To help stop the spread of Covid-19, face coverings are now required in many countries. However, this is coming at a cost to the environment; a recent study estimated that the world is using a staggering 129 billion disposable masks each month during the pandemic.
Environmental charity Greenpeace is urging people to instead choose reusable masks wherever possible. Throwaway masks contain plastics, which clog up habitats and pose a threat to animals and nature. The World Health Organisation recommends that the public should wear suitable cloth coverings that can be washed and re-worn.
Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity: Words that Changed the World by Carl Wilkinson brings Einstein’s world-changing understanding of gravity, time, space and light to life for young readers.
Go on a journey through Einstein’s mind as this beautiful book breaks down his complex theories to make them accessible for young readers.
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!
Add a sprinkle of science to your child’s bookshelf this autumn with these three inspiring titles from Wren and Rook.
Launch yourself into the great unknown with Space Explorers by Libby Jackson. Marvel at 25 extraordinary true stories of humankind’s thrilling journey to the stars which have been brought to life by Léonard Dupon’s beautiful illustrations.
In An Engineer Like Me by Dr Shini Somara and illustrated by Nadja Sarell, Zara’s journey around the city sparks some serious curiosity: How do roller coasters do loop-the-loops? How do planes stay up? As she marvels about how they work, Zara learns about some of the brilliant engineers who have shaped the world around her. This inventive book is packed with engineering explanations and challenges get future scientists thinking.
A Climate in Chaosby Neal Laytontackles the huge issue of our warming planet by explaining what it is, what’s causing it and – most importantly – how we can all help to keep Planet Earth happy.
Want to win all three books for your family? We’ve got five bundles of three to give away to Whizz Pop Bang fans!
To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer this question in the comments:
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!
Listen to Britain’s first ever astronaut, Helen Sharman, talking about dreaming in and about space!
This video animation, What do astronauts dream of?, was made by the Royal Institution as part of a fantastic series called A Place Called Space.
The RI say: “In 1991, Helen Sharman became the first Briton in space; in this animation she shares a dream she has about returning to space, and talks about what it’s like to gaze down on the earth from above.”
Whizz Pop Bang: Sweet Dreams issue is all about the science of sleep
Did you know that you’ll spend up to a third of your life happily dozing? It sounds pretty relaxing, but actually, sleep isn’t as uneventful as you might imagine. Inside this dreamy edition of Whizz Pop Bang, you’ll find out what goes on inside your sleeping brain, discover ten animals with weird and wonderful ways to sleep and learn all about snoring. You can also build a hibernation station for sleepy wildlife, race around the clock in a pull-out board game and experience the chilling body temperature of a hibernating hamster!
Meet a turtle expert who tells us how these hibernating reptiles breathe through their bottoms, create your own sleep diary, snuggle up with hibernating bears, find out how sleep scientist Eugene Aserinsky discovered some dreamy sleep secrets and reduce Halloween waste by making an upcycled bat garland.
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 first maps of the Moon were sketched by astronomers peering through telescopes. Over the last 60 years, we’ve been able to get a better look by sending spacecraft to orbit the Moon. In April 2020, scientists used all this information to make the first ever complete map of the Moon.
Sample of the Unified Geological Map of the Moon, 2020
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
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
Tristan Gooley, Natural Navigator
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:
White dead-nettle
Stinging nettle
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!
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!
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 👇
