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25th February 2005 Issue: 17

Your eyes, a pair of pyjamas and lemon juice, are all the items you need for this issue of Hay-Wire! Here’s what’s coming up:

  1. PLANET PICKS – Get your pyjamas and sleeping bag ready for the Planet Science Sleepover Party!
  2. MORE PLANET PICKS – Win a heart (not a real one – a heart-shaped cushion!)
  3. CRASH BANG! – This experiment may leave a bitter taste in your mouth...
  4. UP FOR GRABS – Email your experiment results and you could win a prize!
1. PLANET PICKS – News from the world of Planet Science...

If you’ve seen the film, ‘Sleepover’ you’ll know just how much fun sleepovers can be! So why not plan one for this weekend? Planet Science has got just the thing to persuade your parents. It’s your very own science sleepover party pack and you can find it here:
http://www.planet-science.com/parents/party_time/darlings

The LITTLE DARLINGS SLEEPOVER GUIDE will help you throw the best sleepover ever. First up, are invitations. There are four to choose from. You could make the ‘Hand of Friendship’ invites, or the ‘Bags of Fun’ invites – the choice is yours! But along the way, make sure you read the science facts about nails, mirrors and crystals to impress your friends with your super science knowledge.

After the invites, come the decorations. Just ask your parents to download and print the butterflies, neon signs and paper-chains to give your room a proper girlie makeover! Then, of course, there are the party food and games. Munch on popcorn and finger sandwiches, while you and your party guests make lip gloss, glitter bath bombs and pin the slipper on Cinderella!

If all that sounds far too GIRLIE for you then try the LITTLE HORRORS PARTY instead. Make fake blood, ghostly invites, eat worm sandwiches and try other tricks and treats designed to make your party go with a blood-curdling SCREAM!

Here's where you'll find LITTLE HORRORS:
http://www.planet-science.com/parents/party_time/horrors/index.html
2. MORE PLANET PICKS – This time you could win a prize...

It might be snowy in the UK today but soon, yes in March, it will officially be the first day of spring! So to celebrate, with a terrible play on words, Planet Science has launched its new quiz, all about springs and springiness, including bungee jumping and the lifts of the Empire State building! There are 10 Slinkys to be won so give it a go! It's not the easiest quiz ever, so spring a surprise on your family and bounce them in to help you!
http://www.planet-science.com/wired/comp_quiz/03_05_spring/

If you find the quiz a little tough, why not get your family involved? Two human brains are better than one so your mum or dad or older brother or sister might be able to help you out. Although that means you may have to share the prize!
3. CRASH BANG – Science experiments for you to try at home...

National Science Week is happening this year from March 11th to March 20th. All over Britain, people will be celebrating by holding science festivals and doing lots of exciting experiments in school.

To celebrate Science Week, we’re asking Hay-Wire members to try the following experiment and to send in their results. Once the results have been collected and sorted they’ll appear in a Science Week Hay-Wire special. YOU MUST ASK YOUR PARENTS FOR PERMISSION FIRST.

Stuff You Need:

  • Lemon Juice
  • Kitchen scales
  • Cotton wool balls

What To Do:

  1. Squirt a drop of lemon juice onto your tongue and swish it around your mouth for 10 seconds.
  2. Get a cotton wool ball and soak up all the saliva (spit) in your mouth. Use as many cotton wool balls as you need.
  3. Put the used cotton wool balls on the scales and see how much they weigh. Make a note of this measurement.

Scientists claim that the amount of spit you produce after putting a drop of lemon juice on your tongue might have something to do with what type of person you are...

People who are said to be ‘extroverts’ are confident and outgoing. Scientists say they won’t produce much spit after placing the lemon juice on their tongues.

People who are said to be introverts are shy and quiet. Scientists say they will produce a lot of spit after placing lemon juice on their tongues.

Read on for further details...
4. UP FOR GRABS – You’ve got to be in it to win it...

Hay-Wire wants to know how you get on in the lemon juice experiment so we’re offering you the chance to win a science kit worth £100! The kit contains an electronics set for your computer, a telescope with astronomy book and lots of other science goodies!

To be in with a chance of winning, email the total weight of your cotton balls (in grams) to: Hay-Wire.Clubhouse@nesta.org with ‘I’M A LITTLE SQUIRT” as the subject. You also need to include in your email whether you think that you are a shy person (introvert) or a loud person (extrovert).

Good luck!
INFORMATION OVERLOAD

That’s all for this issue. The next issue of Hay-Wire will be with you in two weeks time so until then, why not ask your friends to join the Hay-Wire Club?

They can visit the Clubhouse for more details at:
http://www.planet-science.com/wired/hay-wire/clubhouse

We still have some Frisbees left for the new members!

Bye for now!