Creative Science for Kids

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.

Cosmic science – into the unknown

Let’s get cosmic with fascinating fast facts about the universe, a deep dive into the life cycle of stars, a question about the distance from Earth to outer space, some history of cosmic science, and a galactic 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
02:48 The life cycle of a star
04:54 How far away is outer space?
06:05 Space telescopes, Edwin Hubble, and Henrietta Swan Leavitt
08:14 Swirling spiral galaxy activity
You will need: a large round bowl, water, a splash of milk, a dessert spoon, and food colouring in a dropper bottle

It’s a joke – the science of laughter

Description: Let’s lighten the mood with fascinating funny facts about laughter, a deep dive into what happens in your brain when you giggle, a question about tickling, some history of the science of laughter in humans and animals, and a funny 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
02:58 What happens to our bodies when we laugh
05:12 Why can’t I tickle myself?
06:59 Laughter in humans and animals
08:52 Not tickling activity
You will need help from someone you a close to, like a sister or brother, close friend, or a parent.

See this – science of light

Let’s brighten up your day with fascinating fast facts about light, a deep dive into rainbows, a question about colour blindness, some ideas about how light energy is used in technology, and a colourful 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
03:21 Light spectrum and rainbows
04:50 What does it mean if someone is colour blind?
06:51 Light in technology
09:10 Rainbow CD activity
You will need an old CD or DVD, a torch, a piece of paper, and some coloured pencils.