Our list of perks is never-ending!
New science videos for young and old, from young and old. Tim Rowett of Grand Illusions shows off the wonderful ingenuity that goes into toy-making. Musical genius Casey Connor shows how much we hear and how much we make up, in his Audio Illusions videos. Rough Science threw top scientists onto desert islands and watched them ‘magic’ their way to safety – still fresh after quarter of a century!
SCIENCE MAGIC
Download your FREE book by clicking on its image above. Each Science Magic book has over thirty easy tricks, using simple stuff from around the house, with simple instructions and clear science explanations.
Amazon review: “… incredible. I wish it was available when I was at school … explains in very easy english the principle of things like Newtons law of gravity to using the fingers on both hands for times table calculations … The magic side is easy to do and really hits home the principles used … Although you won’t be a “rocket scientist” or Nobel prize winner after reading it, you will be well on your way to wanting to know more about our world of science … Great for kids from 4 to 104 years.”
ELEMENTS KAPA
Learning the table of elements is a tedious chore at school, but a gripping game at home if you learn by playing Top Trumps. You can know your elements before you’re ten years old! The way to victory is to know the facts.
To find out more and buy the cards visit HERE.
ARE WE NEARLY HERE YET? (THE BOOK)
The history of the Universe, from the Big Bang till bang up to date. Scientists have worked it all out. So, we thought, it’s time to tell it like it is, in twelve short, sweet chapters. Track your journey, from your first appearance as an atom, a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang; helping the creation of stars and planets; turning into the miracle molecule, DNA; evolving through amoeba, worm, mouse, and chimp, and right up to the here and now.
14 billion years squeezed into 14,000 words; making it simple enough for 9-11 year-olds, detailed enough to be plausible to their parents, fun enough to make them laugh and astonishing enough to make them gawp*.
Along the way, learn about why you get hiccups and goose bumps, and where viruses come from. You have your history written all through you, like a stick of Brighton rock!
This is the unadorned text, in manuscript form – it hasn’t been published yet – but we can’t wait to get it out there.
Appearing frequently as a ZOOM series; keep watching the Are We Nearly Here Yet? page here
Suitable for 9+. Especially of interest to grown-ups, we find, since it manages to be simultaneously short, light, broad and deep.
BORED GAMES
Click on the names to receive your free set of 6 games.
Bored Games #1 Refreshingly different, surprisingly compelling and really, really simple. From the Mediaeval game of Nine Man’s Morris to an elegant new way to play Noughts and Crosses. All you need is a piece of paper, a lively mind and an opponent.
In Bored Games #2 you learn the game of Nim – five seconds to learn an infinity of games; and Horseshoe – the simplest game in the Universe, but still curiously elusive, plus four others.
BoredGames #3 is two new ways to play Scrabble – Bananagrams and Snatch; both explained HERE
WEBSITES AND VIDEO CHANNELS
Hands-on activities, at the top, have experiments and makes you can do. Websites are slightly more serious, and video channels, below that, are great, inspiring TV.
A wide range of fun videos. Eccentric, zany, explosive, hands-on, clear, useful, astonishing, hilarious: every link down below is at least three of those things. Many are all eight.
You can click on the links, or copy them and paste into your own science database.
To begin on-topic – what to do in a locked-down house; one that was not supposed to be a science funfair… Watch this for inspiration (click on the pic). And don’t just watch, do the experiments! Dianna says it didn’t work in the dry run, so not all of them will work first time. Keep trying.
Powers of Ten, by Charles and Ray Eames, (click the image) is a jewel that has never lost its sheen since it was made in 1977. In ten breathtaking minutes, you zoom to the edge of the Universe and back again.
Anything by Drew Berry is astonishing. Drew recreates the actual shapes and behaviour of the molecules that busy themselves around every cell in your body. It’s unbelievable, but it’s truly happening, 38 trillion times over, in you, right now. This one, below, with ribosomes frantically knitting RNA, true to life, is a stunner. (Click on the pic).
And the list continues…
By the way, please get in touch with any new video discoveries you have made, or enterprises you have begun yourself that could be useful for young families at home.
Hands on Activities
Arvind Gupta Toys From Trash – Never has there been such a huge collection of such simple, cheap and instructive science games and tricks
Claire Mitchell – 15 neat activities from an enterprising young mum
Babble Dabble Do – Huge, slightly rambling website, with much to be made among the muck
The National Physical Laboratory – Their weekly lockdown challenge and HERE
Primary Science Teaching Trust – These are easy to do with things found around the house, and they’ll tick your curriculum boxes too.
Potential Plus – For young people who need stretching
Science Buddies – Looks very schooly (even has a careers page), but click on the Browse Science Projects page to find a good, easy, original collection of projects (probably with an adult nearby to help). One thousand of them!!!!
Creative Science Centre – Jonathan Hare of Rough Science. offers one-to-one science
The Royal Society – Crest awards are famous challenges in schools, but here they have looked out some projects you can easily do at home.
DIY for Kids – Projects that locked-down kids can do with locked-down parents, using grown-up tools.
Activate 1 and Activate 2 – Simple science activities from Sphere Science
IFL Science – 20 fun experiments you can do at home
Jonathan Warner recommends the following
A Simple Introduction To The Scientific Method
K-12 Science Experiments That Parents and Kids Can Do At Home
22 Outdoor Science Experiments and Activities
Rocks for Kids – 15 Fun Activities and Ideas
Storm Spotting for Children: At-Home Meteorology
5 Offbeat Physical Science Experiments for Beginners
10 Great Biology Activities and Lessons
15 Meaningful Earth Day Activities for Kids
Educational Activities You Can Do at Home from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
WEBSITES
Brainbashers – Lovingly curated and cleverly created mathy games for all ages and skill levels give Number Master a go first.
Incredible Oceans – Ideas, videos and games from across the seven seas.
Nrich – Traditional but creative curriculum-based maths exercises.
Murderous Maths – A website where, the more you get lost, the more you enjoy it.
WhiteRose – A new approach to Maths.
Gizmo – Interactive science demos online. Try their interactive prism HERE, and sign up for a free trial with their other kit.
Royal Institution – http://www.rigb.org/families/experimental
VIDEO CHANNELS – INFOTAINMENT, (OR ENTERMATION?)
Beautifully produced and great fun, many of them offering practical hands-on you can do. The 8 ‘explanatory videos’ are each entertaining in different ways, and between them they are exhaustive, without being exhausting.
Audio Illusions – Musical genius Casey Connor shows how much we hear and how much we make up. But THIS looks like the real deal.
Rough Science – famously threw top scientists onto desert islands and watched them ‘magic’ their way to safety – still magical after a quarter of a century.
Grand Illusions – Tim Rowett celebrates the hidden wonders of toys
Sliced bread – All that hype they give you when they want you to buy their product! The only surprise is, some of it is true! This BBC series sorts out the wish fulfilment from the wishful thinking.
Just One Thing – Michael Mosley’s short BBC guides to the little things you can do that make a big difference to your wellbeing.
Up and Atom – A video channel that helps you understand the thing you’ve just passed an exam in, but had no idea what it meant.
Reactions – Devoted to chemistry (that kind of reactions), and slightly more appropriate for ages 12+
BBC Wildlife – The best of the BBC and therefore the best in the world
Scroll Through the Deep Sea – Takes you from the beach down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench; the deeper you go, the weirder it is.
Steve Mould the Brave – Self-assembling virus
And his channel is – https://www.youtube.com/user/steventhebrave/videos?client=mv-google&itct=CBMQui8iEwi4sdHDzN_WAhXFwJwKHVnuBrM%3D&gl=US&flow=list&view=15&hl=en&app=desktop
Dianna Cowern – PHYSICS GIRL / PHYSICS WOMAN – https://www.youtube.com/user/physicswoman
Bill Nye. One of the earliest TV science science guys – wacky! – https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRealBillNye/videos
Numberphile. A bit advanced, but dead cool. – https://www.youtube.com/user/numberphile
Richard Wiseman. Brilliant magic you can do; stunning explanations – https://quirkologyblog.wordpress.com/videos/
Slo Mo Guys. Everyday things are amazing in slo-mo – https://www.youtube.com/user/theslowmoguys
Stated clearly. Explanatory videos #1 – http://statedclearly.com/
Smarter every day. Science explorations with and for kids – http://www.smartereveryday.com/
BBC EarthLab. Rich seam of wild life films – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdsOTr6SmDrxuWE7sJFrkhQ
Life Noggin. Explanatory videos #2 – https://www.youtube.com/lifenoggin
It’s OK to be Smart. Explanatory videos #3 – https://www.youtube.com/user/itsokaytobesmart/videos
CGP Grey. Explanatory videos #4 – https://www.youtube.com/user/CGPGrey
Steve Spangler. Science you can do at home. – https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSpanglerEffect
Veritasium. Explanatory videos #5 – https://veritasium.com/
Minute Physics. Explanatory videos #6 – https://www.youtube.com/user/minutephysics
V Sauce. Explanatory videos, plus the philosophy of science. Deep! – https://www.youtube.com/user/Vsauce/playlists
PBS. Also explanatory videos, plus philosophy. We need these! – https://www.youtube.com/user/pbsideachannel
Mark Rober. Finds the science all round us, and makes it fun. – https://www.youtube.com/user/onemeeeliondollars
Grand Illusions. Toys, toys, toys, and the science that makes them marvellous – https://www.youtube.com/user/henders007
In a Nutshell. Explanatory videos #7 – https://www.youtube.com/user/Kurzgesagt
ASAP Science. Explanatory videos #8 – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC552Sd-3nyi_tk2BudLUzA
Bruce Yeany. Physics demos – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNk3CeLpCA0qIZsuzGl09cw
SciShow – https://www.youtube.com/user/scishow
Simone Giertz – SIMONE’S ROBOTS – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3KEoMzNz8eYnwBC34RaKCQ
Tim Blais – A CAPELLA SCIENCE – for a scientifically accurate singalong 🙂 – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTev4RNBiu6lqtx8z1e87fQ
Go Experimental – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvmS3U_JvmQh_LHtd7Q2Paw
ScienceDaily: Your source for the latest research news – https://www.sciencedaily.com/
Emily Graslie – THE BRAIN SCOOP – https://www.youtube.com/thebrainscoop
Aunt Lindsey – THE FAB LAB – https://www.youtube.com/user/CrazyAuntLindsey
How Stuff Works – https://www.youtube.com/user/HowStuffWorks
Engineer Guy – https://www.youtube.com/user/engineerguyvideo/videos
Kid Sites. Another 28 sites! – http://www.kidsites.com/sites-edu/science.htm