“The idea that formed was a story that would immortalize the characters who had been part of our household for so many years.”
Subscribe to continue reading this article.
Already subscribed? To login in, click here.
Originally Published: December 22, 2024 at 8:32 AM PST
This week marks the beginning of summer holidays for Australian school kids so why not enjoy science time with your kids, cooking, making rockets, creating bubbles or building an automatic flying fishing machine?
To celebrate summer, we’ve hand-picked 20 hands-on STEM activities for kids from the Australian children’s science newsletter, Double Helix Extra (DHE).
DHE is a sister publication to Cosmos magazine and has been published by the CSIRO – Australia’s national science agency – for more than 12 years.
All the following activities go well with lots of sunshine and quality time with family and friends.
Make your own ice cream at home. Credit: panaya chittaratlert / Getty Images
Cheery chemistry
Make egg-free meringues – ‘tis the season for pavlova… but would you make your pav with chickpeas?
Cook without heat – enjoy a cool dish from Latin America, thanks to the chemistry of citrus.
Homemade ice cream – don’t wait around for the ice cream truck, make it yourself!
Glitter grapes. Credit: Double Helix Extra
Balmy biology
Colour changing flowers – give a colourful gift using flowers, food dye and some patience.
Eat glitter grape candy – how many of these sour “lollies” can you eat this summer?
Create a terrarium – capture a little bit of nature to enjoy indoors.
Measuring out a scale model solar system. Credit: Double Helix Extra
“Phestive” physics
How bright is the Sun? – The Sun seems awfully bright this time of year, so why not work out exactly how bright?
Make a solar system to scale – a perfect sunny summer day activity for the park.
Foam bubble blower – make thousands of bubbles that you can shape!
The first step to making a pie chart is baking pie. Credit: FreshSplash / Getty Images
Merry maths
A Christmas packing puzzle – can you solve this 3D puzzle? (This is a great challenge for a lazy afternoon.)
Make a pie chart – put some holiday treats to use (and then eat them).
Swap the blocks – can you swap the red and green blocks?
Eating a s’more from a solar oven. Credit: Double Helix Extra
Tropical tech & engineering
Build a solar oven – harness the summer sun to cook up a chocolate-y treat.
Launch a stomp rocket – invite your friends over and see how high your rockets can fly!
Heron’s fountain – while you can’t jump in this fountain, it works without any electricity!
Build an automatic fishing machine – discover an Indigenous fishing technique that can make fish fly!
A beeswax wrap in action. Credit: Double Helix Extra
Bonus activities: conscious conservation
Make beeswax food wraps – a customisable gift you can feel extra good about.
Composting – summer is a great time to start this sustainable habit.
Turn a t-shirt into a bag – here’s a crafty activity to carry all your presents.
Build a bee hotel – set your garden abuzz with beneficial native bees!
If you enjoyed these activities, we invite you to sign up for Double Helix Extra, a fortnightly newsletter delivering science activities, news, quizzes and more for kids and curious adults.
BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Burlington’s Fletcher Free Library just wrapped up their 34th annual Books for Children Gift Campaign.The library collected over 500 books for Burlington preschoolers over the course of a month. The library partnered with Phoenix Books and Crow Book Shop on Church Street to offer discounted books appropriate for three and four-year-olds for the public to buy.The books have since been brought to the library, which is now organizing distribution events for teachers to come pick up the books. Once teachers pick up the books, they give the books to their students to take home with them.“There is something really special about having a book that belongs to you, especially getting a new book that is exclusive to you. We have a lot of kids in our community who have not had that experience, and we know that the very best way to encourage early literacy is by having books available,” Megan Butterfield, the Fletcher Free Library youth librarian manger, saidParticipating groups who will receive books include head start preschools, COTS, the King Street Center, and the Burlington School District. Copyright 2024 WCAX. All rights reserved.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the BoyBased On: The 2013 third book in Helen Jones’ Bridget Jones series
Starring: Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Leo Woodall and Jim Broadbent
Premieres: Feb. 13 on Peacock and internationally in theaters Feb. 14
Why We’re Excited: We’re always ready for another adventure with Bridget Jones—and this installment reunites her with a very much alive Daniel Cleaver. Now navigating life as a single mom of two after the death of Mark Darcy—though, fear not, Firth still makes appearances in the trailer in a ghostly form—Bridget is back in the spotlight. And it appears she has a new pair of men to choose between: Woodall’s dashing younger man and Ejiofor, who plays her son’s charming teacher. We may, in fact, be already seated.
Washington — President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that Stephen Miran, a Treasury Department adviser in his first administration, would be the chair of his Council of Economic Advisers. The council advises the president on economic policy and is composed of three members, including the chair. The council assists in the preparation of an annual…
ISTANBUL, Dec 22 (Bernama-AA) — Dark energy, long thought to drive the acceleration of the expansion of the universe, may not exist, according to a groundbreaking study, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
The research, based on enhanced light-curve analysis of “type Ia supernovae,” suggests the universe expands in a “lumpy” and uneven manner rather than uniformly.
Published Thursday in the journal, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the study was led by Professor David Wiltshire of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.
#inform-video-player-1 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
#inform-video-player-2 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
Cameron University’s George D. Keathley Department of Military Science has presented awards and scholarships to members of the Comanche Battalion, Cameron’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) unit. The Comanche Battalion recognized cadets for meritorious performance in military science, academics, physical fitness, personal achievement and leadership. Stephens County natives were among those recognized.Awards are sponsored by the Department of the Army, Cameron University and private individuals through endowed scholarships.Colton Miller received the George C. Marshall ROTC Award, which recognizes the top senior in the program. Miller will attend the annual George C. Marshall Leadership Seminar at Fort Knox, Kentucky.Preston Drain was the recipient of the Bill and Betty Burgess Memorial Endowed Scholarship, which is presented to a descendant of a noncommissioned officer or currently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces as a noncommissioned officer.The FIRES Chapter of the Association of the United States Army Scholarship is presented to an outstanding cadet in each military science year who has a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in their military and academic studies. Recipients were Thor Baima, Raymond DePhillips, Earnest Watson and Caydn Young.Hank Banner, Heidi Durvin, Martin Gonzalez and Alex Heidebrecht were honored with the Col. Jack Wolfson Memorial Scholarship. The award is presented to a cadet in each military science year who displays academic proficiency, outstanding leadership qualities, and high moral character.The Artillery Officer Candidate Endowed Scholarship in Leadership, established by the Artillery OCS Alumni organization, was presented to Joshua Tripp.Colton Miller received the Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Randall L. and Carol A. Rigby Endowed Scholarship in Military Science, which is awarded to a full-time CU student who demonstrates an intent to join CU’s Army ROTC program in pursuit of an officer’s commission.Xavier Davidson was honored with the Virginia K. and Robert L. Janda Scholarship, which is presented to a full-time student who demonstrates superior leadership potential and maintains at least a 3.0 GPA.He also received the 2nd Lt. Tobias Alexander Scholarship. It is awarded to a full-time cadet who demonstrates superior leadership potential and maintains a 3.0 GPA or higher.The B. Charles and LaDonna Spradlin Endowed Scholarship in Business, awarded to business majors, was presented to Trystian Thompson.Shinta Brown and Ian Surrency were presented with the E. Virginia Charlson Memorial Endowment Scholarship, which is awarded to cadets who are pursuing a degree in business and have a GPA of 2.75 or higher.The Sgt. York Award is presented to basic course cadets that demonstrated superior leadership qualities in military science courses; this award was presented to Conner Boyles and Johnathan Gonzalez.Raymond DePhillips and Brooke Wilhelm were honored with the Professor of Military Science Physical Fitness Cadet Award. It is presented to the male and female cadets who achieve the highest score on the Record Army Combat Fitness Test.
In the Sunday Book Review, Tom Fox considers books that interest the compliance professional, the business executive, or anyone curious. These could be books about business, compliance, history, leadership, current events, or anything else that might interest Tom. In December, Tom will review the top books in some key areas of interest for compliance professionals and the four top books on business ethics from 2024.
• There’s No Such Thing as See more +In the Sunday Book Review, Tom Fox considers books that interest the compliance professional, the business executive, or anyone curious. These could be books about business, compliance, history, leadership, current events, or anything else that might interest Tom. In December, Tom will review the top books in some key areas of interest for compliance professionals and the four top books on business ethics from 2024.
• There’s No Such Thing as Business Ethics by John Maxwell
• Business Kung-Fu by Craig Cooke
• The Innovative Leader by Stephen Wunker
• Team Building by Pat Sullivan See less –
Marnie Parsons, owner of Running the Goat Books and Broadsides, has a passion for words in all their forms.
