Let’s get slimy with five fascinating fast facts about slugs, a deep dive into sea slug adaptations, a question about why slugs have slime, a look at a sea slug citizen science project, and a slimy substance for you to make 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.

https://www.creativescience.com.au

Episode content:

00:00 Introduction and fast facts

02:20 Sea slug adaptations

04:26 Why do slugs have slime?

06:10 Sea Slug Census

08:26 Sticky tapioca slime

You will need: Help from and adult, a small saucepan, a spoon, a stove, one quarter of a cup of cold tap water, four drops food colouring, and one quarter of a cup of tapioca flour.

iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/

Search for ‘Sea Slug Census’

It’s time for some bubbly science with fascinating fast facts about the bubbles in food, a deep dive into chemical reactions in the kitchen that make carbon dioxide gas, a question about eating acidic foods, some history of bubbly drinks, and a fizzy lemonade recipe 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.

https://www.creativescience.com.au

Episode content:

00:00 Introduction and fast facts

03:01 Chemical reactions that make carbon dioxide gas

04:26 If vinegar is an acid, how can it be safe to eat?

06:09 Bubbles in drinks

07:46 Bubbly lemonade activity

You will need: A citrus juicer, a fresh lemon, a drinking glass, some cold water, a teaspoon, sugar, and sodium bicarbonate, otherwise known as bicarb.

Get ready to glow with fascinating fast facts about luminescence, a deep dive into living things that make their own light, a question about how things glow, some scientific uses for a fluorescent molecule, and a glow-in-the-dark 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.

https://www.creativescience.com.au

Episode content:

00:00 Introduction and fast facts

03:30 Bioluminescence

05:50 How does luminescence make things glow?

07:32 Green fluorescent protein

09:59 Finding luminescent objects

You will need: A UV torch or blacklight and a collection of objects that you think might be fluorescent or made from a glow-in-the-dark material.

Build a Blacklight instructions from National Science Week 2024 ‘DIY Science’:

https://www.scienceweek.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Build-a-blacklight.pdf

Let’s go green with five fascinating fast facts about fantastic plants, a deep dive into plant adaptations, a question about carnivorous plants, some history of the science of pitcher plants, and a photosynthesis 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.

https://www.creativescience.com.au

Episode content:

00:00 Introduction and fast facts

02:24 Adaptations to help plants survive

05:17 Why do some plants eat animals?

07:30 Pitcher plants

09:12 Oxygen on a leaf experiment

You will need: Two green leaves, freshly picked from the same plant; two jars of water; some paper and a pencil; and a camera if you’d like to take photographs of your experiment.

Let’s get a bit stinky with five fascinating fast facts about faeces, a deep dive into unusual animal poo, a question about why poo smells bad, some history of fossilised poo, and scat saving citizen science projects for you to try yourself.

Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda Sercombe. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.

https://www.creativescience.com.au

Episode content:

00:00 Introduction and fast facts

02:46 Unusual animal poo

05:04 Why does poo smell so bad?

06:08 Fossilised faeces - coprolites

08:06 Citizen science projects using animal scats

- Echidna CSI at the University of Adelaide in South Australia https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/echidna-csi

- Koala DNA at Griffith University in Queensland

https://www.griffith.edu.au/griffith-sciences/research/koala-dna

- Scoop a Poop at Macquarie University in New South Wales

https://www.scoopapoop.net/

Get X-cited with five fascinating fast facts about x-rays, a deep dive into x-ray images in medicine, a question about x-ray safety, some history of x-ray science, and a shadowy 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.

https://www.creativescience.com.au

Episode content:

00:00 Introduction and fast facts

02:24 X-rays in medicine

04:22 Are X-rays safe?

05:43 History of X-ray science

07:31 Properties of light activity

You will need: a dark room, a torch, and a flexible drinking straw.

Let’s take a deep breath and feel the force with five fascinating fast facts about air pressure, a deep dive into the power of the wind, a question about how air pressure is used to predict the weather, some history of atmospheric science, and a forceful falling experiment 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.

https://www.creativescience.com.au

Episode content:

Astronaut David Scott dropping a hammer and a feather on the Moon: NASA, Astronomy Picture of the Day, The Hammer and the Feather (2011) https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111101.html

00:00 Introduction and fast facts

02:48 Forces in air and the power of the wind

04:50 How is air pressure used to predict the weather?

05:58 Some history of barometric pressure and air resistance

08:27 Paper drop experiment

You will need: two pieces of paper that are the same size and shape. For example, two pieces of A4 size photocopy paper.

Let’s get cosmic with fascinating fast facts about the universe, a deep dive into the life cycle of stars, a question about the distance from Earth to outer space, some history of cosmic science, and a galactic 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.

https://www.creativescience.com.au

Episode content:

00:00 Introduction and fast facts

02:48 The life cycle of a star

04:54 How far away is outer space?

06:05 Space telescopes, Edwin Hubble, and Henrietta Swan Leavitt

08:14 Swirling spiral galaxy activity

You will need: a large round bowl, water, a splash of milk, a dessert spoon, and food colouring in a dropper bottle