Improve Your Communication Skills
Winter Wonderings – Why Does Frost Make Patterns?
The third #winterwonderings post from our Science Correspondent, Samantha, we take a look at why frost makes patterns. Many countries have a mythical figure like Jack Frost, who draws in the ice and frost in winter, but what really causes these gorgeous natural designs.
Egg Box Gardening
I started a little experiment of my own this spring. I wanted to find an easy way of sowing seeds for growing vegetables at home. I have a small veggie patch, but I worked out last year that I could grow a lot more, if only I had many more seedlings to plant out.
But sowing seeds can be a bit fiddly, and then you’ve got to plant out each tiny plant. That takes a lot of time. I wanted more veggies for less work, so I collected as many egg boxes as I could find, and sowed seeds into each egg holder. The pictures show the planting and growing on of broad beans, but I have also used the egg boxes for runner beans, radishes, beetroots, spinach, tomatoes, rocket, pak choi and patty pans.
And it’s not too late to start growing your own right now. You don’t even need a veggie patch in the garden; plant the egg boxes into a pot or container for your window sill or patio.
Things I Would Tell My 11 Year Old Self
We asked 16 year old Poppy what advice she’d give to her 11 year old self, and this is what she told us.
It’s genetic, isn’t it?
Genetics is the study of how genes are inherited in a population. A scientist interested in genetics is a geneticist. If something is genetic, that means it is passed to you by your Mum and Dad. You inherit genes from your parents.
Genes control most aspects of human life, from eye colour to how fast you can run. There are some fun ways to demonstrate genetics in your own family.
Take tongue rolling. The ability to roll your tongue is what we call a dominant trait. If you have the gene for tongue rolling you will be able to roll your tongue.
The UK General Election – An Explanation for Kids
Every five years, United Kingdom elects a new parliament. This is called a General Election and it’s pretty complicated. If you’ve ever wondered how a country decides who is going to run things, this is how! We asked our contributor Tina Price-Johnson to write an explanation of the General Election for kids.
When I was in Year 9, my school ran a mock general election, so we could learn how an election works. I was chosen to be the Liberal Democrat candidate, and two other students were chosen to represent the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. We didn’t have any other parties at that time!
We had to pretend we were running to be elected as a Member of Parliament (MP), and the other students in the school were the voters. We created posters and learned what each party stood for, so we could debate in front of the whole school and give our speeches. We spoke to students in the hallway, and each of us had a team of other students to help us out. This is exactly what all the candidates for MP in your local area will be doing. More or less!