Newsletter 331 BIG Little Science Centre May 2018

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1 Newsletter 331 BIG Little Science Centre May 2018 EDITOR's ISSN BIG Science (Print) ISSN BIG Science (Online) Susan Hammond Photo The BIG Little Science Centre enjoyed a week-long visit from Kevin Aschenmeier and the StarLab Dome from Okanagan Science Centre recently. We had 18 different schools, 29 different classes visit from Tuesday to Friday, and a full set of 5 public shows on Saturday. This program is so incredibly popular due to Kevin s fantastic knowledge of astronomy, repertoire of stories from cultures around the world, sense of humour and stamina! People are still talking about the program this week. We look forward to having Kevin and the StarLab back next April. Susan Hammond

2 This Newsletter is a publication of BIG Little Science Centre Society Mailing Address Box 882 Station Main Kamloops BC V2C 5M8 Location: 655 Holt Street Kamloops BC V2B 5G2 Website Executive Director: Gord Stewart Phone (250) or (250) 554 BLSC gord@blscs.org Assistant Operator: Susan Hammond Phone (250) or (250) 554 BLSC susan@blscs.org Newsletter Editor: Dr. Gordon R. Gore F-411, 3255 Overlander Drive, Kamloops BC V2B 0A5 Home phone EDITOR's gordongore0@gmail.com Back issues of BIGScience can be viewed at < The BIG Little Science Centre is open to the public at these times: Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM CLOSED SUNDAYS and HOLIDAYS Phone: Gord@blscs.org or Susan@blscs.org Drop-in Visit Rates: Adults (16 to 59) $6 Seniors (60 plus) $4 Youth (6 to 15 years old) $3 Family $15. Children 5 years old or younger) Free A family membership is $60.00/year. An individual membership is $45.00/year. A family membership consists of five directly related people. (This includes any combination of grandparents, parents and children). Individual day rates are: The Main Benefits of Membership Member ID cards for all members Free entry to our Exploration Room, events, shows, activities FREE or discounted admission to MOST Canadian science centres, including Science World and the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver Discounts for Science and Robotics Camps / Clubs in Kamloops Voting privileges at the BIG Little Science Centre s Annual General Meeting Visit our website blscs.org for more details on the benefits of membership. Drop-in Visit Information What is a Drop-in Visit? During drop-in times our hands-on rooms are open for visitors to tour at their leisure. The rooms have approximately 140 stations of hands-on activities to try. We also have an activity or show running Saturdays! Drop-in Visiting hours Tuesday - Saturday 10:00-4:00 Check Facebook or twitter for the latest information. For safety purposes we require children under age 16 be accompanied by a minimum number of supervising adults: For children 4 years old and under, 1 adult per every 3 children is required. For children 5 years old to 9 years old, 1 adult per every 5 children is required. For children 10 years old to 16 years old, 1 adult per 10 children is required. 2

3 Science Centre Programming Spring 2018 The BIG Little Science Centre is open year round: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm The Exploration Room is open 10am to 4pm, with over 140 different exhibits to enjoy. Special shows and activities run at the centre: daily July/August and Saturdays in the school year. All activities are included with the standard entry fee, unless otherwise stated. Full activity information is on the website calendar. Saturday May 5: Creating Circuits Lab, at 11am & 1:30pm Using circuit kits to discover how electricity works, you will make circuits to run light bulbs and motors. Saturday May 12: Mining Day at BIG Little Science Centre, 10am to 3pm Free entry! Co-sponsored by Kamloops Exploration Group/CIM South Central Branch. Mining, rock ID, gold pan with Yukon Dan, recycle your batteries, large mining vehicles, enter to win a bike, and more. Saturday May 19: Make an Electromagnet Lab, at 11am & 1:30pm Use simple electrical materials to build a working electromagnet. How quickly can you transfer nails? Saturday May 26: Beautiful Light and Colour Show, at 11am & 1:30pm Discover: many ways of making light; different types of light; properties of light; and rainbows! Saturday June 2: Bouncing Bubble Lab, from 10:30am to 3:30pm Get outside for some BUBBLE fun. Discover the shapes that can be made using small bubble instruments and using the giant bubble making equipment. Make and chase flying bubbles to liven up your day. Saturday June 9: Super Static Electricity Show, at 11am & 1:30pm An interactive, fun show that introduces static electricity, explores how it works and produces static in many ways, including using van de Graaff generators. Is it time for your science centre hair-do? Saturday June 16: The Amazing Magnetism Show at 11am and 1:30pm A fun show that explores magnetism and gives you some magnetic magic tricks to try out at home! Saturday June 23: Awesome Air Pressure Show, at 11am & 1:30pm Air is a force of nature that demands respect; join us for this interactive show to learn why. Friday June 29 and Saturday June 30: Welcome to SUMMERTIME Build and Test a Boat, 10:30am to 3:30pm Get a start to summer by designing a foil boat and testing it in our pool. Loads of learning while trying to support as much weight as possible in your very own boat. KEVA Blocks & LEGO construction materials, 10am to 4pm Inside in the cool air continue the construction theme using LEGO and KEVA blocks. Use your imagination to create your own structures right in front of you. Super Summer Science Camps: STEM themed for all to enjoy Stay tuned for fantastic science fun for kids of all ages. Dates will be posted soon. Looking for an awesome place for a Birthday Party or Event? Give us a call to discuss the possibilities. For more information please contact Susan Hammond: susan@blscs.org, or call BIG Little Science Centre reserves the right to substitute alternate programming if needed. 3

4 Spring Robotics Club: We are pleased to be able to offer it Thursdays this spring, from April 26 to June 7. Attached is the registration form. Consider joining the club, and carpooling, with friends. Feel free to share this info with others. 3D Design and Robotics Club, Spring 2018 Thursdays from 2:45pm to 4:30pm (since it is a club, children arrive when they can after school) Running seven weeks from April 26 to June 7. Must be aged 9 or older. You may do one or both of these special programs, over the course of the club session. Get your robotics geek on to not only design, but build your own robots. Then program them to do whatever you want them to. LEGO Mindstorms is the system that is used; incredibly versatile and popular! Build from plans or create your own. This club is for beginners and experts alike, you work at your own pace/level. We provide a kit and computer per child for the whole session. 3D Design is all about learning to use a computer to work in 3 dimensions. We provide a computer. Develop the ability to think beyond the flat, and discover your inner depths and abilities. Each person will have their best creations printed on our 3D printer. MINING DAY MAY 12, 10am - 3pm Big Little Science Centre 655 Holt Street, Kamloops Fun for the whole family!! Free to attend!! Visit the educational displays and learn about mining, safety, rocks & more! Magician Clinton W. Gray from 10-12! Bring your rocks to be identified! Learn to gold pan with Yukon Dan! Enter to win a bike! No host BBQ Lunch by the Paddlewheelers! Heavy equipment! New Gold fire truck! And so much more! Gold Medalist BRETT TURCOTTE 12-3 x2 Learn how snowmobiles come from mining! Co sponsored by The Kamloops Exploration Group and CIM South Central Branch 4

5 Camps at BIG Little Science Centre, Summer 2018 Camps that include movement, science exploration and experimentation, construction, and loads of hands-on fun are always how we share science with your children. Sign up now for a week (or more) of summer science awesomeness. Camps run daily from 9:00am to 3:00pm, for a week at a time. Cost is $180 per week, members receive a $10 discount. Registration form is attached. Super Wow Science Camp: Week 1 from July 9 to 13 Week 2 from August 13 to 17 Enjoy hands-on science activities mixed with games, experiments, crafts and art. Bubbles, rockets, chemistry, crystals, dinosaurs, volcanoes, treasure maps, puzzles/mysteries, roller coaster construction, Zorbs, and much more! Each week contains different activities and most requested favourite activities, allowing children to participate twice over the summer. Active science learning allows a child s brain to discover the world around them while their body is busy. Fun STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) science at its best. For ages 5 and up. Children must have completed Kindergarten. Summer Robotics Camp: July 30 to August 3 Robotics Camp is a favourite camp that is for children who like to design, build, and program their own robots. Using the Mindstorms LEGO robotics systems, campers will create their own works of art/science and put them through their paces. Learn how to go fast, be strong, use sensors, run mazes, and much more. Extra coding opportunities and games will be included to help campers create the ultimate robots! Outdoor fun will include the water slides and Zorbs and more. For ages 9 and up. See you this summer for wonderful interactive science fun. Susan Hammond Assistant Operator, BIG Little Science Centre susan@blscs.org 655 Holt Street, Kamloops, BC Facebook, Twitter, YouTube Mailing Address: Box 882, Station Main, Kamloops, BC V2C 5M8 5

6 Science Crossword 3 by Dr. David McKinnon Clues Across (1) and (4) What proved Higgs theory (6, 8) (10) It follows 5,4,3,2,1, Ignition (7) (11) Zea fruiting body (7) (12) English ball game org. initials (3) (13) Cranny (7) (14) Glass worker's kiln (4) (16) Extra (5) (20) Christopher, the Superman of movies (5) (21) Site of first A-Bomb attack (9) (23) Closing, as of a pipe (9) (27) Italian ball game (5) (28) Language casually (5) (29) Expression of regret(4) (30) Garden flowering plant (7) (33) French friend (3) (34) E.g. Chlorine, bromine (7) (35) Italian mathematician or space probe (7) (36) Applied force (8) (37) Particle of light (6) 6

7 Down (1) E.g. Freon or trichloroethylene (10) (2) Result of minus(10) (3) Product from ozone 7) (5) Kissy! (6) (6) Deciduous conifers (7) (7) Row of icons at bottom of screen (4) (8) Red Alumina Jewel (4) (9) Renewed (6) (15) Greek god of love (4) (17) One Russian dough case (5) (18) Kind of life scientist (10) (19) Rapid changes of (36) Across in a liquid cause this (10) (22) Largest continent (4); (24) unfilled spaces in containers (7) (25) Crazier (7) (26) Beginner (6) (27) Beet soup* (7) (31) Integrated circuit or potato product (4) (32) Sea ice chunk (4) * This is one of the possible ways of spelling it. You may be more familiar with another. I R, E 2 C o -tin B Solution to Crossword 2 Dr. David McKinnon ot IV v N,rr,A 4 4 IL A o V L o L L l0 v I T A M I N E 9I k R v o N I B ft/ M D B I,rp R, 0 P s Y I ll/ H l5 IL fia A M I,4,k E D 5 't+ / tr T t4.f N L l6 A tt/ T W,k R,TP M T ir a A u I 'L,t 20 E,,L E C T o R 7 I L I 4,,P I o Y A o 6 A A4,'A L,b A u s,,p L l,l T o tl L lf L E Y tr E A V 0 6 A D R o T D z I "E v E 32,h )q -A P tt I D s T S I Fl- 5 c tt R I C # I A 7

8 Osprey Action at The Dunes Golf Course Photos by Gordon Gore April , 8:50 AM. As I approached the osprey nest in a golf cart borrowed from the golf course, I noticed Oscar approaching the nest, so I started photographing in anticipation of seeing him delivering a fish. Oscar gave Oprah the fish, but a surprise was in store: a third osprey intruder, apparently wanted that fish! The intruder hovered over the nest, and even tried to enter the nest. Oprah picked up the fish and flew off. The intruder took off, and Oprah returned with the fish! Everything settled down, and Oscar went off to find another fish (I assume). 8

9 Variety of Life in a Pond at The Dunes Golf Course Gordon Gore Photos It is called the 'waste pond'. It is about 100 metres east of the Dunes Golf Course clubhouse, and you might not know it exists unless you hit a very wild drive off the ninth tee. Ducks seem to sense that this is a 'quiet' place to rest and feed, because I see more variety in this pond than in any other on the golf course. The beautiful wood duck (left) and the ringnecked duck (right) look like they were hand-painted! The pond was shared by a pair of wigeons and a mallard. A Canada goose was resting on the bank. A muskrat was also in the same pond. At other times this pond has been enjoyed by cinnamon teal, shovelors and golden eye ducks. Painted turtles also can be found here. 9

10 Comical Critters Gordon Gore "You have to get used to him. He's what they call the paparazzi!" 10