything about what secondary school will be like. Write questions they’d like to find the answer to.
We want to normalise feeling worried about leaving primary school but not ignore or dismiss it. If you’re concerned about your child, trust your instincts. Problems sleeping, loss of appetite or not wanting to do things they enjoyed before, are all signs that they aren’t okay.
Treat mental health like physical health. Naira says, “If you had a rash that was getting worse, you wouldn’t leave it, you’d get help.” Talk to your child’s teachers if you are worried about how they are handling the transition. If things don’t improve, or get worse, contact your GP for help.
COVID-19 has been a huge time of change and children have learnt how to cope with it. Whether they return to school or stay at home, the end of year six can still be a time of celebration. A different end to school is another change they will manage and grow stronger from.
If you’re feeling very anxious about coronavirus, or are concerned about your child’s mental health, speak to your GP. Click here for the latest advice relating to coronavirus from the UK government. Click here if you think you may have coronavirus symptoms – do not go to your GP, hospital or pharmacy.
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!
Dr Naira Wilson is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist who specialises in childhood mental health.
Want to win some brilliant games? We’ve got five sets of two to give away!
Poo Bingo (written by Claudia Boldt and illustrated by Aidan Onn) features 24 animals and their uniquely-shaped poos. Be first to fill your card with animals and poos to win BINGO!
Reunite the dinosaurs with their skeletons (while learning about each species) in Match these Bones (written by Whizz Pop Bang writer, Isabel Thomas and illustrated by Paul Upchurch and James Barker).
These fab games will be available from Laurence King’s online shop and good book shops from August, but if you can’t wait until then, answer this question to be in with a chance of winning:
True or false:
Wombat poo is cube-shaped
This competition closes at midnight on Tuesday 30th June 2020. Whizz Pop Bang competition terms and conditions are here.
