Improve Your Communication Skills
Winter Wonderings – Are Snowflakes Really All Different?
It’s a common belief that no two snowflakes are the same, and in a way this is true. No snowflake can ever be completely identical to another, because when you get down to the molecular level they will have slightly different kinds of water molecules, different electrons and different traces of other materials such as specks of dust.
However, if we’re talking only about the appearance and shape of a snowflake, then yes it is possible that some will have duplicates. Snow crystals can vary from fairly simple, hexagonal structures to the more complex and delicate shapes that we commonly think of as snowflakes.
The simple flakes have far fewer molecules than their larger cousins and so it’s entirely possible that you could find two that appeared identical when viewed through a microscope. The more complex structures, however, can have more than a hundred different features and each feature can form in a number of different ways. This makes it highly unlikely that you would ever find two large snowflakes that looked the same – but you could have fun trying!
For a more detailed explanation of the science behind the forming of snowflakes, check out this video
A Fun Rainy Day Activity – A Schnitzeljagd
What on earth is a Schnitzeljagd?’ I hear you say.
A Schnitzel is a German word for a thinly sliced piece of pork, chicken or veal, which is dipped in egg and then coated with breadcrumbs. Similar to chicken nuggets but much tastier! Jagd means hunt.
A Schnitzeljagd means a chicken-nugget-hunt? Not quite! The word Schnitzel is also used in Papierschnitzel – little bits of paper.
Great Women You Should Know: Betty Skelton
In our series of Great Women You Should Know … here comes daredevil and adventurer Betty Skelton
When she was eight, Betty fell in love with aeroplanes. She watched them flying over her house every day, she devoured books about them, and she begged her parents to take her to airfields where she would persuade pilots to take her on rides above the clouds.
Betty must have been a very persuasive person, because she also talked a young Navy pilot into giving the whole family flying lessons. And when I say whole family, I mean it: Betty flew her first plane solo when she was just twelve years old. She might have been a tiny daredevil, but she was so scared her mother would scold her for doing it that she kept it a secret for a week!
Women in Politics: Be The Change You Want To See
Recently the online parenting website Mumsnet ran a survey which found that people in politics are seen to be ‘white, middle-class and male’. We think that ANYONE can become an MP, so we decided to chat to some politicians about diversity in politics.
First up, we wanted to know what it is really like for women in politics. We asked Tina to chat with Heidi Alexander, Labour Minister of Parliament for Lewisham-East in London.
Who on Earth Invented Traffic Lights?!
