Whizz Pop Bang Science Magazine for Kids! Issue 120: Seaside Science

ISSN 2399 -2840

THE AWESOME SCIENCE MAGAZINE FOR KIDS!

Sandcastle engineering

Craft a water bottle carrier

e d i s a Se e c n e i Sc D e lve i nsid e a l ro c k p o o

MA K E a wate r powe r e d boat WHIZZPOPBANG.COM ISSUE 120

EXPERIMENTS PUZZLES AMAZING FACTS SCIENCE NEWS

WELCOME!

It’s a beachy bonanza!

Riley

The Sun is shining and we’re of f to the be ac h!

In this edition of Whizz Pop Bang, you’ll learn how to build the ultimat e sandcast le, explo re the unde rwat er world of rock pools and even craft so me se a creature s of your ow n.

You’ll also discove r how you can he lp to ke ep our se as free from plastic pollution and lea rn how to make an awesome wate r bott le carrier to take with you on all your summer adve ntures!

EXPERT SCIENCE ADVISERS

As well as our writers, we also have a team of science advisers who help to ensure that our content is accurate, up-to-date and relevant. Our advisers include: palaeontologist Steve Brusatte; molecular microbiologist Matt Hutchings; robotics engineer Abbie Hutty; mechanical engineer Aimee Morgans; GP Dr Cathy Scott; astronomer Mark Thompson; physicist Dr Jess Wade; child psychologist Dr Naira Wilson.

To find out more, go to whizzpopbang.com/about

Where you see this symbol, use a QR code reader on a phone or tablet to visit a relevant web page.

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WHIZZ POP BANG is only available by subscription. If you haven’t subscribed yet, simply go to whizzpopbang.com and sign up for as little as £4.59 per magazine, including UK delivery.

Back issues are available to purchase at whizzpopbang.com/shop With the help of Whizz Pop Bang magazine, just imagine what your child might one day discover!

GROWN-UPS

EDUCATORS

Welcome to WHIZZ POP BANG – the magazine bursting with enticing articles, mind-boggling facts and hands-on experiments to get your child hooked on science! Whizz Pop Bang is a gender-neutral magazine with plenty of inspirational male and female scientists and content that appeals to all children.

The magazine is ideal for home educators and it’s linked to the National Curriculum too, for use in schools. Whizz Pop Bang will help with literacy development as well. Transform science teaching in your school with our hands-on science and reading resources. Our downloadable lesson packs link fun science experiments and reading with key curriculum topics for years 2-6. Subscribe at whizzpopbang.com/schools

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All experiments have been tried and tested by our team.

The activities should be done under close adult supervision and are done at your own risk. Launchpad Publishing Ltd cannot accept liability for damage done.

Indicates content linked to the National Curriculum

Unit 7, Global Business Park, 14 Wilkinson Road, Cirencester, GL7 1YZ © 2025 Launchpad Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents of WHIZZ POP BANG without written permission is prohibited. Illustrations: © 2025 Clive Goodyer

©S hu tt

Editor-in-Chief: Jenny Inglis Editor: Tammy Osborne Designer: Rachael Fisher Illustrator: Clive Goodyer Contributors: Joe Inglis, Tara Pardo, Isabel Thomas and Joanna Tubbs

I challenge you to a sandcastle competition!

Who can build the strongest one?

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WHIZZ POP BANG is made by:

CONTENTS k.

Buried treasure, clever cockatoos and an octopus hitching a ride on a shark!

BEACH EXPLORERS

Put some sandcastle science to the test, delve inside a rock pool and make a water-powered boat to play with on the beach.

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ANIMAL ANTICS

Discover octopus superpowers that Batman would be proud of!

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6

AWESOME NEWS AND AMAZING FACTS

4

14

22

SPOTLIGHT

Earth’s oceans are filling up with plastic.

Find out how we can all help to turn the tide.

EMMI’S ECO CLUB

16 17

12

Knot a water bottle carrier to make avoiding single-use plastic bottles easier than ever.

PULLOUT

Make your very own sea-dwelling creatures.

Atom

INTERVIEW

Meet Emily Stevenson, the young scientist on a mission to save our seas from plastic.

HOW STUFF WORKS

BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEP! Is that buried treasure?

Unearth the secrets of metal detectors.

TEN AWESOMELY AMAZING… rock pool creatures you might meet on British beaches.

24

26

SENSATIONAL SCIENTISTS

Jeanne and the argonauts! How a self-taught scientist solved a marine mystery.

28

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I’d love to see pictures of your experiments! Send them to Y@whizzpopbang.com – they could be featured in the magazine!

35

SPECTACULAR SCIENCE Meet a tiny jellyfish with shimmering colours.

Y’S WONDER CLUB

Ask our robot, Y, your burning science questions and share all of your adventures in science with the club.

32 34

QUIZ POP BANG AND COMPETITION

Test your knowledge with our super-duper science quiz and win some kinetic sand!

JOKES AND ANSWERS

Laugh out loud at some awesome jokes and find the answers to all of our quizzes, puzzles and riddles.

FIND THE SCIENCE EQUIPMENT Hidden on each double page is a piece of science equipment. Tick each one to find the complete kit!

s Awesome New cts and Amazing Fa

SHARKTOPUS © Wednesday Davis/Uni versity of Auckland

ACCIDENTAL ALCHEMY

© CERN

It might sound like a fairytale, but physicists working at the Large Hadron Collider have turned lead into gold – though only for a fraction of a second. Medieval alchemists believed that cheap metals could be turned into gold, but no matter how hard they tried, it never worked. Now CERN physicists have done it by accident! While trying to recreate the state of the universe after the Big Bang, the researchers fired beams of lead nuclei (the tiny centres of atoms, made from protons and neutrons) into each other at high speeds. Near-miss collisions of the nuclei generated intense electromagnetic fields that knocked out protons, fleetingly turning the lead nuclei into gold nuclei.

The ALICE detector at CERN can detect the number of protons knocked out.

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When researchers in New Zealand spotted a large shortfin mako shark with an orange blob on its back, they thought it might be injured – or perhaps tangled up in a plastic buoy. They launched a drone to investigate and were amazed to see an octopus riding on the shark’s back, clinging on with its tentacles! The octopus might have been in for an exciting ride, since shortfin makos are the fastest sharks in the world, swimming at speeds of up to 50 km/h! “One of the best things about being a marine scientist is that you never know what you might see next in the sea,” said Professor Rochelle Constantine, one of the researchers who caught the ‘sharktopus’ on camera.

The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom determines which element it is.

Lead nuclei have 82 protons and gold nuclei have 79. By knocking three protons out, lead is turned into gold!

Sadly, this won’t make the researchers rich. The experiment cost a lot more than just buying some gold!

IRON AGE TIME CAPSULE

A scan of a damaged cauldron, showing a fish decoration.

GIANT JUPITER

Sulphur-crested cockatoos living in Sydney,

Australia, have learned how to operate a drinking fountain – and taught their trick to their friends. Clever cockatoos are famous for coming up with new tricks. The same population recently worked out how to open bins in the city, making a lot of mess! To operate the fountain, the birds have to twist the handle with one foot while holding onto the fountain with the other and using their weight to hold the handle down as they drink from it. Scientists studying the behaviour think the birds first learnt what to do by watching humans, then other cockatoos watched them and tried it for themselves.

Around 70% of the local cockatoo population have since attempted the manoeuvre, with queues of more than 10 birds sometimes forming along a fence next to the fountain! © Shutterstock.com

Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system, used to be twice as big! From

studying Jupiter’s moons, astronomers in America were able to calculate Jupiter’s original size when the solar system was forming: approximately twice its current radius (the distance from the centre to the edge) with a volume equivalent to over 8,000 Earths! They also worked out that Jupiter’s magnetic field was 50 times stronger than it is today. “This brings us closer to understanding how not only Jupiter but the entire solar system took shape,” said lead researcher Professor Konstantin Batygin.

© Enhanced image by Kevin M. Gill (CC-BY) based on images provided courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

CRAFTY COCKATOOS

© Durham University

© Wednesday Davis/Uni versity of Auckland

A metal detectorist in Yorkshire made an incredible discovery when scanning a field near the village of Melsonby: a treasure trove of artefacts from the Iron Age! The ‘Melsonby Hoard’, as it has been nicknamed, includes over 800 fragments of metalwork, including vehicle parts, beautifully decorated horse harnesses, spearheads and cauldrons. The artefacts are thought to have been buried 2,000 years ago, around the time of the Roman conquest of Britain. Archaeologists from Durham University excavated the treasures and used 3D digital recording and X-ray scans to study and document them.

Bexeplaocrehrs

Grab your bucket and spade – we’re off to explore the beach!

to play on – but Beaches are great fun ove of scientific tr they’re also a treasureu look closely. yo curiosities if

EACH GRAIN OF SAND TELLS A STORY…

Sand might all look the same from a distance, but it can be made up of a vast variety of materials – tiny pieces of rock, grains of quartz or other minerals, broken shells and even tiny sea creatures!

Every grain is on the move, swept along the coast by waves and ocean currents. Weathered out of the rocks in the hills, carried to the shore by rivers, caught up in the ocean waves. The ingredients tell the story of where the sand came from and the journey it has been on.

ROCKS, SHELLS AND FISH POO

Sometimes, especially in the tropics, beach sand is made up entirely of the tiny shells of marine creatures.

And sometimes those beautiful glistening white tropical beaches are made entirely of fish poo! Parrot fish chew on coral reefs for their food, extracting the nutrients and pooing out the coral in little pellets and in such enormous amounts that those pellets can form an entire beach!

ins from a r g d n a S e world h t d n u o r a

THE MICROSCOPIC CLEAN-UP CREW In a handful of wet beach sand there are tens of thousands of tiny animals that live between the grains. These are the meiofauna, and this is one of the most diverse zoos in the world. In some beaches, there are more different types of animals living in the sand than there are in the rainforest! Cleverly clinging on to the sand grains and swimming in the water between them, the meiofauna keep our beaches clean by eating the bacteria that would otherwise make the sand horrible and stinky!

SHAKE IT UP! STRANGE MATERIALS Is sand a liquid or a solid? Even the experts aren’t sure! When you pick up a handful of sand it flows through your fingers like a liquid. But you can walk on it like a solid.

Perhaps it’s something in between. Sand is an example of a granular material. Sugar, salt, rice, beans and nuts are all examples of granular materials, and they behave very weirdly! If you tread on a wet sponge, the water will squirt out, but if you walk on the wet sand on the beach, the water drains away under your feet and the sand around your feet looks drier. Granular materials are full of surprising mysteries!

SHAPE SHIFTING

As the waves work their magic, an endless variety of patterns form in the sand below.

The movement of the water separates and concentrates the heavier grains of sand, leaving dark stripes and swirling patterns on the beach. You might have seen some of these ripple marks at the seaside.

Shake a container of mixed nuts or seeds and you will find that the big ones move to the top – not quite what you'd expect. This is known as the Brazil nut effect, and it happens in all granular materials. Try it with some dry sand next time you're on the beach!

SAND RIPPLES IN A BOWL Place a glass of water in the middle of a circular, flat-bottomed bowl and half-fill the bowl with water. Wash a few scoops of sand by rinsing it in water until the water is clear, then spread the sand evenly around the bowl. With a spoon, stir the water quickly in a circular motion in one direction around the glass, without touching the bottom, and watch the sand form asymmetrical ripple marks.

Geologists use fossilised ripple marks to tell the direction water in ancient rivers once flowed in.

whizzpopbang.com 7

s e l t s a c d n SUPER Sa e if a r fun to build. Let’s se pe su e ar s le st ca nd Sa e them even better! ak m n ca e nc ie sc of sprinkling

One scientific theory said that you shouldn’t be able to build a sandcastle more than 20 centimetres high. Obviously, you know from your own experience that that bit of science was wrong! In fact, the world record for the tallest sandcastle is 21.16 metres – one third the height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa!

THE PERFECT SANDCASTLE

Add water to dry sand, and it becomes an entirely different material with all kinds of complicated and mysterious things going on inside it that make the grains stick together.

Physicists have developed really complex equations to try to explain wet granular materials and sandcastles. But let’s not worry about equations – let’s get building!

SANDCASTLE SECRETS Raid the kitchen for some sculpting tools (blunt knives, spatulas, spoons, paintbrushes, etc) – these will come in handy for perfecting your creation.

Dig a hole until you find some wet sand.

Prepare a base to act as the foundation. Wait until the water has drained out of it before you continue building.

Pound the sand into submission! This compacts it and strengthens the bridges between the grains (surface tension gives it strength).

Slop a pile of very wet sand onto the base, then jiggle it and pat it so that it compacts nicely, then wait until the water drains out.

Continue as if you were stacking pancakes. As your sandcastle gets higher, do less jiggling and patting, just let the sand settle itself.

Experiment! All sands behave differently – more or less water may be critical. Try different jiggling techniques until you find what works best.

Once the water has completely drained out of your stack of sand-pancakes, you should be able to carve it into the shape you want!

8 whizzpopbang.com

Why did the crab cross the road?

It didn’t.

It used the sidewalk !

SANDCASTLE ENGINEERING

DRIP AND DRIBBLE Another really fun – and very addictive – way of building with sand is to grab a handful of very wet sand from the bottom of a puddle on the beach and let the sand drip really slowly from your hand onto a rock or dry patch of sand. As you dribble more sand onto the top, the water drains out of it and it starts to form magical-looking turrets and spires.

It’s amazing how water seems to ‘g lue’ grains of sand together, isn ’t it? But even tight ly packed damp sand can’t support much wei gh t. Let’s see if we can engineer a stronger sandca stle!

Yo u will need

amp sand (on a beach or in a sandpit) D A flat-bottomed bucket A big rock or brick Seaweed (or you could use dried grass or thin twigs) Scissors (optional)

What you do

Fill in the empty squares, then check your answers on page 34.

1. Make a sandcastle by packing damp sand into the bucket, turning it upside down, tapping the top then sliding the bucket off.

2. Gently place the rock on top of the sandcastle. If it stays standing, try using a larger rock so that it collapses.

3. Now see if you can reinforce your sandcastle to make it stronger. Pack about 3 cm of damp sand into the bottom of the bucket.

4. Cut or rip the seaweed into short sections and layer them on top of the sand layer in a criss-cross pattern to form a grid.

6 + + = = 7 -

= 2 + = =

= 5

5. Add another layer of sand, then another grid of seaweed, and keep alternating layers until the bucket is full.

6. Turn the bucket over, tap the top, then gently lift the bucket off to make your sandcastle.

7. Gently place the same rock on top of the reinforced sandcastle – can it support the weight now?

Why not experiment to see how many seaweed layers are needed to support the rock or how much weight your sandcastle can hold?

You should find The layers of seaweed help prevent the grains of sand from sliding over each other when the rock pushes down on them, and your sandcastle remains standing!

whizzpopbang.com 9

s e v i l t c o e o t p e k d Roc Peep inside a rock pool and you’ll discover a whole underwater world!

The shoreline is not flat. Instead, it is made up of weathered rocks and stones that have fallen from the cliffs. When the tide goes out, water gets trapped amongst these rocks, creating pools of seawater. These rock pools provide essential habitats for a variety of amazing animals, awaiting the returning tide to replenish their oxygen or take them back out to sea.

Turn to page 26 to meet some rock pool residents!

H O W TO G O R O CK PO O LI N G You will need

A bucket to sc oop up creature s for a closer look Wellies or wetsu it sandals A handy identif ication guide A small first ai d kit in case of scrapes A waterproof co at or jumper – it can get a bit chilly sometimes!

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Top Tips void using ne A ts – rock pool creatures are small and delicate an d can easily become tangle d, causing them harm.

Start at the de epest pools nearer the sea and work your way back towards the land as the tid e comes in.

Remember to put any animals back w here you found them.

SEASIDE SUDOKU Fill in the blank squares so that each row, each column and each 2x2 block contains one of each of these four creatures. Check your answer on page 34.

MAKE A WATER POWERED BOAT

Cut out the sails on page 19 and raid the recycling bin so yo u can make an aw es om e boat to play with on the beach – ju st make sure you take it ho me with you afterw ards!

Yo u will need

n empty yogurt pot or other plastic cup A An empty ice cream tub or similar A skewer or pointy scissors A bendy straw A straight straw Sticky tack or modelling clay A hole punch

What you do 1. Ask an adult to help you make a hole at one end of the ice cream tub using a skewer or the point of a pair of sharp scissors.

2. Make another hole at the same height in the yogurt pot.

3. Use sticky tack to stick the yogurt pot in the centre of the ice cream tub.

4. Push the bendy straw through the holes and plug any gaps with sticky tack.

5. Stand the straight straw in the boat using another blob of sticky tack.

6. Punch holes in the sails and thread them onto the mast.

7. Float the boat in a pool of water then pour water into the cup.

Fo llow the Seashor e Code !

et someone know where you are and check L the weather and tide times before heading out.

Walk carefully over the rock to avoid damaging plants and animals.

Do not take living plants and animals home – just take pictures!

Always take your litter home with you.

Report anything unusual you find, but do not touch it if you don’t know what it is.

Treat all marine life with respect and replace any stone or seaweed as you found it.

You should find

Water flows out of the cup through the straw at the back of the boat. This pushes the boat in the opposite direction so that it moves forwards.

whizzpopbang.com 11

AL ANIM S TIC

AN

octopuses

Our daring vet Joe Inglis investigates an animal that he’s not yet had the pleasure of meeting in the surgery…

squidgy squashy The name ‘octopus’ comes from ancient Greek and means ‘eight foot’, which refers to an octopus’s eight tentacles. Octopuses are invertebrates, so they don’t have skeletons.

They have squishy bodies and are closely related to squid and cuttlefish. These are all part of the mollusc family, like snails and slugs.

In 2016, Inky the octopus from New Zealand managed to climb out of his aquarium tank, crawl along the aquarium floor and then squeeze down a narrow 50-metre drainpipe to escape into the sea!

Octopuses have three hearts.

Answer on page 34

© Olga Visavi / Shutterstock.com

home sweet home Octopuses usually live on their own amongst rocks and corals or they sometimes dig burrows. They often scatter rocks and shells around their nests to hide them.

Octopuses don’t live very long, usually only 12-18 months.

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25 mph

The top speed reached by some octopuses.

Getting around

Octopuses live on the ocean floor and can move in three ways: walking on their tentacles, swimming or jet propulsion using jets of water.

How do you make an octopus laugh?

With TEN-tickles!

venom-pus As well as being ruthless hunters of other sea creatures, some octopuses can also be dangerous to people.

The blue-ringed octopus found in the seas around Australia is one of the world’s most venomous sea creatures; their bites are painless, but often deadly.

TABLE manners Octopuses are all carnivores, which means that they eat other animals, and their feeding habits can be pretty gruesome. Their main prey are crabs and molluscs, and they kill them by drilling through their shells with their beaks and injecting them with deadly saliva before sucking up their soft bodies!

Top five octopus superpowers 1. Jet propulsion – when threatened,

octopuses can squirt water out like an underwater jet engine, propelling them forwards at high speeds.

2. Masters of disguise – special skin cells called chromatophores allow

octopuses to change colour to help them hide from predators. The mimic octopus can even make itself look like other animals, such as lion fish or sea snakes.

3. Escapologists – when under attack,

octopuses squirt out dark ink to confuse predators and help them to get away unseen.

4. Contortionists – most species of

octopus have no hard body parts apart from their beaks so they can squeeze through the tiniest of gaps.

Octopuses can see through the suckers on their limbs.

5. Super-smart – octopuses are

thought to be amongst the cleverest invertebrates, and have been shown to be able to solve problems and navigate mazes.

Answer on page 34

whizzpopbang.com 13

SPOTLIGHT

The plastic problem

in the Something deadly is lurking a predator. world’s oceans. But it’s not It’s the growing problem of plastic pollution.

Humans lik e making th ings out of plastic. It’s tough, it’s w aterproof and it’s easy to mould in to hollow shapes like water bottle s. But these advantages become dis a dvantages when plast ic is thrown away cardboard biodegrade . While s (breaks down) in we eks or mon ths, plastic takes hund reds of yea rs to break down into smalle r pieces. Ev e n then, small plastic part icles keep h arming wild life.

450 years

The ti me it takes for a plastic water bottle to break down into s malle r pieces .

Plastic in th The Great Pa

cific G

e oceans

arbage Patc is the world’s h most famou s floating rubbish dum p, a vast are a of ‘plastic soup’ in the North Pacific Ocean. But it not the only ’s one – the Atl a n tic and India oceans now n have their ow n floating garbage patc hes, and the y’re all grow The plastic in ing. these areas travelled fro distant place m s, carried by ocean curren Millions of to ts. nnes of plast ic waste ente r the ocean eve ry year.

it Where does come from?

lastic comes of floating p % 0 8 d n u ro A pped . Litter is dro d n la e th m fro drains, washed into or dumped, d to the rs and carrie ve ri r o s m a stre ic pollution 20% of plast sea. Around ly into umped direct d r o d e ill sp is cargo from his includes the water. T g nets. and old fishin s ip sh n ke n su

14

Where does it go?

Large plastic items collect near coasts and on beaches.

Small pieces of plastic, known as microplastics, collect in calm areas of ocean known as gyres.

The plastic is broken down into smaller pieces by sunlight and bacteria. These tiny pieces may eventually escape the gyre and get carried elsewhere.

As plastics accumulate, they pose greater threats to ocean creatures. For example, sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and try to eat them.

This problem will not easily go away and the ocean is counting on us to make a change. You can make a difference!

Microplastics are eaten by fish, seabirds, turtles and whales, which can’t tell the difference between plastic and plankton (the tiny marine animals and plants they usually feed on).

Shoshana Levine e turtles

How can you help?

Stop buying single-use plastic water bottles and plastic shopping bags.

Avoid food wrapped in plastic.

Look for loose fruit and vegetables when you shop.

Carry a refillable bottle and cloth bag instead.

Try a ‘plastic-free week’ challenge with your family.

of marin Aquarist in charge in Hull. ep De e at Th

ing club Start a litter-pick ea. ur local ar

at school or in yo

Write to your local supermarke

t

asking them to us e less plastic packag ing – and tell your loca l newspaper to help spread the word!

See if you can go a whole week without using single-use plastics!

Make sure you’re recycling right.

Not all plastics can go in the recycling bin – check your local rules.

Take a bag to the beach

and collect any plastic rubbish that’s washed up.

Ask your class or school to host a screening of the film A Plastic Ocean

so more people learn about the plastic problem www.aplasticocean.movie

whizzpopbang.com 15

b... clu O C E

Emmi’s

WATER BOTTLE CARRIER Bringing your own drink, instead of buying one in a plastic bottle, is a simple way to reduce waste.

Knot a bottle carrier to make this even easier!

Yo u will need

our lengths of string, yarn F or cord measuring 2 m each A reusable water bottle A cup big enough to stand your bottle inside (optional) Sticky tape Scissors

Don’t worry if your knots aren’t perfect or aren’t exactly lined up. It’ll look fine when you pull everything tight in step five!

1

gether, nds of string to ra st ur fo e th d Hol middle. half to find the in em th ld fo then l point. er at the centra Tie them togeth

3

2

Turn the bottle upside down (resting it in a cup if it doesn’t stand up on its own). Place the knot in the middle of the bottle’s base, then stick it in place with tape. Divide the strings into four groups of two.

Tie each s et of two pieces of string in a reef knot * at of the bott the edge le’s base.

Repeat w ith each s et of strings . Add more sticky tap e if the string is s lipping.

I’d love to see your bottle carrier!

Take a photo and email it to Y@whizzpopbang.com – it could be featured in the magazine!

*

Here’s how to tie a reef knot. Watch a video here: bit.ly/3fzd2zv

16 whizzpopbang.com

Continued on page 21 ➜

4

Step 3 knot.

other from one pair, and an Now take one string a reef pair, and tie them in g rin ou hb ig ne a m fro knot. ay from the previous knot about 3 cm aw ttl y around the bo e.

Repeat all of the wa

5 Now

repeat step four a few more times, until you are 10 cm away from the neck of the bottle.

Pull the loose ends of the strings tightly so that the holder reaches the top of the bottle.

6 Tie three reef

knots in each pair of strings, then tie the end of one pair to the end of a neighbouring pair using reef knots to make a strap. Repeat on the other side, then trim the ends. Sling your water bottle carrier over your shoulder and away you go!

ECO

More

ideas...

tic water Over one million plas y minute bottles are used ever them are globally, and 91% of not recycled.

t

ed UK tap water is test times more than 500,000 each year to make sure it’s safe to drink – in fact, it’s the most regulated drink available!

Continued from page 16

There are plenty of reasons to carry a reusable bottle! sts A litre of tap water co a g yin about 0.1p. Bu of small 500 ml bottle 0 water for 50p is 1,00 ! times more expensive If one in 10 people in e Britain refilled a bottl ’d just once a week, we tic as pl on save 340 milli bottles a year.

whizzpopbang.com 21

➜

Starfish have hundreds of tiny feet on the bottom of their ‘arms’. They use water pressure to expand and contract these feet, allowing them to ‘walk’ along the sea floor.

How many triangles are there in this picture?

Check your answer on page 34.

18 whizzpopbang.com

Answer

PULL OUT pages 17-20 and get making!

MAKE A STARFISH

Cut out these starfish shapes and score along all the lines. Fold the smaller solid lines inwards and the longer dashed lines outwards. You could stick a string on the back to hang them up.

We’d love to see a photo of your starfish and octopus!

Send it to Y@whizzpopbang.com – it could be featured in the magazine! whizzpopbang.com 17

Riddles

Check your answers on page 34.

1) What gets wetter as it dries?

2) I walk on the beach, but I never move.

What am I?

3) You’ll find me in sand, but not in sea. I’m also kept between you and me.

What am I? Find a printable version of the pullout here: bit.ly/4dgXKi1

20 whizzpopbang.com

MAKE AN OCTOPUS Cut along the solid lines and fold along the dotted lines, then glue the tabs in place to make your octopus.

Templates

Sails for the water-powered boat on page 11.

whizzpopbang.com 19

Interview with a SCIENCE HERO

In my job I get to... © University

of Plymouth

be a Beach Guardian!

Emily Steven

son Microplastics researcher an d co-founder of Beach Gua rdian

“

All of my childhood memories on the beach are polluted with plastics.

”

I was very lucky to grow up in Cornwall.

As a child, I spent the majority of my time on the beach. Unfortunately, this meant that I was exposed to plastic pollution from a very young age. That’s why I now dedicate my life to tackling this.

Emily is the co-founder of Beach Guardian, an organisation that protects beaches by tackling plastic waste. She now researches how plastic pollution affects ocean bacteria at the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. Emily has also helped companies to reduce their reliance on plastic products and has won awards for this work!

If you have any questions of your own for Emily, you can contact her on emily@beachguardian.co.uk

“

Doing beach cleans is something we have always done as a family.

”

to just pick It is the most normal thing for us lking on the up the rubbish we find whilst wa reasons I beach. I think this was one of the because ist… log bio wanted to become a marine gs on thin ting I always found so many interes re! mo the beach and wanted to know

“

© Beach Guardian

I started Beach Guardian with my dad.

Beach clean at sunset 22 whizzpopbang.com

”

Initially, we just wanted to host beach clea ns for other people to get involved – but I quic kly realised that this was much bigger than beac h cleans. So, I’ve been going into schools and I’ve worked with community groups all over the world. I’ve been on TV, to the Houses of Parliament and even worked with one of the largest food and drink manufacturers in the world to make crisp packets recyclable. I got their attention by wearing a dress I made out of crisp packets to my marine biology graduation!

“

”

Interview with a SCIENCE HERO

I LOVE being a scientist!

© Beach Guardian

I like to describe it as being a detective of the ocean. It is up to scientists to discover new things, see how things work and assess the impact of humans on wildlife. Lots of us scientists are trying to figure out the true cost of plastic pollution, but I have decided to look even closer.

Billions of facemasks have ended up in the ocean

“ ch which Microplastics on a Cornish bea Beach Guardian cleaned up. © Beach Guardian

“

Everyone has the power to do something.

”

There are heaps of things we can all do to help protect the ocean. Here are two you can start with:

I currently research microplastics.

”

These are really really small pieces of plastic.

Because they are so small, they are getting eaten by animals in the ocean and wildlife on land – but also by us! We have discovered that tiny pieces of microplastics are actually microscopic worlds: instead of coral reefs forming, you have ‘microbial reefs’ attached to these tiny plastic islands floating around in the ocean. My research is based around looking at these microbes, identifying what they are and whether they could harm humans or animals.

“

Follow your passions and trust your instinct.

1. Get out there and pick up some rubbish (safely)! All plastic litter could make its way into the ocean, so next time you are walking down the street and you see a plastic bottle, don’t walk past. Pick it up and put it in the bin!

2. Write a letter to your local councillor and MP. I know it might seem boring, but councillors and MPs are voted into power by local people… and soon you’ll be voting too! If you tell the people in power that you will not vote for them unless they make changes, like tackling plastic pollution, they will have to do it if they Find out more about xxxxxx want a job!

crisp s ’ y l i m E dress t e k c a p © Beach Guardian

© Shutterstock.com

”

I have always known that this is what I wanted to do.

All I have ever done has been powered by passion, and it seems to have worked so far! If your heart isn’t in it… don’t do it!

whizzpopbang.com 23

HOW STUFF

WORKS

Metal DetectorS If you’re hoping to find some buried treasure at the beach then a metal detector is just what you need.

Here’s how they work...

Maze Mayhem!

Emmi dropped her necklace on the beach!

Can you help her find it? Check your answer on page 34.

1

2

3

24 whizzpopbang.com

When you turn on the detector, electricity from the battery passes through a coil of wire, called a transmitter. This generates a magnetic field that reaches underground.

A battery powers the transmitter coil and electronics.

A wire connects the battery and microprocessor to the coils of wire at the bottom.

©

7

6

Sh

ut

The same technology is used in metal detectors at airport security and the handheld security scanners used at concerts and other big events. te

rst

oc

k.c

om

Modern metal detectors have complex microprocessors that analyse the signal from the receiver coil to work out what type of metal has been found.

The receiver coil is connected to a speaker.

When a metal object is detected, the speaker beeps to let you know you’ve found something – hopefully it’s more exciting than a rusty nail!

5

The second coil of wire is the receiver. It works in the opposite way to the transmitter coil. The magnetic field created by a buried metal object generates an electrical current in the receiver coil.

This current flows up to the speaker.

4

When the magnetic field from the transmitter moves over a metal item, it creates an electric current within the metal. This electric current creates a magnetic field of its own.

whizzpopbang.com 25

.

g.. in z a m A ly e m o s e w A 0 1

C L O O RO C K P

to hundreds of Rock pools are home re are a few you awesome animals. He beaches… might meet on British

1

Anemones are sometimes called

the ‘flowers of the sea’. After they’ve eaten, they draw their tentacles in. If you see one looking like a lump of jelly, it’s probably busy digesting its last meal!

Anemones can pack a g! powerful stin

4

Shore crabs can change colour to blend in with their surroundings.

Common prawns

can be tricky to spot as they dart about rock pools.

They’re not fussy eaters, feasting on anything from dead shellfish to rotting seaweed!

Mussels use their thread-like ‘beards’ to cling to the sides of rocks in clumps, usually just above the tide line. They can survive subzero temperatures thanks to their special circulatory system.

5

26 whizzpopbang.com

2 3

Crabs spend their days hiding under rocks at the bottom of the rock pool. Shore crabs often get into fights with each other and can lose their claws – but luckily they grow back!

You’ve probably seen limpets stuck tight to rocks, but when the tide comes in they move around under water. They always return to the exact same spot where they form an airtight seal, trapping water inside their shell so they don’t dry out.

Limpets are marine snails and have a muscular ‘foot’ just like land snails.

S E R U T L CREA

6

Butterfish got their name

7 8

because of their extremely slippery skin, which makes it almost impossible to pick them up! You might spot them hiding amongst seaweed, in crevices or under rocks at the bottom of rock pools.

9 10

When the tide rises, the hard plates in the centre open and their featherlike legs emerge to collect food particles.

Related to seahorses, pipefish look a bit like swimming shoelaces! They can be found in deep rock pools, hiding amongst submerged seaweed.

Common starfish

You might spot a starfish in a deep rock pool. Despite their name, starfish are not fish and cannot swim.

They are actually a type of sea urchin.

Common brittle star

Acorn Barnacles are often seen as

‘crusty carpets’ in and around rock pools.

They start their lives as free-swimming larvae, then ‘glue’ their head to a rock or shell and build a limestone fortress around themselves.

Periwinkles are small sea snails that

gather in rock pools when the tide is out. They can seal themselves inside their shell to keep out predators and stop themselves from drying out.

Photographs © 1. Attrattorestrano at Italian Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12706744 and O. Nevestveit - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34130950 2. By SebastianVelazquezBIOL - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons. wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=121592773, 3. Andreas Trepte - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1996085, 4.

Etrusko25 - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8045392, 5. Tango22 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons. wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3010122 and CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=227199, 6. Knut Wester Kringstad / Shutterstock.com, 7. Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1798379, 8. RLS Photo / Shutterstock.com and valda butterworth / Shutterstock.com, 9. Stemonitis - Own work, Copyrighted free use, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1025845 and Kim Hansen Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2967246 10. Paul Morris from USA - Littorina littoreaUploaded by JoJan, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15221935

whizzpopbang.com 27

Sensational Scientists

Jeanne Villepreux-Power Meet the self-taught scientist who solved a marine mystery and invented aquariums in the process.

Jeanne was patient and had an amazing eye for detail. At first she used these superpowers to become a top seamstress, embroidering the dress for a royal wedding in Paris.

When she moved to Sicily, the same superpowers helped her to become a brilliant scientist.

Jeanne Villepreux-Power was born in France in 1794.

I grew up far from the coast in France, so the wild Sicilian seas were home to creatures that I had never seen before. I studied starfish, crabs and shells, but I was most fascinated by the octopuses known as argonauts .

Most octopuses live hidden on the sea floor, but argonauts were different. They floated around in the open ocean, inside paper-thin shells. In 300 BC, Aristotle had suggested that the shell was a boat, and that the octopus used its webbed arms as sails. They were named after the Argonauts – the hero sailors of Greek myth.

These shy creatures attracted lots of attention. Some scientists thought they stole or reused shells from other animals. Others thought they built their own shells.

28 whizzpopbang.com

I realised that everyone had different opinions because no one had ever watched the argonauts to find out the truth! I decided to do experiments of my own.

r 4.

To solve the mystery, Jeanne would have to watch the argonauts very carefully, over weeks, months and years. She built three different cages to help her. The first two were cages that dangled in the ocean, so she could keep argonauts in one place and watch them through glass windows. The third was a glass tank that would let her keep argonauts at home. She had invented the world’s first aquarium, and they quickly spread around Europe and the world.

After publishing her work, Jeanne was invited to join 16 scientific institutions across Europe, at a time when hardly any women were working as scientists.

ow. r g d n a h s hatc n they are t u a n o g r the a ld shells whe d e h c t a w I ui b o t n i g e They b m big. not e r a s m r m heir a ild and t just 9 n o ’ s l i a ‘s bu d o t e b d b e e s u w e The all – they ar piece sails at e shell! a r o f t n ey hu , and glue h t repair th , n e k o r ets b ht fit glands g g l i l r e e h h s t e y h l If t exact ky liquid from s ’ t a h t l l of she ce with a stic it in pland of their arms. le. a m e f e e e b h t to ed. e at m d e n e i s t s t n e u r rgona look very diffe a e h t l l A must s e l a m e Th

Today, we know that female argonauts trap air in their shells so that they can control their buoyancy and float freely, even when their shell is full of eggs. Male argonauts are much smaller than the females, which is perhaps why Jeanne didn’t spot any of them.

As a r a de espect ed ep-w on V ater natura e l f afte nus na ish and ist, Jean med r he ne h a crat r. ad er

Tragically, all her research and equipment was lost in a shipwreck, and Jeanne stopped studying argonauts. But she never stopped being patient, noticing details and asking questions. She even published research on meteorites at the age of 73!

whizzpopbang.com 29

Email me at Y@whizzpopbang.com

der Club!

Welcome to Y’s Won to share your This page is for you with our robot, adventures in science p Bang readers!

Y, and other Whizz Po ce question Everyone whose scien is page gets answered on th ng wins a Whizz Pop Ba Science Joke Book, ome available in our awes at online science shop

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F oR

Dear Y, Where does wind come from?

CURIoUS K I DS

From Ailla, aged 11

Looks like the birds have been well fed recently!

Well done to everyone who made the bird feeder from the Signs of Spring edition (Issue 116)!

Sun’s energy Wind is just air that’s on the move. As the ground warms the Earth’s surface, the air near the more have gets warmer too. Warmer molecules of air a bit out ad energy. They start to jiggle around and spre cool than more, making warm air lighter and thinner ts in cooler air, air. As a result, the warm air rises – it floa t in the bath! just as objects less dense than water floa of low area The rising air leaves a space behind – an es in to rush re pressure. Cooler, denser air from elsewhe fill this space. This moving air is wind!

Adelaide, aged 7

Seth, aged 10

Sienna, aged 7

Osian, aged 10

Clara, aged 8

enamel badges Y’s Wonder Club Badges Collectable for you to earn!

Help local wildlife to earn your Wildlife Watcher badge.

Investigate scientific questions to earn your Super Scientist badge.

Help save the planet to earn your Eco Hero badge.

E

Hi Y, How does CO2 get into the air, and why is too much CO2 bad for us?

Loads of you cut out the paper flowers from the Signs of Spring pullout section (Issue 116)! Blooming brilliant!

Tristan, aged 7

Alice, aged 8

Toby, aged 7 CO2 (carbon dioxide) gets into the air in lots of ways. Animals, including us, breathe it se out. Decaying plants and volcanoes relea on carb the of s part ral natu are e it too. Thes cycle. But human activities, like burning petrol and coal, also produce CO2 and have caused too much of it to build up in the atmosphere. This acts like a warm blanket ing around the Earth, trapping heat and mak sea s raise ice, ts mel It er. warm the planet levels and can cause extreme weather like try storms. That’s why it’s important that we to reduce the amount of CO2 we produce.

Otto, aged 6

Charlotte, aged 9

Easy ways to cut your family’s carbon footprint: Avoid flying and driving – walk, cycle or take the train. at more plant-based meals and less meat and E dairy products.

Use less electricity and water.

Switch to a ‘green’ energy provider.

Plant some trees – they absorb CO2!

Erin, aged 9, made the super seed energy balls from the Signs of Spring edition (Issue 116).

Imogen, aged 8, made them too!

My family loved them so much we have made them again a couple of times since, and I even passed on the recipe to my best friend!

Dear Y, I would like to know why flying ants all take off at the same time.

Lena, aged 9 Every summer, flying ants appear in huge numbers. People often call it Flying Ant Day, but this swarming event can actually last several days. It is triggered by warm, humid weather, and it’s how female ants meet male ants from other colonies to mate. They all do it at the same time because they’re safer from predators that way. Once the female has mated, she chews off her wings (ouch!) and sets up a new colony where she’ll raise thousands of baby ants. That’s why you often see wings scattered on the pavement afterwards!

Send your experiments, ideas, photos, reviews and questions to Y@whizzpopbang.com or Y, Whizz Pop Bang, Unit 7, Global Business Park, 14 Wilkinson Road, Cirencester, GL7 1YZ. Don’t forget to include your name, age and address. We can’t return any post, sorry.

Get problem solving to earn your Epic Engineer badge.

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whizzpopbang.com 31

Test your m um/ dad/ goldfis h to

How much can you remember from this issue?

see what they know!

1 3

Test your knowledge with our super-duper quiz. Just tick the answers you think are correct, mark them using the answers on page 34 and then add up your score. If you need some help, check out the hints at the bottom of the page.

2 4

Which of these things doesn’t turn into sand?

How fast can octopuses move? a) 5 mph b) 15 mph c) 25 mph

ts What did scientis to gold? from CERN turn in a) Straw

5 7

b) Lead

ey touched c) Everything th

Which of the following is a fish? a) A seahorse b) A cuttlefish c) A starfish

Limpets cling tightly to seaside rocks. But what kind of animal are they? a) Big barnacles b) Marine snails c) Crustaceans

6

8

What do you call a seagull that lives near a bay?

A bagel!

a) Shells b) Soil c) Fish poo

What did Jeanne V illepreux-Power invent? a) Aquariums b) Zoos c) R ollercoasters

How long does it take for a plastic water bottle in the ocean to break down into smaller pieces? a) 4.5 years b) 4 5 years c) 4 50 years

How tall was the tallest sandcastle ever built?

I scored...

a) 2.12 metres tall b) 12.16 metres tall c) 21.16 metres tall

Need a hint? Find the answers by reading these pages…

1) Page 12 2) Page 6 3) Page 4 4) Page 28 5) Page 27 6) Page 14 7) Page 26 8) Page 8

1-3: Claw-some crab 4-6: Super starfish 7-8: Outstanding octopus

W !

IN

SAND ART COMPETITION Are you heading to the beach this summer? Or do you have a sandpit in your garden or local playground? If the answer is yes, send us a photo of some awesome sand art to be in with a chance of winning a Kinetic Sand playset!

Your sand art could be

© Shuttersto

ck.com

a sculpture, a picture or an epic sandcastle – let your imagination run wild!

Kinetic Sand Magical Flowing Sand Playset

This awesome pack includes 10 colours of Kinetic Sand – the original magical, mouldable and mesmerising sand. Its unique formula makes it stick together so it easily shapes and moulds.

WINNER Issue 118 competition winners Thank you to everyone who entered our Colour competition.

The answer to the joke was ‘purr-ple’. These three lucky winners will each receive an Ollyball Planet Earth.

Sienna Sumner, aged 7 Grace Diamond, aged 9 Hayden Street, aged 10

Send your entry to win@whizzpopbang.com with ‘Sand art competition’ as the subject of your email. Alternatively, post it to Sand art competition, Whizz Pop Bang, Unit 7, Global Business Park, 14 Wilkinson Road, Cirencester, GL7 1YZ. Please don’t forget to include your name, age and address. Deadline: August 8th 2025.

UK residents only. Full terms and conditions available at whizzpopbang.com. Sorry we are unable to return any post.

whizzpopbang.com 33

S E K O J the sand id d t a h W the tide n e h w y a s in? came back no sea! , e im t g n o L

What do you call very small waves crashing into the shore?

Micro-waves!

n What did the ocea ? say to the shore aved!

Nothing, it just w

What do you call a fish with no eyes?

A fsh!

What did one r ock pool say to the other rock pool?

Show me your mussels!

Page 9 – Sandcastle numbers puzzle

Page 13 – True/Untrue UNTRUE: However, octopuses can taste what they touch using special receptors in their suckers.

Page 18 – Starfish triangles puzzle

Answers Page 24 – Maze mayhem

There are 23 triangles.

6 + 1 + = 7 -

4 = 2 + 2 = 3 = = 5 2 =

5

10

3

5

Page 11 – Seaside sudoku

Page 12 – True/Untrue

Page 20 – Riddles

TRUE: Octopuses have two hearts that pump blood through their gills and a third that pumps blood through the rest of the body.

1) Your beach towel (when it’s drying you!)

2) Footprints 3) The word ‘and’

Page 32 – Quiz 1) c 2) b 3) b 4) a 5) a 6) c 7) b 8) c

pink helmet jellyfish The photographer used a bright light to show up the colours of this tiny jellyfish. It’s only about 1.5 cm tall and can live at depths of up to 5,000 m.

Like many jellyfish, this one captures its prey using stinging cells in its tentacles.

R A L U C A T C E SP

e c n e i c s Some jellyfish are bigger than humans and others are as tiny as pinheads!

© Alex Semenov

Jellyfish don’t have brains!

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