Make a Model Neurone Cell

Neurones are nerve cells and are found in your brain and nervous system. There are about 80 billion neurones in the brain. Neurones connect to other neurones and pass electrical signals to and from your brain all around your body. 

To make your model neurone the first thing that we are going to go is get a pipe cleaner and roll it round to make a circle. This is going to be the main body of the neurone cell. 

We are now going to get another pipe cleaner and attach it to the main body of the neurone to make a long tail. This is called the axon of the neurone. 

We are now going to cut some pipe cleaners in half and attach them to the main cell body to make some branches, these are called dendrites. 

We are now going to twist some pipe cleaners to the end of the axon tail to make some branches. 

So, the way the neurone works is that an electrical signal passes from one neurone to another. The signal will pass from one on the dendrite branches down through the main cell body, down through the axon tail and then onto another neurone.  

You may like to make a few model neurones so that you can make a chain to see the connections.  

The video tutorial for this activity is available on the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page

Neural Networks...

For our next science activity we are going to be making Model Neurone Cells!

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 29th April at 4:30pm. 

For this activity you will need:

• Pipe Cleaners
• Scissors

For more information watch this short introduction video 

Follow Surrey Libraries on Facebook and Twitter for the latest information and don't forget to visit Science Club on the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel 

Investigating Static Electricity

 

You can generate static electricity by rubbing a balloon against your jumper or even your hair! The tiny electric charge in this activity is completely safe.

The first thing that you need to do is blow up your balloon and tie off the end. 

The next thing that we are going to do is get our plate and draw around it onto our tissue paper. You can then cut out this circle.

We are then going to draw a spiral into the middle of the circle so that we have a snake shape that can be cut out. 

You can now take your balloon and rub it against your jumper for about a minute. This is going to generate some static electricity.  

Now if you hold your balloon above your tissue paper snake you will see that it is attracted to balloon and will start to rise up towards it. 

The reason this happens is because an electric charge is carried by tiny particles called protons and electrons. Protons carry a positive charge and electrons carry a negative charge. Charges of the same type repel each other, while different charges attract. When you rub the balloon, it picks up extra electrons, making it negatively charged. This causes the protons in the tissue paper to become attracted to the balloon and the edge of the paper picks up a positive charge. 

You may like to try cutting some different shapes out of tissue paper and see how smaller/ larger shapes are affected by static electricity. Or you may like to see how other things react to static electricity. You might like to try turning on a tap, and seeing if the running water is attracted or repelled by static electricity. 

The video tutorial for this activity is available on the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page

Dancing Snakes...

 For our next science activity we are going to be learning about Static Electricity!

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 22nd April at 4:30pm. 

For this activity you will need:

• A Balloon
• Tissue Paper
• Scissors
• A Pen or Pencil
• A Plate or something round to draw around

For more information watch this short introduction video 

Follow Surrey Libraries on Facebook and Twitter for the latest information and don't forget to visit Science Club on the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel 

M and M Rainbow

 

The shell of M and M's are made from sugar and different coloured dyes are added. When you add warm water to them the shells start to dissolve and the dyes start to mix together. This is a similar activity to the one using candy canes. You may also like to look at the paper chromatography activity to learn more about how colours mix and separate.

The first thing that we are going to do is arrange the M and M’s in a circle around the edge of the plate. 

We are now going to pour some warm water into the middle of the plate. The water will move outwards until it reaches your circle of m and m’s. When it does it will start to dissolve the sugar coating 

You should start to see the different colours from the sugar coating of the m and m’s moving towards the centre of the plate. 

The different dye's will then start mixing together. 

You may like to experiment with different colour combinations to see how the different dyes mix together

The video tutorial for this activity is available on the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page

Make a Rainbow...

For our next science activity we are going to be experimenting with M and M's!

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 15th April at 4:30pm. 

For this activity you will need:

• Some M and M's (smarties would also work)
• Some Warm Water
• A Plate

For more information watch this short introduction video 

Follow Surrey Libraries on Facebook and Twitter for the latest information and don't forget to visit Science Club on the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel 

Make Butter

We can make butter from cream. When we do this the fat in the cream separates, and produces butter and buttermilk. 

To make your butter the first thing that you will need to do is half fill your jar with cream and then put the lid back on the jar. Make sure that the lid has been put tightly onto the jar. You may like an adult to check this for you.

The next thing that you will need to do is shake your jar. You will need to shake your jar for a few minutes. To start with the cream will start to thicken. 

If you keep shaking a ball of butter will start to form in the middle of the jar. The liquid that surrounds it is buttermilk.

The reason this happens is because cream contains small amounts of fat cells. These cells stop the fat from forming clumps as they are separated by cell membranes. When we shake the cream the fat cells bump into each other, the membranes burst and the fat starts to clump together forming the butter. 

The video tutorial for this activity is available on the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page.

Shake it up...

 For our next science activity we are going to be making butter!

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 8th April at 4:30pm. 

For this activity you will need:

• Double Cream
• A Clean Jar with a Lid

For more information watch this short introduction video 

Follow Surrey Libraries on Facebook and Twitter for the latest information and don't forget to visit Science Club on the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel