Creative Science for Kids

Freaky forces – rocket science with Jason Sercombe

It’s time to lift off with five fascinating fast facts about rockets, a quick look at some famous rocket launches, an interview with Jason Sercombe, a scientist who knows a lot about building and launching model rockets, and an easy-to-make rocket for you to launch yourself at home.
 
Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda Sercombe. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.
 
https://www.creativescience.com.au
 
Episode content:
00:00 Introduction and fast facts
04:42 Building and launching model rockets
08:42 Straw rocket activity
You will need: a sheet of paper, a drinking straw, scissors, and sticky tape
Use the sheet of paper to make a tube that fits over the drinking straw. Place the straw along one side of the paper and cut a rectangle of paper that is about 3 centimetres shorter than the straw and can wrap around the straw. Wrap the rectangle around the straw to form the tube and use sticky tape to hold the tube together. Make sure the tube can slide easily over the straw to ensure a smooth rocket launch.
Take the rocket tube off the straw and twist the paper at one end to seal off the end of the rocket. This end is the nose cone.
Look at some pictures of rockets and use the paper and scissors to make 3 or 4 fins for the paper rocket. Use sticky tape to attach the fins to one end of the rocket: the end that is closest to the open end of the rocket.
Slide the rocket onto the paper straw, aim it at an open space, away from other people, and blow quickly into the straw to launch the rocket. Experiment with holding the straw at different angles and blowing harder into the straw to get the maximum flight time. You can also try making different fin designs.

Amazing animals – eel science with Kelly Osterberg

Let’s get slimy with five fascinating fast facts about eels, an intriguing story about long-finned eels from Kelly Osterberg, an educator who knows a LOT about eels, and a gooey eel activity for you to cook up at home.
 
Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda Sercombe. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.
 
https://www.creativescience.com.au
 
Episode content:
00:00 Introduction and fast facts
02:21 The lives of long-finned eels
09:05 Glass eel noodle activity
 
WaterNSW Warragamba Dam website https://www.waternsw.com.au/nsw-dams/greater-sydney-dams/warragamba-dam
WaterNSW Education website (for Teachers) https://www.waternsw.com.au/education
 
Glass Eel Noodle Activity instructions
You will need: A heat-proof cup, such as a teacup or a small mug, 2 tablespoons of potato starch, 1 tablespoon of boiling water, a metal teaspoon, a small saucepan, a stove, and a strainer.
WARNING! An adult must do the steps that use boiling water.WARNING! Glass eel noodles have a very chewy texture. They should not be eaten by very young children or anyone who has trouble with chewing food.
Add the 2 tablespoons of potato starch to a heat proof cup, such as a teacup or a small mug.
Add 1 tablespoon of boiling water to the potato starch and mix thoroughly using a metal teaspoon.
Use your hands to knead the mixture until it forms a smooth dough.
Break the dough in half and then divide each half into about 6 equally sized pieces.
Roll each of the 12 pieces of dough into a thin eel shape, about 5 to 7 cm long.
Boil water in a small saucepan and add the eels to the boiling water, one at a time, so they don’t stick to each other.
Boil the eels for about 15 minutes until they are almost completely transparent.
Use a strainer or colander to carefully strain the eels and then rinse the eels in cold water.

Extreme energy – sunny science

Things are really going to heat up with five fascinating fast facts about the Sun, a deep dive into Solar radiation, a question about the Sun exploding, some history of solar power, and a sunny science activity for you to try yourself at home.
 
Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda Sercombe. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.
 
https://www.creativescience.com.au
 
Episode content:
00:00 Introduction and fast facts
02:21 Solar radiation
04:19 Is the Sun going to explode one day?
05:59 Solar power
08:01 Tracing shadows
You will need: A sunny day, a hat and sunscreen, a small toy, for example a LEGO figure, a pencil, and a piece of paper. You might also need something heavy, like a few rocks, to stop the piece of paper blowing away in the wind.

Amazing animals - sea slug science

Let’s get slimy with five fascinating fast facts about slugs, a deep dive into sea slug adaptations, a question about why slugs have slime, a look at a sea slug citizen science project, and a slimy substance for you to make yourself at home.
 
Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda Sercombe. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.
 
https://www.creativescience.com.au
 
Episode content:
00:00 Introduction and fast facts
02:20 Sea slug adaptations
04:26 Why do slugs have slime?
06:10 Sea Slug Census
08:26 Sticky tapioca slime
You will need: Help from and adult, a small saucepan, a spoon, a stove, one quarter of a cup of cold tap water, four drops food colouring, and one quarter of a cup of tapioca flour.
 
iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/
Search for ‘Sea Slug Census’

Bubble up – food science

It’s time for some bubbly science with fascinating fast facts about the bubbles in food, a deep dive into chemical reactions in the kitchen that make carbon dioxide gas, a question about eating acidic foods, some history of bubbly drinks, and a fizzy lemonade recipe for you to try yourself at home.
 
Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda Sercombe. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.
 
https://www.creativescience.com.au
 
Episode content:
00:00 Introduction and fast facts
03:01 Chemical reactions that make carbon dioxide gas
04:26 If vinegar is an acid, how can it be safe to eat?
06:09 Bubbles in drinks
07:46 Bubbly lemonade activity
You will need: A citrus juicer, a fresh lemon, a drinking glass, some cold water, a teaspoon, sugar, and sodium bicarbonate, otherwise known as bicarb.

Glow science - luminescence

Get ready to glow with fascinating fast facts about luminescence, a deep dive into living things that make their own light, a question about how things glow, some scientific uses for a fluorescent molecule, and a glow-in-the-dark activity for you to try yourself at home.
Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda Sercombe. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.
https://www.creativescience.com.au
 
Episode content:
00:00 Introduction and fast facts
03:30 Bioluminescence
05:50 How does luminescence make things glow?
07:32 Green fluorescent protein
09:59 Finding luminescent objects
You will need: A UV torch or blacklight and a collection of objects that you think might be fluorescent or made from a glow-in-the-dark material.
Build a Blacklight instructions from National Science Week 2024 ‘DIY Science’:
https://www.scienceweek.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Build-a-blacklight.pdf

Fantastic plants - adaptations

Let’s go green with five fascinating fast facts about fantastic plants, a deep dive into plant adaptations, a question about carnivorous plants, some history of the science of pitcher plants, and a photosynthesis activity for you to try yourself at home.
 
Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda Sercombe. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.
 
https://www.creativescience.com.au
 
Episode content:
00:00 Introduction and fast facts
02:24 Adaptations to help plants survive
05:17 Why do some plants eat animals?
07:30 Pitcher plants
09:12 Oxygen on a leaf experiment
You will need: Two green leaves, freshly picked from the same plant; two jars of water; some paper and a pencil; and a camera if you’d like to take photographs of your experiment.

Amazing animals – scat science

Let’s get a bit stinky with five fascinating fast facts about faeces, a deep dive into unusual animal poo, a question about why poo smells bad, some history of fossilised poo, and scat saving citizen science projects for you to try yourself.
Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda Sercombe. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.
https://www.creativescience.com.au
 
Episode content:
00:00 Introduction and fast facts
02:46 Unusual animal poo
05:04 Why does poo smell so bad?
06:08 Fossilised faeces - coprolites
08:06 Citizen science projects using animal scats
- Echidna CSI at the University of Adelaide in South Australia https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/echidna-csi
- Koala DNA at Griffith University in Queensland
https://www.griffith.edu.au/griffith-sciences/research/koala-dna
- Scoop a Poop at Macquarie University in New South Wales
https://www.scoopapoop.net/

Radiation science – X-rays

Get X-cited with five fascinating fast facts about x-rays, a deep dive into x-ray images in medicine, a question about x-ray safety, some history of x-ray science, and a shadowy activity for you to try yourself at home.
 
Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda Sercombe. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.
 
https://www.creativescience.com.au
 
Episode content:
00:00 Introduction and fast facts
02:24 X-rays in medicine
04:22 Are X-rays safe?
05:43 History of X-ray science
07:31 Properties of light activity
You will need: a dark room, a torch, and a flexible drinking straw.

Freaky forces – air

Let’s take a deep breath and feel the force with five fascinating fast facts about air pressure, a deep dive into the power of the wind, a question about how air pressure is used to predict the weather, some history of atmospheric science, and a forceful falling experiment for you to try yourself at home.
 
Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda Sercombe. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.
 
https://www.creativescience.com.au
 
Episode content:
Astronaut David Scott dropping a hammer and a feather on the Moon:NASA, Astronomy Picture of the Day, The Hammer and the Feather (2011) https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111101.html
00:00 Introduction and fast facts
02:48 Forces in air and the power of the wind
04:50 How is air pressure used to predict the weather?
05:58 Some history of barometric pressure and air resistance
08:27 Paper drop experiment
You will need: two pieces of paper that are the same size and shape. For example, two pieces of A4 size photocopy paper.