Improve Your Communication Skills
Make Your Own Interactive Story!
Find out how to make your own interactive story with Jump! Mag and storyteller Justine de Mierre.
Some people think stories are just for little kids, but stories are all around us. We watch them on television, we read them in books – we even listen to them when someone’s telling us about their great weekend!
Stories aren’t just fairy tales, they can be about businesswomen and athletes just as much as about princesses and trolls. They can even be about princess-like businesswomen and athletic trolls!
So, if you’re planning a get together with your friends why not give storytelling a go? An interactive story is one you can make up on the spot and gets everyone joining in – and it can be about whatever you and your friends are interested in!
A Day In the Life Of…a Biologist
Ever wondered what being a biologist might be like? No two scientists work days are the same but I’m going to take you through my typical day to give you an idea
7 AM: I get up and eat breakfast (toast and a cup of tea) before travelling to work.
8 AM: I arrive at work (this is early for scientists, most of my workmates arrive at about 9 AM but I like to get up early!) After checking my email the first job of the day is to turn on the microscope above.
The plant root surface is covered in root hairs. This is what they look like under a microscope.To get an idea of the cells, les than 1mm of plant root can be seen in this image
It is similar to microscopes you may have used at school but with a few added features including a special camera. I am fascinated by plants and in my research I am trying to find out more about how some plants (including peas and beans) can form a friendly relationship (known as symbiosis) with soil bacteria, which provide nutrients that the plants need to grow. I use the microscope and camera to study living cells in plant seedling roots (where the symbiosis is set up).
10:30 AM: Tea break and seminar. I have a tea break with some of my workmates and then go to a seminar where other scientists talk about their research and we discuss it afterwards. Seminars are a great way to find out what experiments other scientists are doing, and to get ideas for new experiments to try.
12:30 PM: I have lunch with my friends.
1:15 PM: More experiments. For some of my experiments I have to grow plants in greenhouses. Today I visit to check on my plants and collect some to take measurements. This involves digging up the plants and cleaning them to look at their roots. This is fun, but messy!
3:30 PM: Afternoon tea break.
3:45 PM: Data analysis. I spend the last part of the afternoon drawing graphs of the data I have collected today and thinking about what it shows (does it answer the research question? Do I need to do further experiments?). I also spend some time reading research articles to find out about experiments other scientists have been doing.
5:30 PM: Hometime! Once I am home I have dinner and then relax.
One of the things I love about being a scientist is the feeling of discovering the “unknown”. The experiments I carry out reveal little details that when combined with other scientist’s data can help us build up a picture of how the plant-bacteria symbiosis is set up so that pea and bean plants can get the nutrients they need to grow. We hope that this knowledge might be able to help improve farming in the future.
About the Author
Sarah Shailes is a plant scientist working at the John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK. She studies how some plants can form a friendly relationship (symbiosis) with soil bacteria, which help the plants gain nutrients they need to grow. When she isn’t in the laboratory she enjoys knitting and hiking, and helps run a local Brownie Guide unit.
POO-EE! Roman Toilet Seat Found Near Hadrian’s Wall
How would you like to root around in a 2000 year-old toilet?! The Romans created aqueducts, newspapers, and bound books… but did you know they helped create the toilets we have today?
Archaeologists at a Roman excavation site in Northumberland have recently uncovered a wooden toilet seat…that is 2000 years old! While it looks a bit more basic than the toilet seats we have today, it shows that they were very concerned with cleanliness.
The Roman wooden toilet seat. Not looking bad to say it’s 2000 years old! (Source.)
What is a Stick Bomb?
11-year-old Andre Jefferson explained stick bombs as being, ‘a kinetic chain reaction that is weaved together with jumbo popsicle sticks, that creates tension, and when you take one of the sticks out, it releases potential energy and makes it pop up about this high’.
If you are thinking ‘What?’ then watch the rest of his TEDx talk to find out what a ‘Stick bomb’ is and what makes them jump.
Ailsa – Our ContiReporter at Women’s U17 EUROS – Day Two
Tuesday 26th of November
Today was match day! England v Italy.
The match was at Telford Stadium so we had a 50 mile journey from St. Georges Park to get there.
It was a rather cold day to be outside but it wasn’t shown by any of the excited school children that flooded the ground, ready to watch the game. Before the match began outside the stadium, Continental Tyres were running a Conti Fan Zone. A variety of football activities were being run for the energetic children.
I had a go at measuring the speed of my kick. On my first go I fluffed it and didn’t even hit the target (that’s why I play in goal!) but on my second go I managed to get 29mph which was quite good.
I had to do a piece to camera about what went on before the match and interviewed two Birmingham City Ladies who were taking part in the activities.
Me and my cameraman David positioned ourselves by the team dugouts, ready and waiting for kick off. When the game finally kicked off it was a fast, exciting game.
Both teams were equal and no team was particularly dominant. The England captain, defender Leah Williamson was a stand out player as she was clearly comfortable on the ball and lead the team with ease.
At half time it was 0-0. For the second half me and David retreated to the press box, due to the days coldness, where Simon and Dad had been watching the game and famous footballer spotting.
I had to do some reporting to the camera at half time about how I thought the match was going. The second half was just as gripping and as nail-biting as the first. Unfortunately England conceded an untimely goal off a deflection. England continued to battle throughout the second half and continuously tried to win themselves back a goal, they came staggeringly close to scoring again but unluckily when the final whistle blew, Italy won 1-0.
The score didn’t reflect the game, a draw would have connoted the game more suitably. After the game, I got the chance to ask Lois Fidler a question at the after game press conference.
Following the press conference I then got the opportunity to interview the current England Ladies Manager, Brent Hills, who was lovely and chatty, I still can’t believe I got the chance to interview him.
I was also fortunate enough to be able to interview Alex Scott, England international, Dave Sampson, Bristol Academy Ladies Manager and four of the Under 17 girls, Leah Williamson, Keira Walsh, Chloe Kelly and Molly Rouse.
I was overwhelmed by the people I got the chance to talk to about the game. As the day came to a close it was time for us to go back to St. Georges Park after a long, jam-packed, thrilling day.