In Our Time: Eclipses
March 29, 2022
In Our Time is a wonderful series on BBC Radio 4.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss solar eclipses, some of life’s most extraordinary moments, when day becomes night and the stars come out before day returns either all too soon or not soon enough, depending on what you understand to be happening. In ancient China, for example, there was a story that a dragon was eating the sun and it had to be scared away by banging pots and pans if the sun were to return. Total lunar eclipses are more frequent and last longer, with a blood moon coloured red like a sunrise or sunset. Both events have created the chance for scientists to learn something remarkable, from the speed of light, to the width of the Atlantic, to the roundness of Earth, to discovering helium and proving Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.
Linked in the grade 9 space unit.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss solar eclipses, some of life’s most extraordinary moments, when day becomes night and the stars come out before day returns either all too soon or not soon enough, depending on what you understand to be happening. In ancient China, for example, there was a story that a dragon was eating the sun and it had to be scared away by banging pots and pans if the sun were to return. Total lunar eclipses are more frequent and last longer, with a blood moon coloured red like a sunrise or sunset. Both events have created the chance for scientists to learn something remarkable, from the speed of light, to the width of the Atlantic, to the roundness of Earth, to discovering helium and proving Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.
Linked in the grade 9 space unit.
In Our Time: The Evolution of Crocodiles
March 29, 2022
In Our Time is a wonderful series on BBC Radio 4.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the remarkable diversity of the animals that dominated life on land in the Triassic, before the rise of the dinosaurs in the Jurassic, and whose descendants are often described wrongly as 'living fossils'. For tens of millions of years, the ancestors of alligators and Nile crocodiles included some as large as a bus, some running on two legs like a T Rex and some that lived like whales. They survived and rebounded from a series of extinction events but, while the range of habitats of the dinosaur descendants such as birds covers much of the globe, those of the crocodiles have contracted, even if the animals themselves continue to evolve today as quickly as they ever have.
Linked in the grade 11 biology page.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the remarkable diversity of the animals that dominated life on land in the Triassic, before the rise of the dinosaurs in the Jurassic, and whose descendants are often described wrongly as 'living fossils'. For tens of millions of years, the ancestors of alligators and Nile crocodiles included some as large as a bus, some running on two legs like a T Rex and some that lived like whales. They survived and rebounded from a series of extinction events but, while the range of habitats of the dinosaur descendants such as birds covers much of the globe, those of the crocodiles have contracted, even if the animals themselves continue to evolve today as quickly as they ever have.
Linked in the grade 11 biology page.
In Our Time: Corals
March 29, 2022
In Our Time is a wonderful series on BBC Radio 4.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the simple animals which informed Charles Darwin's first book, The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, published in 1842. From corals, Darwin concluded that the Earth changed very slowly and was not fashioned by God. Now coral reefs, which some liken to undersea rainforests, are threatened by human activity, including fishing, pollution and climate change.
Linked in the grade 9 biology unit, grade 10 climate unit, and grade 11 biology page.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the simple animals which informed Charles Darwin's first book, The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, published in 1842. From corals, Darwin concluded that the Earth changed very slowly and was not fashioned by God. Now coral reefs, which some liken to undersea rainforests, are threatened by human activity, including fishing, pollution and climate change.
Linked in the grade 9 biology unit, grade 10 climate unit, and grade 11 biology page.
In Our Time: William and Caroline Herschel
March 29, 2022
In Our Time is a wonderful series on BBC Radio 4.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss William Herschel (1738 – 1822) and his sister Caroline Herschel (1750 – 1848) who were born in Hanover and made their reputation in Britain. William was one of the most eminent astronomers in British history. Although he started life as a musician, as a young man he became interested in studying the night sky. With an extraordinary talent, he constructed telescopes that were able to see further and more clearly than any others at the time. He is most celebrated today for discovering the planet Uranus and detecting what came to be known as infrared radiation. Caroline also became a distinguished astronomer, discovering several comets and collaborating with her brother.
Linked in the grade 9 space unit.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss William Herschel (1738 – 1822) and his sister Caroline Herschel (1750 – 1848) who were born in Hanover and made their reputation in Britain. William was one of the most eminent astronomers in British history. Although he started life as a musician, as a young man he became interested in studying the night sky. With an extraordinary talent, he constructed telescopes that were able to see further and more clearly than any others at the time. He is most celebrated today for discovering the planet Uranus and detecting what came to be known as infrared radiation. Caroline also became a distinguished astronomer, discovering several comets and collaborating with her brother.
Linked in the grade 9 space unit.
In Our Time: Seismology
March 29, 2022
In Our Time is a wonderful series on BBC Radio 4.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the study of earthquakes. A massive earthquake in 1755 devastated Lisbon, and this disaster helped inspire a new science of seismology which intensified after San Francisco in 1906 and advanced even further with the need to monitor nuclear tests around the world from 1945 onwards. While we now know so much more about what lies beneath the surface of the Earth, and how rocks move and crack, it remains impossible to predict when earthquakes will happen. Thanks to seismology, though, we have a clearer idea of where earthquakes will happen and how to make some of them less hazardous to lives and homes.
Linked on the Earth & Space Science page.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the study of earthquakes. A massive earthquake in 1755 devastated Lisbon, and this disaster helped inspire a new science of seismology which intensified after San Francisco in 1906 and advanced even further with the need to monitor nuclear tests around the world from 1945 onwards. While we now know so much more about what lies beneath the surface of the Earth, and how rocks move and crack, it remains impossible to predict when earthquakes will happen. Thanks to seismology, though, we have a clearer idea of where earthquakes will happen and how to make some of them less hazardous to lives and homes.
Linked on the Earth & Space Science page.
Cellulose: A Plant Cell Biology Game
March 23, 2022
Cellulose: A Plant Cell Biology Game is a worker placement game that puts 1-5 players inside a plant cell, where they will compete over limited resources in order to undergo photosynthesis, produce carbohydrates, and build the cell wall to score points. With everyone vying for the same actions, players must time their use of proteins, hormones, and cell component cards in order to diversify their strategies and outplay the competition!
Cellulose is the sequel and counterpart to our 2017 release Cytosis. The two games have complementary themes and some familiar game systems, but Cellulose is a new standalone game that gives players greater control over available resources, strategic paths, and even the game length.
Cellulose includes a "Science Behind Cellulose" booklet that describes key aspects of plant cell behavior and its relationship to Cellulose. You don't have to know any biology to play, but if you enjoy the game, we think you might enjoy the science as much as we have!
In Cellulose, players compete over limited resources as they take advantage of powerful point-scoring combinations. They will race to build the cell wall, use hormones to signal plant growth for a steady source of water and CO2, and compete to contribute the most water to the cell’s central vacuole. Once the cell wall is completely built, the game ends!
Each round of Cellulose is one day played over three phases: Sunrise, Daytime, and Evening.
In the Sunrise Phase, players collect resources and take bonus actions according to their markers on the plant board. Throughout the game, players will have the chance to use hormone signalling to advance along these tracks, earning additional benefits.
During the Daytime Phase, players take turns claiming the limited action spaces on the cell board in order to collect much-needed water and CO2, undergo photosynthesis in order to produce carbohydrates, and place carbohydrates into the cell wall, in cellulose form, to score points.
Players may also acquire and play cell component cards, which grant them powerful bonuses. Protein storage vacuoles immediately recover action markers, granting extra actions in the round. Enzymes allow chaining together bonus actions each time a new one is played. Specialization cards like hormone receptors create endgame scoring opportunities and special powers.
In the Evening Phase, players recover their action markers, refresh the board, and build the next space on the cell wall. Whoever has contributed the most water to the central vacuole will earn points and is given an additional action marker, which they can use in the following round.
Another Kickstarter project, and one I’m very happy with. It has too many small pieces for classroom use, so I’d recommend either buying cheap substitutes or using the print-and-play version in class.
Linked on the grade 12 biology page.
Cellulose is the sequel and counterpart to our 2017 release Cytosis. The two games have complementary themes and some familiar game systems, but Cellulose is a new standalone game that gives players greater control over available resources, strategic paths, and even the game length.
Cellulose includes a "Science Behind Cellulose" booklet that describes key aspects of plant cell behavior and its relationship to Cellulose. You don't have to know any biology to play, but if you enjoy the game, we think you might enjoy the science as much as we have!
In Cellulose, players compete over limited resources as they take advantage of powerful point-scoring combinations. They will race to build the cell wall, use hormones to signal plant growth for a steady source of water and CO2, and compete to contribute the most water to the cell’s central vacuole. Once the cell wall is completely built, the game ends!
Each round of Cellulose is one day played over three phases: Sunrise, Daytime, and Evening.
In the Sunrise Phase, players collect resources and take bonus actions according to their markers on the plant board. Throughout the game, players will have the chance to use hormone signalling to advance along these tracks, earning additional benefits.
During the Daytime Phase, players take turns claiming the limited action spaces on the cell board in order to collect much-needed water and CO2, undergo photosynthesis in order to produce carbohydrates, and place carbohydrates into the cell wall, in cellulose form, to score points.
Players may also acquire and play cell component cards, which grant them powerful bonuses. Protein storage vacuoles immediately recover action markers, granting extra actions in the round. Enzymes allow chaining together bonus actions each time a new one is played. Specialization cards like hormone receptors create endgame scoring opportunities and special powers.
In the Evening Phase, players recover their action markers, refresh the board, and build the next space on the cell wall. Whoever has contributed the most water to the central vacuole will earn points and is given an additional action marker, which they can use in the following round.
Another Kickstarter project, and one I’m very happy with. It has too many small pieces for classroom use, so I’d recommend either buying cheap substitutes or using the print-and-play version in class.
Linked on the grade 12 biology page.
Teaching Science