Virus Structure

 Viruses are very small particles that can infect animals and plants and make them ill. They are made from a small amount of genetic material - either DNA or RNA (similar to DNA) and a protein shell. Viruses can come in a range of different structures but for this activity we are just going to be looking at one example.

Covid - 19 is caused by a virus, from a type of viruses called coronaviruses. The structure of these viruses are made up of a piece of RNA surrounded by a protein shell, covered by a lipid membrane, with proteins on the outside. 

To make a model of this the first thing that you need to do is take a piece of silver foil and roll it into a ball. This is going to represent the RNA centre surrounded by the protein shell.

You are then going to cover this with a layer of butter, to represent the lipid membrane. Lipids are fats. Butter is also made from fats so it will work in a similar way. We can then add some sprinkles to represent the proteins on the surface of the virus.

You are going to need 2 virus models for this activity so you will need to make a second model in the same way.

We are now going to test our models to see what happens when we wash our hands. In one bowl we are going to add some warm water and in the second bowl we are going to add warm water and some liquid soap. We are then going to add one virus model to each bowl

Give each bowl a mix and so that the virus model gets covered, just like it would do when you wash your hands and leave it in the water for a minute so that you can see what happens

After about a minute take the virus models out of the water and see what has happened... What do you see? You should see that the model that was in the bowl with soap and water had broken down more than the model that was in the bowl with just water. This shows that it is best to wash your hand with soap and water as if the virus breaks down it can't cause illness.

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

What's bugging you???

 

 For our next science activity we are going to be learning about the structure of Viruses!

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 3rd December at 4:30pm. 

For this activity you will need:

• Silver Foil
• Butter
• Sprinkles
• Warm Water
• Liquid Soap
• 2 Bowls (or similar containers)
• A Butter Knife
• A spoon

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 a Lava Lamp

 

The Lava Lamp is made using oil and water. Oil and water do not mix as they have different densities. Oil has a lower density than water so it will settle on top of the water. This means that the oil is lighter for its size.

To make the lava lamp the first thing that you need to do is pour some water into your plastic bottle. You will want to pour water about 2/3 of the way up the bottle

You will next want to add your oil. You can pour in the remaining 1/3 of the bottle up with oil. You should see that the oil will settle on top of the water. You can add the oil first and then add the water if you would like to. Even if you do this the oil will still settle on top of the water.

You can now add some food colouring to the bottle. You will see that the food colouring travels through the layer of oil and settles in the water layer as the food colouring has the same density as water.

The last thing that you need to do is add your alka saltza or fizzy vitamin tablet to your bottle. As soon as the tablet is added to the water a reaction starts to happen as the tablet dissolves. Bubbles of carbon dioxide are produced and these bubbles are lighter than the water and the oil so they start to travel to the top of your bottle to the air on the surface. As the bubbles of carbon dioxide travel to the surface, they take a small amount of water with it. When the carbon dioxide reaches the surface it floats away but the water becomes heavier without the carbon dioxide so it starts to sink down through the oil layer. So you are seeing bubbles rising and falling through the bottle to make your lava lamp until all of the tablet is dissolved and the reaction is complete

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

Getting Groovy...

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

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 26th November at 4:30pm. 

For this activity you will need:

• A 500ml plastic bottle (but you can use an alternative size)
• Water
• Vegetable Oil/ Sunflower Oil
• Food Colouring
• Fizzy Tablets eg. Alka Saltza/ Fizzy Vitamins

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

Constellation Modelling

 

The nearest star to the Earth is the Sun. Stars are big balls of hot gas called plasma, that are held together by their own gravity. It is estimated that there are between 200 – 400 billion stars in our galaxy and stars are usually between 1 and 10 billion years old and it takes millions of years from the light from stars to reach the Earth! 

Stars are often grouped into constellations and you will see some common constellations on your worksheet as a dot to dot. The first thing that you will need to do is complete your dot to dot on the worksheet so that you know what the constellations look like 

 

Now we are going to try modelling some of the constellations using the pipe cleaners and the beads. You will want to count how many stars are in the constellation and then thread that number of beads onto your pipe cleaner. You can then twist your pipe cleaner so that it takes the shape of the constellation and the beads are the stars. 

There are 8 different constellations on the worksheet for you to try, but there are lots more than that in the sky. Why not research some other constellations and try modelling some other designs!

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

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star...

 For our next science activity we are going to be learning about the stars and modelling some constellations!

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 19th November at 4:30pm. 

For this activity you will need:

• Pipe cleaners
• Some beads
• A pen or a pencil

You will also need to print this worksheet that can be found on the Super Coloring website

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 a Camera

 The type of camera we are making is known as a camera obscura, and is a precursor to the modern camera. It works in a similar way to a pinhole camera but instead uses a lens. These objects have been used for hundreds of years with examples dating back to the 17th Century.

The first thing that we are going to do is take our square cardboard tissue box and on the side opposite the hole, we are going to draw around our kitchen roll tube. We are then going to cut out this circle that you have drawn. 

The next thing that we are going to do is tape your magnifying glass to one end of the kitchen roll tube. You will want to make sure that you use lots of tape to make sure that it stays in place 

We are now going to draw around the box, onto our sheet of tissue paper, and cut out this out. This piece of tissue paper is going to go over the hole in the top of the tissue box. Make sure that you tape it down tightly over the hole in the box and that the tissue paper is not wrinkled.  

You can now push the kitchen roll tube through the hole in the bottom of the box. Your camera is now ready to test. Point your camera at a place where there is a lot of light and you should start to see an image appearing on the tissue paper, but it will appear upside down. You can move the kitchen roll tube in and out to help focus the image 

The way this camera works is that light passes through the kitchen roll tube and into the camera and focuses on the tissue paper. Light travels in a straight line which is why the image will appear upside down. The lens (the magnifying glass) has a fixed focal length, so by moving the kitchen roll tube you can help focus the image. 

The video tutorial for this activity is available to watch on the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page or the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel