Working Science

Watching SpaceX's live launch of Starship's second flight test. very exciting.

SpaceX SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft.

Dr Gareth was at Clare College , Cambridge yesterday providing a space science workshop for the Oxford Royale Masterclass.

Come along to Working Science sessions at Recre8, Tonbridge this summer

If your child (age 7 – 11) would like to learn more about science in a practical and engaging way over the summer, please come along to Recre8 for our science workshops. We will be investigating hands-on science about:
* light and optics making colours and rainbows,
* making circuits and generating electricity,
* trying chemical reactions that explode, change colours and make slime
* mixing chemicals and investigating solubility and filtering
* changing states of matter and freezing ice cream
* engineering and building 3d structures
* space, the planets and astronomy

We have lots of fun scientific equipment that your children can use and get familiar with. Practical science experience is really the best way to understand and remember science. Our resident scientist is Dr Francis who has a PhD in Physics and loves explaining science to inquisitive children.
Please join us for a fun week of science from Monday – Friday 24th – 28th July 2023. Book your place here Book activities & courses - (recre8courses.co.uk)
If you haven’t booked before with Recre8, its easier if you call on 01732 304123 to set up an account first.

Looking forward to seeing professor Brian Cox tonight in the National Opera House in London. At Brian Cox’s - Horizons: A 21st Century Space Odyssey tour. https://briancoxlive.co.uk/

Brian Cox Home Horizons : A 21st Century Space Odyssey | Horizons takes us on a dazzling cinematic journey. A story of how we came to be and what we can become.

If you fancy a bit of science over the half term, please join the online Brighton Science Festival. The festival is for all ages, but particularly targeted at 7-12 year-olds and their parents
I will be doing an online session on "Making waves - a simple guide" where we will be investigating what waves and vibrations are. We will look at how they are formed and the properties of different types of waves. I will guide you to make a wave demonstration machine, from:
A roll of gaffa or duck tape
A packet of wooden kabab sticks
2 bags of jelly babies
So have these things handy if you can.

With this we can investigate how waves move and their properties in a visual and interactive way. Also you could get a balloon and a slinky as that will help you to understand how waves move. You can book onto my session and see all the other exciting science opportunities at the Science Festival website below:
http://www.brightonscience.com/events/

Dr Gareth will be giving a CPD presentation about resources and lesson ideas for Electricity and Light based science lessons for Primary Schools at the Sussex Learning Partnership Physics Fayre from 3:30pm - 4:30pm on Thursday 11th Feb.
https://twitter.com/ScienceSussex

Sussex Science Learning Partnership (@ScienceSussex) | Twitter The latest Tweets from Sussex Science Learning Partnership (). Welcome to the Sussex Science Learning Partnership at Downlands. We are committed to transforming the quality of Science across our region and beyond. Sussex

Dr Gareth is presenting “Let's make Waves - a guide to the science of waves" - as part of the Brighton Science Festival's "At Home With Science' week at half term. In this session for children and their parents, we will be investigating what waves or vibrations are. We will look at how they are formed and the properties of different types of waves. We will make a wave machine, from kabab sticks and jelly babies and gaffa tape. With this we will investigate how waves move and their properties in a visual interactive manner. We will also use slinky springs to show the properties of vibrations or waves and the difference between longitudinal and transverse waves. Book your place at this free zoom event at the Brighton Science website at www.brightonscience.com

Dr Gareth will be doing a workshop at the Brighton Science Festival next week. Please visit http://www.brightonscience.com/events/ to book a fun science session on "Space, Stars Gravity, and Black Holes" on Tuesday or Thursday during half term. Don't forget to get some resources together beforehand so you can do the science at home. All science sessions are on Zoom this year! Enjoy all the other amazing science available at the festival too!

This week's science fun primary science was making bathbombs. We got quite a few different colours and smells and all made some nice creations. Mixing chemicals is a fun way to experiment and enjoy science.

Dr Gareth is now doing presentations on space and the planets at the Science Museum in London and doing online science during the lockdown

Two photos of the moon last night. It was a clear night in Kent so I got my telescope out and managed to capture these photos. I love the craters around the edge of the moon you can see them in great detail.

We will have an online Ice cream making science experiment tomorrow for budding scientists age 7-11 years. If you want to join in please email me at [email protected] and I will invite you to join in the online science experiment at 3pm if we have enough space. You will need some resources. Please find these in advance and have them ready to go:
- a pot of single or double cream and flavourings, mint or vanilla or chocolate or whatever else you like.
- a plastic pot like a tupperware lunch box or an ice cream tub with a lid, and a spoon
- a small sealable plastic bag – or a small metal pudding pot that will fit in the plastic pot with the lid on
- enough ice cubes to ¾ fill the plastic pot and lots of salt.
- a thermometer – that goes down to zero degrees Celsius and also down to -10 degrees C if possible.
I hope to see you tomorrow if you want to join in. all the best Dr. Gareth

Dr Gareth presenting about the planets on the Science Museum's amazing science on a sphere facility on the weekends in London

Working Science's visit to the Faraday Museum at the Royal Society in London. There are lots of examples of early electromagnets made by Michael Faraday in the Faraday Museum at the Royal Society in London. He was a pioneer in the field of electromagnetism. It must have taken weeks to wind these electromagnets. He discovered how to generate electricity by moving magnets near metal wires, and how to make electromagnets by coiling wires, examples of which can be seen in this museum. You can also see what his science laboratory looked like where he made his amazing discoveries. Its worth a visit if you are interested in electricity generation and electromagnets and other inventions from members of Royal Society. Here are photos of some of the experiments we saw.

Working Science's cover photo

Working Science

Working Science went on a hunt for new lava at the volcano on Hawaii's big island this summer. Here are some photos of new lava that we managed to find on a current lava field. The lava was moving quite slowly but was very hot. Too hot to stand near for too long. We found this after a 5 mike hike across the lava field!

7 Intriguing Science Experiments for Your Kids - Illustrated Infographic

Astound your kids with your wizardry by performing these magic tricks for them. Then impress them with your scientific knowledge by explaining exactly what's happened. That's a double win!

bestforthekids.com This fully illustrated infographic features 7 awesome science experiments suitable to be performed by your curious kids.

Equinox, Equilux, and Twilight Times

The spring equinox is a few days away, but did you know that it's the equilux today? Today, our day and night will actually appear to be the same length. This link will explain it properly.
https://darkskydiary.wordpress.com/2010/03/20/equinox-equilux-and-twilight-times/

darkskydiary.wordpress.com On or around 21 March each year it is the Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, the day when eggs can be stood on their ends, when the Sun crosses the celestial equator, and when night and day…

90+ Famous Female Scientists: Which Ones Can You Name?

Fascinating reading, here is a list of some great scientists who have done amazing things to improve our lives and the world around us. Oh, and they all happen to be women!
A slightly late contribution to yesterdays International Women's Day.
https://www.thoughtco.com/famous-women-scientists-3528329

thoughtco.com Famous women scientists through the ages - how many do you know? Many linked to biographies for more about these women in science, medicine, math.

A Mighty Girl

Some great scientists who did great and important work. Have you heard of them?

If someone asked you to name female scientists from history, how many names come to mind? Unfortunately, it's a rare person, child or adult, who can name more than two or three female scientists — and, even in those instances, the same few names are usually mentioned time and again.

For centuries, women have made important contributions to the sciences, but in many cases, it took far too long for their discoveries to be recognized — if they were acknowledged at all. In our blog post, "Those Who Dared to Discover," we're giving 15 of these women the recognition they deserve. From determining the size of the universe to unlocking the secrets of the genetic code, these pioneering women have blazed new trails in their disciplines and forever changed the way we see our world!

And, if you'd like to dig deeper into their stories, we've also included resources such as books and posters focused on the featured scientists at the end of each profile for readers both young and old.

To read our blog post, "Those Who Dared To Discover: 15 Women Scientists You Should Know," at http://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=11511

You can find many biographies of female scientists to share with children and teens in our "Scientist Biographies" section at http://amgrl.co/1RBUCzS

www.bbc.co.uk

Making slime on the radio! Listen from 1hr 25mins in to hear Gareth explain how to do it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03gxtfr

bbc.co.uk

A Mighty Girl

"Science is not a boy's game, it's not a girl's game. It's everyone's game. It's about where we are and where we're going." -- Nichelle Nichols

Nichelle Nichols -- famous for her role as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura on Star Trek -- has collaborated with NASA for decades to help them recruit more diverse candidates to the space program and encourage young people's interest in science. In 1969, when the original Star Trek series ended, Nichols says, “There were no women, and there were no minorities in the space program -- and that's supposed to represent the whole country? Not in this day and age. We just absolutely cannot have that.”

So she accepted NASA’s invitation to help recruit the country’s first female astronauts and astronauts of color -- among them Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. “Sally called me to tell me that I was the way she had heard about the space program,” she said. Today, at the age of 82, Nichols remains a staunch advocate of the value of space exploration: “Space travel benefits us here on Earth [a]nd we ain't stopped yet. There's more exploration to come.”

It's never too early to teach your Mighty Girl that science is for everyone! For our top picks of science toys for this holiday season, check out our blog post, "Wrapped up in Science: Top 40 Science Toys for Mighty Girls" at http://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10528

For more STEM toy recommendations, we've showcased our favorite engineering and building toys in our blog post, "Building Her Dreams: Building and Engineering Toys for Mighty Girls" at http://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10430

And, to inspire children and teens with stories of women in science -- both in fiction and real-life -- visit our "Science & Technology" book section at http://amgrl.co/1Mw9BGB