Monthly Archives: August 2010

Have you been in an aeroplane?

Did you know that if  the jet engine wasn’t invented we’d be keeping our feet on the ground?

Jet engines move the aeroplane forward with a force that is produced by a tremendous thrust!

What is a Thrust?

Thrust is the force that pushes the aeroplane engine forward.

Sir Isaac Newton discovered that for “every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

Check out the air flow!

An engine does this by taking in a large amount of air, the air is then heated, compressed and slowed down.

The air is then forced through spinning blades and mixes with jet fuel, making the temperature of the air as hot as three thousand degrees!

This hot air powers the turbine (a part of the engine). Finally, when the air leaves, it pushes backwards out of the engine, making the plane fly!

Did you know?

That the cry of a blue whale is louder then the sound of a jet engine? It can be heard hundreds of kilometers away! Looks like nature got there first!

You’re a bit too young to fly a real jet engine, but here’s a fun activity you can do that will teach you about pressure!

What you’ll need:

- Scotch tape

- A drinking straw

- a long balloon

- 3 metres of nylon string

- trees, poles or chairs to tie the string to

How to do it:

1) Take one end of the string and tie it to a tree or a post

2) Slide the straw onto the string

3) Tie the other end of the string onto another post or tree, making sure the string is tight

4) Blow up the balloon and hold the opening so the air won’t escape

5) Face the opening of the balloon towards the post you tied the other end of string to, rest the balloon on the string and tape the balloon to the string

Go Jet Balloon!

6) Release the balloon!

Why did that happen?

When you let go of the balloon all of the air inside rushes out! Which causes the balloon to speed across the string!

Oh dear Morc and Skelly are at it again and somehow Garth and Bev have gotten mixed up in the mess!

Skelly has challenged Morc to a boat race, but when everyone gets out to sea the oars are lost overboard and they can’t get back to shore!

Luckily Garth and Bev see a jellyfish propelling himself through the water and get the great idea to propel the boats back to shore. Grandfather Lir is so proud of his grandchildren he sends them through the time spiral to meet Frank Whittle who invented Jet propulsion. The invention that makes planes go really fast through the air!

There are some pretty amazing animals out there! Do you remember when Garth and Bev had fireflies help them light the cave so that everyone in Ballybeg could see the cave drawings?

Well fireflies are not the only animals that can glow in the dark there’s also the angler fish and the flashlight fish, plus many more!

Why do these animals glow?

fireflies

The firefly glows as a way to attract a mate (a boyfriend or girlfriend). Usually they’ll glow yellow, red or green, so when there are lots of fireflies around it looks like Christmas!

angler fish

The angler fish isn’t as nice as the firefly, they have a rod coming out of their head with a light at the end that attracts other animals, so that they can eat them! Have you seen ‘Finding Nemo’? an angler fish in that movie tries to eat Nemo and Dory!

flashlight fish

The flashlight fish is a lot nicer then the angler fish. Flashlight fish are very small, with light organs by their eyes that act like torches. That way the fish can see where he’s going in the dark ocean!

Did you know?

Fireflies are not flies at all, they come from the beetle family!

Light helps us to see in the dark and sun light helps plants and animals to grow up big and strong too!

Here’s a fun activity you can do to learn about how light and objects have three different relationships.

What you’ll need:

- A torch

- lots of different objects from around the house: your teddy bear, books, toys, anything!

What to do:

Shine the torch through the objects to see if the light shines through it.

If the light shines through you have a transparent (pronounced trans – parent) object, but if the light doesn’t shine through the object is called opaque (pronounced o – pake ) Sometimes you’ll find an object that will let a little bit of light through and thats know as a translucent ( trans – loo – cent ).

These 3 levels are known as different kinds of transparency (trans – parin – see)

Shine the light through your hand, what kind of transparency does your hand have?

Have fun!

Can you get an ice cube out of water without getting your hands wet?

Materials:

- Salt

- Drinking glass

- Water

- Length of string

- Ice cubes

The experiment steps:

1) Fill the glass with water

2) Place an ice cube in the glass

3) Dangle the end of the string on the ice cube

4) Keeping the string still sprinkle some salt on the ice cube and wait a few minutes

5) Now lift the string and watch as the ice cube comes with it!

You’ve gotten the ice cube out without getting wet!

Why did it happen?

So why did the ice cube magically stick to the string? Well its not magic at all, salt freezes to ice helping to make objects stick to it.

That’s why in winter it’s always a good idea to sprinkle salt on icey steps because it will stop you from slipping when you walk.

The summer time in Ballybeg can get very hot, luckily Garth and Bev have been through the time spiral and discovered the perfect way to stay cool, ice lollies!

Yummy and refreshing here’s an easy recipe you can make with an adult, so that everybody stays cool!

Ingredients:

300ml of orange juice (you can use any juice you like, apple, blackberry, anything!)

300ml of water

Ice lolly moulds

Method:

Mix the orange juice and water together in a jug then pour into the ice lolly moulds.

Put the ice lollies in the freezer for about an hour.

Take out of the freezer and wait a few minutes for the ice lolly to loosen from the mould.

Then gobble it up!

Extra yummy tricks:

Instead of using pre-made juice squeeze your own oranges, you’ll need several large oranges to make 300ml

Add in fresh fruit chunks to your ice lollies for a delicious surprise! Pineapple and watermelon is especially tasty.

Garth and Bev discover a tasty invention!

It’s the Ballybeg Winter Festival! So Grandfather Lir asks Garth and Bev to find a way of displaying his grand collection of autumn leaves.

Garth and Bev find themselves in all kinds of trouble! Slipping and sliding in the snow! Luckily they accidentally discover that they can freeze the leaves in ice and hang the pretty leaves like a painting! Grandfather Lir is so happy Garth and Bev learnt something new that he decides its time for a little treat.

The time spiral! Yay!

Garth and Bev go to meet Frank Epperson, who invented a very tasty summer treat. Do you know what Frank Epperson invented?

Clue: it’s cold, sweet and very yummy!

Answer: the ice lolly!