Creative Science for Kids

Icy science – states of matter

Get ready for some super cool science with fascinating frosty facts about ice, a deep dive into the Earth’s coldest places, a question about how fish survive swimming in sub-zero seas, some history of refrigeration, and a salty ice 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:
00:00 Introduction and fast facts
02:56 The coldest places on Earth
05:05 Why don’t fish freeze in sub-zero seas?
07:28 History of refrigeration
09:11 Salty ice experiment
You will need a freezer, a paper or plastic cup filled with water, small plate, rock salt or table salt, and some food colouring in a dropper bottle.

Slimy science – gooey molecules

It’s slippery slime time with fascinating fast facts about liquids and viscosity, a deep dive into slimy molecules, a question about animal slime, an exploration of plant slime and slime moulds, 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
02:30 Chemistry of slime recipes
04:41 Slimy animals
06:52 Plant slime and slime moulds
09:22 Try this – cornflour slime
You will need cornflour (made from corn, not wheat), a bowl, a large spoon, and a small jug of water. Food colouring optional.

Freaky forces – friction

Explore the freaky force of friction, with fascinating friction facts, a deep dive into road safety, an exploration of sticky gecko feet, some history of the science of friction, and a friction-filled game 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
02:10 Friction and road safety
03:43 How do animals climb walls without falling down?
05:12 How do we know what we know about friction?
07:13 Try this – tug of war, with and without friction
You will need between 1 and 3 friends to play tug-of-war in teams of 1 or 2 players; a piece of rope, about 3 metres long (plastic-coated clothesline cord works really well); and some liquid hand soap.

Spark science – electricity

Sparks will fly with fascinating fast facts about electric charge, a deep dive into lightning, a question about the dangers of electricity, some ideas about how electricity is generated, and a truly shocking 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:
00:00 Introduction and fast facts
02:07 Lightning
03:46 How dangerous is electricity?
05:21 Electricity generators and renewable energy
07:37 Try this – making things move with static electricity, animals with an electrical sense
You will need some paper, torn into small pieces, and a balloon.

Ask A.I. – cutting edge technology

What is artificial intelligence? Explore the different types of artificial intelligence, take a deep dive into self-driving cars, find out if A.I. robots are taking over the world, and play noughts and crosses against an algorithm that will beat you every time.
 
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
02:13 Familiar A.I. and self-driving cars
05:42 Will A.I. robots one day take over the world?
07:45 The human brain compared to A.I.
09:27 Try this – play noughts and crosses against an algorithm
You will need a piece of paper and a pencil.

Freaky forces – gravity and black holes

Explore the freaky force of gravity, with lots of groovy gravity facts, a deep dive into centre of gravity and astronomical orbits, a question about black holes, the past, present, and future of gravitational science, and a gravity-defying trick 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
02:45 Gravity and astronomical orbits
05:52 What would happen if I fell into a black hole?
07:10 How do we know what we know about the force of gravity?
08:39 Try this – make a gravity-defying box
You will need modelling clay or playdough and an empty cardboard milk carton, or any other long cardboard box, for example a biscuit box.

Hear this – sound science

Explore the astounding world of sound, with lots of fascinating sound science facts, a deep dive into an animal that uses sound to find its friends, an exploration of the human ear, some of the history of sound science, and a few sound science investigations 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
02:25 Frog sounds
04:51 How does my ear work?
07:27 How do we know what we know about sound?
09:20 Try this – sound waves travelling through a fork and a piece of string
You will need a metal spoon and a piece of string about 30 centimetres long.