Creative Science for Kids

• Spaced out science – space junk with Mars Buttfield-Addison

  Get ready to launch into fascinating fast facts about space junk, an interview with Mars Buttfield-Addison, a computer scientist and science communicator who knows a lot about space debris, and an easy orbital activity 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. Creative Science: https://www.creativescience.com.au Facebook: @creativescienceaustralia Instagram: @creative_science_australia Episode content: 00:00 Introduction and fast facts 03:28 A big collision in space 04:10 Interview with Mars Buttfield-Addison 10:49 Orbiting sock activity   Orbiting sock activity instructions: You will need: a pair of long socks, for example, knee-high socks or football socks, or ask if you can borrow a pair of adult-sized socks. Roll up one of the socks and push it down into the other sock, so it is in the toe end of the sock. Make sure you have plenty of space around you before doing this step. Hold the open end of the sock and swing the sock around in a circle, so the rolled-up sock is orbiting your hand. Make the sock swing around in a circle as fast as you can, and then slow down the speed until the sock only just stays in a nice, round circle-shaped orbit. Hold the sock about halfway along the length, so the orbit is smaller. Swing the sock around again so it orbits your hand in a smaller circle. Make it swing around as fast as you can again, and then slow down the speed while keeping it in a circle-shaped orbit. What do you notice about the speed of the larger orbit compared to the smaller orbit? The sock can orbit a lot slower in the larger orbit compared to the smaller orbit. This is only a model made from socks, so the forces are a bit different compared to a real satellite orbiting Earth.  In our sock model, the long sock is providing the force to keep the rolled-up sock in its orbit, so the long sock is a bit like gravity holding a satellite in orbit. A satellite is held in orbit by the force of gravity. For lower orbits, the force of gravity is stronger and a satellite in a lower orbit has to move faster to avoid falling down to Earth. Higher orbit satellites experience less gravitational pull, and they move more slowly to stay in orbit.

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• Mind blowing science - National Science Week

  Saturday 9 August to Sunday 17 August 2025 is National Science Week in Australia, so it’s time to blow your mind with five fun and fascinating fast facts about different types of science, some mind-blowing recent discoveries in science, a few different voices sharing their favourite mind-blowing science, and an activity that’s oozing with science 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.   Creative Science: https://www.creativescience.com.au Facebook: @creativescienceaustralia Instagram: @creative_science_australia   National Science Week Find free resources and National Science Week events happening near you: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/   DIY Science activities: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/diy-science/ See Creative Science live on stage at these Sydney events: Saturday 9 August 2025, Sydney Science Trail at the Australian Museum  Sunday 10 August 2025, Science in the Scrub at Western Sydney Parklands Sunday 17 August 2025, Science in the Swamp at Centennial Park Thanks to Inspiring Australia NSW for helping us connect with special guests: Eylem Altuntas, Developmental Psychologist, Western Sydney University Jinx Moore, Medical Research Scientist, University of Technology Sydney Dr Patrick Capon, Science Communicator, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood Dr Alison Gould, Science Communicator, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood Kira Lowe, PhD Candidate, University of Wollongong Kenya Fernandes, Microbiologist, University of Sydney Alicia Haines, Forensic Biologist, University of Technology Sydney   Episode content: 00:00 Introduction and fast facts 4:30 New discoveries in science 6:10 Special guests with mind blowing ideas 9:20 Elephant toothpaste activity   Elephant toothpaste activity instructions: You will need: A measuring cup, some warm water, a small jug, a teaspoon of dry yeast, a small plastic drink bottle, some dishwashing liquid, and a few drops of food colouring. You will also need about 100 millilitres of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Ask an adult if you have any at home or you can find it at a pharmacy. Be careful when using the 3% hydrogen peroxide because it can stain clothes and other material, and you might like to wear gloves to protect your hands.   This activity is pretty messy so you should do it on a tray next to the kitchen sink or in a sheltered outside area.   Use the measuring cup to add about 50 millilitres of warm water to the small jug. Add one teaspoon of dry yeast to the warm water, stir it gently, and leave it to sit for 5 or 10 minutes to ‘activate’ the yeast. You will know when it’s ready because there will be bubbles on top of the water. While you’re waiting for the yeast mixture to bubble, use the measuring cup to add about 100 millilitres of 3% hydrogen peroxide to the plastic bottle. Add a big squirt of detergent and a few drops of food colouring to the bottle and swirl the bottle to mix the liquids. NOTE: If you want to make a video or take a photo of the Elephant Toothpaste reaction, get ready now before you do the next step, because the reaction will happen quickly. Pour the yeast mixture from the jug into the bottle, step back and see what happens. You should see bubbly foam oozing up and out of the bottle.   The chemical formula for hydrogen peroxide is H2O2 and you might notice that it is made up of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, just like water, which has the chemical formula H2O. Hydrogen peroxide slowly breaks down to turn into water and oxygen gas. Yeast contains a chemical called ‘catalase’ which speeds up this reaction. The bubbles you see in the Elephant Toothpaste are bubbles of oxygen gas made by the hydrogen peroxide breaking down. Hydrogen peroxide can cause damage to the cells in living things, like us humans and the yeast used in this activity, so many living things make the chemical ‘catalase’ to get rid of hydrogen peroxide.

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• Ancient science – Aboriginal technology with Belinda Huntriss

  Let’s step back in time with five fascinating fast facts about how scientists date the ages of ancient artefacts, an interview with Belinda Huntriss, a Worimi woman who is passionate about sharing her knowledge of Aboriginal science and technology, and a tasty sedimentary layer activity 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.   Creative Science: https://www.creativescience.com.au Facebook: @creativescienceaustralia Instagram: @creative_science_australia   Belinda Huntriss: https://freshwater-education.com/ Freshwater Education: Aboriginal education consultancy, professional development workshops, teaching resources, keynote speaker, educator mentoring   Books mentioned by Belinda: Young Dark Emu – A Truer History by Bruce Pascoe  The First Scientists by Corey Tutt   Episode content: 00:00 Introduction and fast facts 04:07 Deep dive into the Madjedbebe rock shelter in Arnhem Land 05:28 Interview with Belinda Huntriss 12:24 Edible sedimentary layers activity   Edible sedimentary layers activity instructions: You will need: a bowl, a few spoons, a glass or tumbler, 2 or 3 biscuits or cookies of your choice, custard or chocolate pudding, chopped fruit and sprinkles. Note: You don’t have to use all of these ingredients to make the sedimentary layers. You might have some tastier ideas you’d like to try. Place the biscuits or cookies on a chopping board or in a bowl and make biscuit crumbs by crushing the biscuits with the back of a large spoon. Make layers of the ingredients in the glass or tumbler, by adding the ingredients one layer at a time. Start by covering the bottom of the glass with biscuit crumbs. Add a layer of custard or pudding, a layer of chopped fruit and a few sprinkles. Repeat the layers, starting again with biscuit crumbs, and keep adding layers until you are happy with your sedimentary layer dessert. Use a small spoon to dig into the layers and eat your dessert. You can travel back in time to a few minutes ago when you added the first layer of biscuit crumbs! Sedimentary layers form when small pieces of rock, sand, and soil settle on top of each other. The layers can also include left over material from plants and animals. As more and more layers are buried, pressure and time causes solid rock to form, and this type of rock is called ‘sedimentary rock’.

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• Imagine that - brain science with Sarah Macdonald and Max Gambale

  It’s time to fire up the mind with five fun and fascinating fast facts about imagination, plus some questions for Sarah Macdonald and Max Gambale, two creative people with interesting imaginations, and a visualisation and drawing activity 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.   Creative Science: https://www.creativescience.com.au Facebook: @creativescienceaustralia Instagram: @creative_science_australia   Episode content: 00:00 Introduction and fast facts 03:43 Deep dive into aphantasia 04:30 Interview with Sarah Macdonald and Max Gambale 10:09 Visualisation and drawing activity   Visualisation and drawing activity instructions: You will need: two pieces of paper, coloured pencils, and a banana. You don’t have to use a banana, but you will need an object that has a familiar shape and that is not too complicated to draw.   Hide the banana so you cannot look at it while you draw. In your mind’s eye, picture a banana in as much detail as possible. If you have aphantasia, you might be thinking of the idea of a banana and the concept that it is yellow, or maybe a bit green, and that it has a curved shape. Draw a picture of the banana you are thinking about. Take your time to draw as much detail as possible. When you have finished your drawing, turn the paper over so you can’t see the picture. Take the banana out of its hiding place, put it down in front of you, and look at it very carefully. Look at the colour and shape of the banana. Can you see any shadows on the banana and any markings on the skin? Draw a picture of the banana and look at the real banana as many times as you like to try to make your drawing as realistic as possible. When you have finished drawing the real banana, turn over the first drawing and compare your two pictures. Did you find it easier to draw a picture of a banana when you could see the real banana? Or did you find it difficult to draw all of the details? When we picture a banana in our mind, we often see a simple image of a curved yellow shape, and maybe some black spots. Looking at a real banana reveals many details that we might not imagine in our mind. To draw a realistic picture, it also takes a lot of practice and skill to make an accurate drawing of what we are observing with our eyes.

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• Take a breath - medical science with Dr Kenneth Soo

  It’s time to take a deep breath and get ready for five fascinating fast facts about breathing, an interview with Dr Kenneth Soo, a hospital-based doctor who knows a lot about breathing, and an energetic activity 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.   Creative Science: www.creativescience.com.au Facebook www.facebook.com/creativescienceaustralia Instagram www.instagram.com/creative_science_australia   Episode content: 00:00 Introduction and fast facts 03:45 Respiration with Dr Kenneth Soo 09:59 Breathing rate activity   Breathing rate activity instructions: You will need: a pen and paper and a timer (e.g. a smartphone timer, a stopwatch, or a clock with a second hand). 1.  Sit quietly, breathing normally, and time exactly 60 seconds while you count the number of times you breathe in 60 seconds. A full breath in and a full breath out is counted as one breath.  After you have counted your breaths for 60 seconds, write down the result. This number is your breathing rate, which is the number of breaths you take in one minute. 2. Repeat Step 1 to measure the resting breathing rate two more times to get a more accurate result. 3. Time another 60 seconds and do some very energetic star jumps, otherwise known as ‘jumping jacks’, and try to really push yourself to jump high and go as fast as you can. 4. Stop jumping, time 60 seconds, and measure your breathing rate again, by counting your breaths for 60 seconds, and write down the result. 5. If you are feeling energetic, Repeat Steps 3 and 4, by exercising again and re-measuring your breathing rate. Did your breathing rate change after you exercised? When you exercise, your muscle cells use up oxygen and sugar and they make carbon dioxide. Having too much carbon dioxide in the blood makes the blood more acidic. This triggers the body to breathe faster to get rid of the extra carbon dioxide from the body. Breathing faster helps your body remove carbon dioxide from the blood and it delivers more oxygen to your cells.

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