Category: School holiday activities

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day!

Posted on | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment on Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day!

To celebrate Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day on the 25th February 2023, here are some fun and inspiring activities and interviews to share with the girls in your life. You never know, one might grow up to be an engineer!

Reading comprehension: Electrical Engineer

Find out what it’s like to be an electrical engineering whizz with this inspirational interview with Nikita Hari. Includes the feature to print or to read on a tablet, as well as comprehension question and answer sheet.

Download

Engineering activity: Design your own bridge 

Get busy designing and building your own bridge and experiment to see how much weight it can hold!

Download

Reading comprehension: Explosions Engineer

Find out why Kate Biberdorf loves to blow things up to inspire her students! Includes the feature to print or to read on a tablet, as well as comprehension question and answer sheets.

Download

Engineering activity: Water wheel lifter

Can you lift a weight using the power of water? Try this fun science activity to find out!

Download

Engineering activity: Make a model wind turbine activity

Print, cut and craft a model wind turbine to try out in windy weather!

Download

Want more engineering activities?

Subscribers to Whizz Pop Bang are automatically enrolled to the Y’s Wonder Club and can complete science challenges to earn collectible enamel badges!

Not a subscriber? Sign up here!

Epic Engineer Badge
Think like an engineer to earn an Epic Engineer badge! Identify a problem, design a solution, get building, then test and improve your design. 

Click here to find out more… 

Epic Engineer Badge

Fill your child with science wonder with a subscription to Whizz Pop Bang, the award-winning magazine for 6 to 12-year-olds. Watch their face light up with glee when their very own magazine zooms through the letterbox! Packed full of hands-on science awesomeness, it’s the gift that keeps of delighting, month after month.

Not a subscriber? Sign up here!


Post Comment

FREE science activity – craft your own solar system!

Posted on | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment on FREE science activity – craft your own solar system!

Whizz Pop Bang is the world’s most awesomely amazing kids’ science magazine, bursting with hands-on experiments, facts and fun! Every magazine is packed full of hands on science activities to help your kids fall in love with science. Here is a FREE science activity to help you entertain, excite and educate your child.

Learn the order of the planets by making a model solar system. Just download, print, add scissors and glue, and your astronauts-in-training will do the rest. It’s out of this world! 

Download

Our experiments are designed for children from 6 to 12, but this experiment is particularly perfect for year 5, P6 (Scotland) and 9-year-olds and 10-year-olds as it ties in with the National Curriculum topic about the solar system they will be taught this during this school year.

Find loads more science activities, puzzles and games in our award-winning monthly kids science magazine, Whizz Pop Bang!

Did your mini-scientist enjoy this activity? This is just one of the many fun paper craft activities from the Whizz Pop Bang Snip-Out Science Book. Click the image below to discover how much more fun your budding scientist can have with this book!

Not a subscriber? Sign up here!

Fill your child with science wonder with a subscription to Whizz Pop Bang, the award-winning magazine for 6 to 12-year-olds. Watch their face light up with glee when their very own magazine zooms through the letterbox! Packed full of hands-on science awesomeness, it’s the gift that keeps of delighting, month after month.


Post Comment

FREE science activity – make a stunt plane!

Posted on | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment on FREE science activity – make a stunt plane!

Whizz Pop Bang is the awesomely amazing (and award-winning!) science magazine for kids aged between 6 – 12. We want to inspire the scientists of the future with our monthly magazine! We know that sometimes you just want a bit more science to get your teeth into, so here’s a FREE activity that your scientists-in-training will love to cut, fold and launch!

Download the template

Our experiments are designed for children aged 6 to 12, but this one is especially appropriate for year 5, P6 (Scotland), and children aged 9 and 10, as it relates to the subject of the forces that will be covered in this school year’s National Curriculum.

Find loads more science activities, puzzles and games in our award-winning monthly kids science magazine, Whizz Pop Bang!

Did your mini-scientist enjoy this activity? This is just one of the many fun paper craft activities from the Whizz Pop Bang Snip-Out Science Book. Click the image below to discover how much more fun your budding scientist can have with this book!

Not a subscriber? Sign up here!

Fill your child with science wonder with a subscription to Whizz Pop Bang, the award-winning magazine for 6 to 12-year-olds. Watch their face light up with glee when their very own magazine zooms through the letterbox! Packed full of hands-on science awesomeness, it’s the gift that keeps of delighting, month after month.


Post Comment

COMPETITION CLOSED: WIN a bumper bundle of gifts!

Posted on | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment on COMPETITION CLOSED: WIN a bumper bundle of gifts!

📣 We’re super excited to announce that we’ve teamed up with Den Kit Company and Tim Peake for October’s online competition which we are running on Instagram and Facebook only! Head over to our socials to find out how to win this bumper prize! ⭐

You could win:

⭐ The new Potions Making kit from Den Kit Company. Take your Potion Making Kit on an outdoor adventure and collect any special petals, leaves, grasses or soil to create a marvellous mixture of your own making. Add a pinch of natural colour, a splash of water, a sniff of sunshine – and just imagine the spells you could cast. Find it here.

⭐ Astronaut Tim Peake’s brand new book – A Cosmic Diary of our Incredible Universe. Are you bursting to know the answers to REALLY BIG questions? Like, how are stars made? What will we find in a black hole? Which fruit can create antimatter? What even IS antimatter? Put on your seatbelts and blast into space with your guide, astronaut Tim Peake (and a host of expert STEM characters) in this fascinating adventure through space, time and the diary of our truly incredible universe. Find it here.

⭐ A bumper bundle of 6 magically intergalactic issues of Whizz Pop Bang magazines that will have any scientist-in-training zooming to the Moon and cooking up peculiar potions, all with items you will probably find you already have in your kitchen cupboard. Each issue is jam-packed with science news, fun makes, puzzles, jokes and more!

To enter this competition please head over to Facebook or Instagram to find out more!

Enter on Facebook
Enter on Instagram

T&C’s: This giveaway closes at midnight on Monday 31st October 2022. One winner will be selected at random from all entries via Facebook and Instagram and will be contacted in the first week of November. This competition is open to UK residents only. Winner will be informed via the original comment you made on the appropriate platform and will be from @whizzpopbangmag – please be wary of scams, do not give personal details or follow any links from other accounts. For full terms and conditions visit http://buff.ly/3ij98Q3?fbclid=IwAR0eEqSY-V9JtUvvaYsKhjvmSRBURmapUOmYBaR7hl5XESRIS3hdqsWTqHI. This competition is in no way affiliated, endorsed, sponsored or administered by Instagram or Facebook.


Post Comment

COMPETITION CLOSED: WIN a Glow-in-the-Dark Mega Science Kit!

Posted on | by Kirsty Williams | 526 Comments on COMPETITION CLOSED: WIN a Glow-in-the-Dark Mega Science Kit!

Explore glow-in-the-dark science with PUTTY, SLIME, CRYSTALS AND MORE!

Inquisitive minds will love discovering the world of glow-in-the-dark by making glowing slime and growing their own crystals!

The National Geographic Glow-in-the-Dark Mega Science Kit is an astounding collection of experiments and activities that all glow when the lights are out!

There is so much included in this Mega Kit: one glowing crystal seed, two DIY slime powders in glowing green and glowing purple, two slime containers, one glowing putty in a storage tin, one wernerite rock, one UV light, and a full-colour learning guide that takes you through each experiment step by step.

To win one of THREE kits, answer this question in the comments:

What is the name of the gel used for growing bacteria in petri dishes?


A) Agar
B) Ajar
C) Afar

This competition closes at midnight on Friday 30th September 2022. For full terms and conditions visit whizzpopbang.com/terms-and-conditions

Thanks to Bandai, National Geographic and Playtime PR for this brilliant prize!


Post Comment

Make a drawing float!

Posted on | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment on Make a drawing float!

Watch a drawing of a stick person float! The whiteboard pen drawing floats because the ink is less dense than the water.

Use a dry-erase (whiteboard) marker with non-soluble ink, draw a swimming stick figure onto a smooth, shiny plate (test it on the back first to make sure it doesn’t stain the plate!). After about 10 seconds, pour water onto the plate VERY slowly (away from the drawing) – and your swimmer should lift off the plate and swim around! The drawing floats because the ink is less dense than the water.

This super easy and fun experiment for kids is from Whizz Pop Bang 84: SUPER SWIMMERS where you can find bucket-loads more science fun!

Buy this issue!
Not a subscriber? Sign up here!


Post Comment

Make a wind turbine

Posted on | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment on Make a wind turbine

Whizz Pop Bang is the world’s most awesomely amazing kids’ science magazine, bursting with hands-on experiments, facts and fun, and we want to help support you when teaching your children about science!

Here is a FREE printable, hands-on science experiment to make a model wind turbine which will help you entertain, excite and educate any primary aged child!

Our science activities are downloadable and printable and are designed for children from 6 to 12, but this downloadable activity is particularly perfect for year 2, P3 (Scotland) and 6-year-olds and 7-year-olds as they tie in with the relevant National Curriculum objectives and topics.

Print, cut and craft a working wind turbine!

You will need:
Printable template (below)
A paper straw
A wooden skewer
A stapler and staples
A few beads that are large enough to thread onto the skewer
Sticky tack

Bonus activity: upside-down glass experiment

This activity is taken from Whizz Pop Bang’s Awesomely Amazing Science Club – download the entire pack here!

Wind-turbine-instructionsDownload
Wind-turbine-printableDownload

If you have any comments or questions about our free year 2 science experiments and reading comprehensions, please leave a comment for us. Or do you have any science homeschool ideas or general home educating ideas for 6 and 7-year-olds? We’d love to hear from you!

Find loads more science activities, puzzles and games in our award-winning monthly kids science magazine, Whizz Pop Bang!

Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your school’s science teaching:

  • We provide downloadable science lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, hands-on investigations and science reading comprehensions written by primary school teachers.
  • Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources link to the National Curriculum, ensuring correct coverage.
  • All of our resources are year group specific, ensuring progression between the years.
  • We make cross-curricular links to other subjects, such as English, Maths, History, Geography, Art, Design and Technology and PSHE.

Prices from as little as £197.99 per year for a copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine through the post each month and whole-school access to our ever-growing library of downloadable teaching resources, with unlimited teacher logins.

We’ve also launched a new individual membership option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources for just £20 for the whole year. 


Post Comment

National Hedgehog Day – 2nd February

Posted on | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment on National Hedgehog Day – 2nd February

Calling all hedgehog fans, every year on the 2nd February we celebrate National Hedgehog Day! Celebrate these spikey critters by checking how hog-friendly your garden is. Hedgehog populations are sadly declining, therefore it’s critical that we do everything we can to protect them.

Here are some pointers on how to make your garden a hog’s paradise:

🦔 Shrubs or woody plants provide much-needed cover.

🦔 Native fruit trees, as well as hazel and hawthorn, will attract insects an important food source.

🦔 Wildflowers will also attract insects providing additional seasonal food.

🦔 Ditch the pesticides, unfortunately, toxic pesticides can kill hedgehogs, therefore organic gardening is the best option.

🦔 If you’re looking for a project, why not make a hedgehog house or a hedgehog highway (just a hole in your fence will do!).

It’s important that we protect the hedgehogs of Britain because not only are they adorable, but they help maintain the balance in the ecosystem. Conservationists refer to Hedgehogs as indicator species. This is because the numbers and behaviour of hedgehogs can tell us a lot about the health of their surrounding areas. Hedgehogs eat soil invertebrates, so a fall in hedgehog numbers can signify a decline in the quality of the surrounding environment. Their main source of food is insects which helps to keep insect population levels manageable, if hedgehog populations drop, insect numbers may rise posing unknown threats to the delicate balance of the ecosystem.

If your young ecologist is a subscriber to Whizz Pop Bang and would like to do more to help wildlife in your local area why not encourage them to complete our Wildlife Watcher badge.


Post Comment

Are You Ready To Be an ECO HERO This Summer?

Posted on | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment on Are You Ready To Be an ECO HERO This Summer?

Our very knowledgeable robot, Y, has another challenge for you this week. Y’s Wonder Club club is for budding scientists to share their adventures in science with our robot, Y, and other Whizz Pop Bang readers. All Whizz Pop Bang subscribers are automatically joined to Y’s Wonder Club and for a limited time this summer we’re opening up the club for everyone!

We have two weeks left so get ready for your scientist in training to put their capes on and become an Eco Hero! If you missed our previous weeks, go back and have a look at the Wildlife Watcher and Super Scientist badges to collect them all! We’ve got some great summer holiday activities that not only keep the kids entertained but do good for the planet too!

Complete these three challenges to earn your Whizz Pop Bang Eco Hero badge…

1)  Upcycle something

Choose an item that’s reaching the end of its life or is destined for the bin and transform it into something useful. For example, you could make a pencil case from an old bag, tie-die a stained t-shirt or freshen up an old wooden stool with bright paints.

2)  Make an environmentally friendly change

Make a lifestyle change that enables you or your family to cause less harm to the environment. Perhaps you could ask your parents if you could walk, cycle or scoot into school or to the park, instead of driving. Maybe you could reduce the amount of single-use plastics you use at home, eat less meat, or help your family to reduce your food waste.

3) Help to raise awareness

Spread the word about an environmental issue that you feel strongly about. You could design and put up a poster about an environmental issue, e.g. reminding your school friends to bring in reusable water bottles or encouraging awareness in your neighbourhood of toads or hedgehogs on the roads. You could write to your MP or your local shops or cafes to ask them to make environmentally friendly changes. Or maybe you could join an environmental campaign or protest.

Here’s how to apply for your badge:

1.   Download the Eco Hero application form. Print it out and complete the first page of the application form to tell us about how you’ve helped the environment. Attach any photos or drawings that you’d like to send to us. If you don’t have a printer, you can type your answers into an email or write your answers on a plain piece of paper and send us a photograph of it.

2.   Ask your parent or guardian to pay the £1-per-badge postage and packing fee, which can be done online at whizzpopbang.com/shop/719619/badge-postage-and-packing/. Add the order confirmation number to the second page of the application form.

3.  Ask your parent or guardian to fill in the second page of the form.

4.  Photograph or scan your completed form and any other documents and email them to Y@whizzpopbang.com with the subject line as ‘Eco Hero Badge’. Alternatively, post your completed application to Eco Hero Badge, Whizz Pop Bang, Unit 7, Global Business Park, 14 Wilkinson Road, Cirencester, GL7 1YZ. Please note that it can take up to 12 weeks for delivery of the badges.


Post Comment

Become a SUPER SCIENTIST this summer holiday!

Posted on | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment on Become a SUPER SCIENTIST this summer holiday!

Another week of the summer holidays is here, –are you looking for screen-free activities to keep those little brains entertained? For a limited time only, applying for Y’s Wonder Club badges is open to everyone (not just Whizz Pop Bang subscribers)!


This week we’re earning our Super Scientist badges. We’ll take you through the actual steps that scientists follow to study and investigate while ensuring they are conducting a fair test!

Earn a collectible high-quality enamel Super Scientist badge by getting curious! Think up a question, investigate it and record the results and conclusions.

Challenge 1: Think up a question
What would you like to investigate? It could be almost anything… Do birds sing more often when it’s sunny? Which type of surface is best for bouncing balls on? Does your pet hamster have a favourite colour?! Make a prediction of what you think your results will be (scientists call this a hypothesis).

Challenge 2: Investigate it
Plan and carry out an experiment to investigate your question. When you’re experimenting, remember to only change one thing at a time and try to keep all other variables the same. For example, if you’re trying to find out which surface is best for bouncing, you would need to always drop the ball from the same height, always use the same ball and measure the height of its first bounce. It would be more accurate to repeat the tests a few times on each surface and calculate the average bounce height if you can.

Challenge 3: Tell us what you discovered!
Tell us about your results and conclusions. Did they surprise you? Did they lead to more questions that you’d like to investigate further?

How did you get on? Did you follow along with our Super Scientist week?
Send your application in to us to receive your badge just like these super-duper scientists!

  1. Download the Super Scientist application form. Print it out and complete the first page of the application form to tell us about your science investigation. Attach any photos or drawings that you’d like to send to us. If you don’t have a printer, you can type your answers into an email or write your answers on a plain piece of paper and send us a photograph of it.
  2. Ask your parent or guardian to fill in the second page of the form. The postage and packing for the first 500 successful applicants is being sponsored by The Great Science Share for Schools so there’s no need to pay postage and packing for this badge. We will update this page and the form once the 500 badge limit has been used up.
  3. Email your completed form (or a photograph or scan of it), together with any other documents to Y@whizzpopbang.com with the subject line as ‘Super Scientist badge’. Alternatively, post your completed application to Super Scientist Badge, Whizz Pop Bang, Unit 7, Global Business Park, 14 Wilkinson Road, Cirencester, GL7 1YZ. Please note that it can take up to 12 weeks for delivery of the badges.

Post Comment