Whizz Pop Bang Science Magazine for Kids! Issue 109: Amazon Adventures

ISSN 2399 -2840

THE AWESOME SCIENCE MAGAZINE FOR KIDS!

Create rainforest weather

AMAZON

ADVENTURE Explore the world’s biggest rainforest Which rainforest animal are you?

Take the quiz!

Make rainforest friendly chocolate ice cream

COOL C APYBAR A S WHIZZPOPBANG.COM ISSUE 109

EXPERIMENTS PUZZLES AMAZING FACTS SCIENCE NEWS

WELCOME!

With our backpacks and cameras at the ready, we’re off to the Amazon!

Emmi

WHIZZ POP BANG is made by:

Ever dreamt of exploring th e Ama zon rainforest?

In this adve nturous edition of Whizz Pop Bang you can create your own we at he r jar , go on a minibeast safari and make a 3D mode l of th e lush Ama zon jungle, complet e with cute cut-out animals. Plus, find out which rainforest animal you are in our silly science quiz!

Editor-in-Chief: Jenny Inglis Editor: Tammy Osborne Assistant Editor: Tara Pardo Designer: Rachael Fisher Illustrator: Clive Goodyer Staff writer: Joanna Tubbs Contributors: Sarah Bearchell, Anna Claybourne, Joe Inglis and Owen Inglis

EXPERT SCIENCE ADVISERS I’ve made yummy rainforest-friendly ice cream!

hello@whizzpopbang.com

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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

!

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 © 2024 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: © 2024 Clive Goodyer

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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

CONTENTS THE AMAZING AMAZON!

©

Create rainforest weather in a jar, go on a minibeast safari, and make ice cream!

14

com ck.

12

ANIMAL ANTICS

Get to know the friendliest animals of the Amazon – cool capybaras!

SILLY SCIENCE

Which rainforest animal are you?

Take our fun quiz!

16 17

EMMI’S ECO CLUB

Make a fragrant perfume using sweet-smelling rose petals.

PULLOUT

Craft a model of the Amazon jungle, complete with all the layers of the rainforest.

©C OU

INTERVIEW WITH A SCIENCE HERO

E NG LA

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t te

Maria Jimena Valderrama Avella is an explorer and vet who studies Amazon river dolphins.

rsr ock .com

24

22

HOW STUFF WORKS

Find out why a compass needle always points north!

TEN AWESOMELY AMAZING…

…Amazon plants, from rubber trees and cannonball trees to stinky corpse flowers!

26

MY AMAZING LIFE

© CC BY-SA

Read about Charles Darwin’s amazing voyage of discovery to South America.

/ 4.0

30

Rh o od

n de

dr

ite s

I’d love to see pictures of your experiments! Send them to Y@whizzpopbang.com and ask an adult to tag us on social media @whizzpopbangmag

35

Sh o rst te

Atom

S

Read about some cool things kids have done, from digging up a T. rex to inventing a new pooper scooper!

ut

6

AWESOME NEWS AND AMAZING FACTS

4

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

28

QUIZ POP BANG AND COMPETITION

Test your knowledge with our super-duper science quiz and win an animal kit!

JOKES AND ANSWERS

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

SPECTACULAR SCIENCE

Take a look at the prehistoric-looking, water-loving green iguana.

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

Check out the other kids’ inventions here:

bit.ly/4cHDkxg

DINO

DISCOVERY Brothers Jessin and Liam, and their cousin Kaiden, aged 7-10, were “completely speechless” when they spotted a fossilised Tyrannosaurus rex leg sticking out of the ground while out hiking in North Dakota in the USA. The leg turned out to belong to an incredibly rare teenage T. rex fossil, buried in the rock for 67 million years. The family sent photos of the bone to a museum and an expedition was arranged to dig up the fossil, which the boys helped with.

The discovery, which will help scientists understand how T. rex grew up, is being made into a documentary, which will be shown at IMAX cinemas worldwide.

© Giant Screen Films

Ten-year-old Emily from Braintree won the Young V&A’s ‘Incredible Young Inventor Competition’ with her automatic pooper scooper! The competition was inspired

by Adam Kay’s latest book, Incredible Inventions. Children of all ages were invited to imagine their own incredible inventions, and the winning invention was made real

by Little Inventors. “I was thrilled to be asked to be one of the judges,” said Adam Kay. “I was a big fan of the automatic sock sorter and the parental anger scanner but there could only be one winner. Emily’s invention is ingenious!” Emily said: “I own a Dalmatian called Winston, so I felt this was a great idea for an invention! I’m thrilled that Adam agreed, as I am sure no one likes picking up dog poo!”

© David Parry, Rex

INCREDIBLE INVENTION

Check out what these awesome kids have been up to!

This news story was sent in by 13-year-old Whizz Pop Bang reader Ben Gough!

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY WHIZZ

MINISCULE FROG IS SMALLEST EVER © Renato Gaiga © Jamie Smart

A tiny Brazilian frog, known as a ‘flea toad’, has claimed the titles of both the smallest known amphibian and the smallest known vertebrate (animal with a backbone). The frog was discovered in 2011, but recent research has found it to be smaller than all other species. The frog’s size ranges from approximately 7 mm long in males to 8 mm long in females. Due to their tiny size, these frogs can have difficulty jumping around – they are so small that they can’t make use of their vestibular system (the fluidfilled chambers inside the ears which tells you which way up you are). According to Mirco Solé, the leader of the investigation, anything smaller than this “would really challenge morphology and physics.”

Luci Kirkpatrick, a lecturer at Bangor University, says that, though small, these creatures are important in the ecosystems of Brazil. We need to keep an eye on them in case they become endangered.

The winners of the 2023 Royal Entomological Society’s photography competition have been announced, including eight-year-old Jamie from Wales, who came second in the under 18 category.

Jamie named her winning image ‘Robber fly breakfast’. “I didn’t realise until looking on the computer that he was actually eating another fly,” she said. Jamie is a keen wildlife photographer who has already won several other competitions.

“I’m hoping my photos can help people see just how interesting and beautiful these little minibeasts are. I want to show people that bugs are not scary, they’re actually incredible little creatures when you look at them and study them close up.” The 2024 Royal Entomological Society’s photography competition is already open to amateur insect photographers of all ages, so get outside this summer and get snapping!

Find out how to enter here: bit.ly/3zrMZK4

Have you dreamed up any inventions, taken any wildlife photos or made any nature discoveries during the summer holidays? We’d love to hear about them – email Y@whizzpopbang.com whizzpopbang.com 5

The

By Anna Claybourne

French Guiana

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It also has the world’s biggest river and an incredible array of wildlife.

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Amazing Amazon

The Amazon is the world’s biggest rainforest.

It’s home to over 300 BILLION trees – that’s nearly 40 trees for every person on the planet!

Peru

The Amazon rainforest covers most of the northern part of South America.

Bolivia Brazil

Atlantic Ocean

Record-breaking river!

The Amazon River flows from the Andes mountains in the west to the Atlantic Ocean in the east. It collects rain from a huge area, with over 1,000 other rivers and streams flowing into it. It’s not the longest river in the world (that’s the Nile in Africa) – but it is the biggest, carrying the most water into the sea every second.

The Amazon is the world’s deepest river.

W idest point:

Where it meets the sea, the Amazon is 240 km wide.

Answer on page 34

Flow:

Carries about 200 million litres of water into the sea every SECOND!

Length:

About 6,400 km

HELPING THE PLANET

As well as providing countless wild creatures with a habitat (place to live), the Amazon rainforest helps the Earth to stay healthy. Trees take in a lot of carbon dioxide gas from the air, as they need it to grow. They give out oxygen, which humans and other animals need to breathe.

Thanks trees!

RAINFOREST WEATHER IN A JAR Yo u will need

heatproof glass jar with a A metal lid, such as a jam jar Ice cubes Boiling water H airspray

What you do 1. Place the lid in a freezer for an hour.

What do you call a tired rainforest?

The Pyjamazon!

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, which traps heat in the atmosphere and adds to global warming. So by soaking it up, all those trees help to keep the planet cool too.

Thanks trees!

2. Ask an adult to pour boiling water into the jar until it’s about a third full.

3. Put the lid upside down on top and put a few ice cubes on it.

(Don’t touch the hot jar!)

4. Wait one minute, then ask an adult to lift the lid and quickly squirt a bit of hairspray into the jar.

5. Replace the lid, wait another minute, then take it off.

You should find

WHAT ’S THE WEATHER LIKE?

The clue’s in the name! The Amazon rainforest is hot, humid and wet – it rains almost every day!

Afterwards, the water evaporates in the heat, and the trees release water from their leaves, creating more clouds and more rain!

Clouds rise from the jar! When water is warmed it evaporates, turning into water vapour. When the cold lid cools the vapour down, it condenses, turning back into liquid. The liquid forms tiny droplets around the hairspray particles, and you see them as a cloud.

The same thing happens in a rainforest, as water evaporates, rises and cools, forming droplets around specks of dust in the air. When enough water droplets stick together, they get big enough to fall to the ground as raindrops.

whizzpopbang.com 7

Rainforest layers

The rainforest isn’t just one habitat – it’s different at different levels, from the ground up to the towering treetops. Different types of wildlife live in each layer, though some move up and down too.

Leaf-nosed bat Squirrel monkey

Hummingbird

The tallest tree in the Amazon rainforest is 88.5 m tall – as high as a 30-floor tower block!

Toucan

Gecko

Spider monkey

Canopy

30-40 m

This is the thicker, main layer of leafy treetops.

Rainbow boa

Ocelot

Lichens

Understory 5-30 m

This shadowy layer is full of smaller trees, climbing vines and branches.

Jaguar

Forest floor 0-1 m

Fungi

Tarantula

This layer is very dark and covered in decaying leaves.

Lobster-claw flower

Leafcutter ants Coati or ‘nose-bear’

We use our big noses to snuffle around for food on the forest floor.

The rainforest has four main layers: the emergent layer, canopy, understory and forest floor.

Emergent layer

MINIBEAST SAFARI

40 m and above

The tallest sticking-out treetops!

Scarlet macaw

Harpy eagle

It’s not just the rainfores t floor that’s full of life! Any wood, pa rk or garden will have loads of minib easts crawling around in the soil or hid ing under pebbles and fallen leave s.

Morpho butterfly

Sloth

Yo u will need

Red-eyed tree frog

We mainly stay high in the trees but crawl down to the ground about once a week to have a poo!

hite or light-coloured paper plate or W plastic tray A small garden trowel or beach spade A small, soft paintbrush A magnifying glass A notebook and pencil

What you do 1. In your woodland, garden or park, find an area of ground that has been left wild, with fallen leaves and seeds or twigs. This is known as leaf litter.

2. Carefully scoop some leaf litter and soil onto your plate or tray.

3. Use the paintbrush to move the leaves and soil around and see what’s living in the litter, using your magnifying glass to take a closer look.

Tapir

Orchids

You might find some or all of these – or maybe something else!

We can run on the surface of water with our big feet!

Green basilisk lizard Piranhas

Anaconda

What can you spot?

Black caiman

Rivers and streams

Lots more creatures live in and around the water.

Pink river dolphin Giant otter

Worm Centipede Woodlouse Spider Ladybird Snail Ant Millipede

Make notes about what you found and draw pictures too if you like. whizzpopbang.com 9

People have survived in the Amazon rainforest for thousands of years, hunting and gathering food, and living in small villages.

Some of these indigenous (say In-DIJ-in-us) groups still live in this way.

© Laszlo Mates / Shutterstock.com

Humans in the Amazon

JUNGLE VILLAGES

There are no bridges over the Amazon River.

Indigenous people traditionally live in hand-built huts or shared homes. Some parts of the Amazon are so remote and unexplored that there could still be people living there who have never had any contact with the outside world.

Answer on page 34

© Pablo Bayley Angeleri / Shutterstock.com

How do you measure things in the rainforest?

With a measuring tapir!!

A shabono, or traditional communal house of the Yanomami people of the northern Amazon rainforest.

Rainforest trees are being destroyed to make space for farms and mines.

This hunter is one of the Matis people of Western Brazil.

Imagine sharing one big home with all your family and friends!

LEAF THOSE TREES ALONE!

Unfortunately, parts of the Amazon rainforest have been destroyed or deforested – and it’s still happening. The trees are burned to make way for farmland or mines or cut down to use the wood. When that happens, wildlife loses its natural habitat.

s

MAKE ‘NICE CREAM’!

Make this rainforest-frie ndly pudding using Rainforest Alliance or Fairtrade ba nanas and cocoa powder.

Yo u will need

2 bananas 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 1 teaspoon sugar or honey 1 tablespoon milk or milk alternative A food processor or blender

What you do

1. Peel the bananas, cut them into thin slices and spread them on a baking tray.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We need to reduce deforestation to protect the Amazon rainforest, its wildlife and its people. Here’s how you can help:

2. Put the banana slices in the freezer for an hour, then place them in a blender with all the other ingredients.

3. Blend the ingredients together using a blender or food processor until the mixture looks like chocolate ice cream!

Delicious!

Look for foods marked with the Rainforest Alliance frog, indicating they were produced in ways that are better for people and nature... …or the Fairtrade logo, meaning the farmers are paid a fair price and the products are environmentally friendly.

Avoid palm oil, unless it is labelled as ‘sustainable’.

If you’re buying wood products, look for the FSC logo, which means the wood is from a sustainable forest that isn’t being destroyed.

Spreading the word – why not see if you can give a talk at school to spread awareness?

11

AL ANIM S TIC

AN

Capybaras

Our intrepid vet Joe Inglis is splashing through the marshy swamps of the Amazon rainforest to track down the world’s biggest rodent.

Distant relatives of rats and mice, capybaras are the largest rodents on the planet, weighing around 25 times as much as their rat cousins. They look a bit like a super-sized version of another of their relatives, the guinea pig!

91 kg

The weight of the largest capybara ever recorded.

They typically weigh 35-66 kg and are around 1 metre long from nose to tail, a similar size to a large dog.

River rodents © Ondrej Prosicky / Shutterstock.com

Like many rodents, capybaras spend a lot of time in and around water, usually living near swamps, lakes or rivers, such as the Amazon.

They are excellent swimmers, with webbed feet for extra swim power, and they can hold their breath underwater for up to five minutes.

12 whizzpopbang.com

Common capybara Although native to all the countries of South America except Chile, capybaras have also been found as far afield as California and Florida in North America, most likely as a result of escaping from zoos.

Happy capys Capybaras are highly sociable animals. They live in groups of up to 100 individuals, although they do also sometimes wander off to live on their own if things get a bit too busy in the group. They communicate with a wide range of sounds, including purring, barking, cackling, whistling, squealing, whining, grunting and even teeth-chattering, as well as strong-smelling scents from glands on their noses and bottoms.

Poo for pudding?

Capybaras are herbivores, mainly eating a diet of grasses, reeds and leaves, as well as some fruit and tree bark. They also share a weird habit with their guinea pig relatives – they eat their own poo! Although this sounds unpleasant to us, it is completely natural for many animals, including rabbits, chinchillas and pigs, as it helps them to properly digest the tough plant fibres in their diets.

I’m a very chatty-bara!

Find the answers on these pages to write into the grid. What extra word is revealed in the yellow boxes?

Check your answers on page 34.

1. Capybaras have been found in

On the menu

the North American state of…

2. They

eat their own...

3. Capybaras communicate with a wide range of...

4. Capybaras spend a lot of time in and around...

5. The name of a giant snake that hunts capybaras...

6. Capybaras have webbed...

Capybaras are hunted by many large predators, including jaguars, pumas, eagles, caiman and anaconda (giant snakes that hunt in the Amazon River).

1 2

Capybaras are nicknamed ‘moving chairs’ because they carry sticks with them to sit on.

Answer on page 34

3 4 5 6

Take this personality quiz to reveal your inner Amazonian animal!

If you went to an amusement park, which of these would be your favourite ride?

Log flume Ghost train

WHICH E R A L A M I N A

YOU?

1

Carousel I’d rather just watch!

2

What kind of house would you like the best?

A secluded hideaway

spirit I don’t need a house, I’m a free A treehouse re I’m happy hanging out anywhe

3

d?

How do you like to eat your foo I like to snack all day long Gulp down a big meal A few good meals s!

Pounce on it, I’m always ravenou

5

Which of these games would you be best at?

Hide and seek Leapfrog Musical statues Tag

4

How would your friend s describe you?

Mysterious and surp

rising Mischievous and ener getic Kind and patient Cool and relaxed

E

ANSWERS Count up how many , and you chose.

If you chose mostly , you’re a delightful RIVER DOLPHIN!

You’re resourceful and playful, with a creative streak. You don’t like to stay in one place too long and you love spending time with friends and family.

,

If you chose mostly you’re an awesome

,

ANACONDA!

AMAZON RIVER DOLPHINS, also known as pink river dolphins or botos, have unusually large brains – at up to 40% big ger than humans’ brains! Unlike other dolphins, an Amazon river dolphin can turn its head from side to side.

You’re cool, patient and resourceful and will try anythin g once. You’re brave and decisiv e.

When ANACONDA are born, S they can immediately swim and hun t for themselves. They are most act ive in the early evening and at night.

If you chose mostly , you’re a joyful JAGUAR!

You’re independent and adventurous and love to take on a challenge. You like to surprise your friends and can you! solve any problem life throws at

If you chose mostly , you’re a sensational SLOTH! able, You’re funny, loyal and depend nd sta but you’re no pushover – you’ll your ground when you need to!

more than

SLOTHS have been around for extra bone 50 million years! They have an ir heads to in their necks which allows the . turn almost all the way around

ts Unlike leopards, JAGUARS' spo are arranged in rosettes (circular markings), sometimes with black dots in the middle. A jaguar’s roar is called a ‘saw’ because it sounds like the sawing of wood.

These two jaguars are on the prowl. Can you spot eight differences between them?

Check your answers on page 34.

If you ended up with a tie, you’re a mix of both of those two animals’ ch aracters!

whizzpopbang.com 15

b... clu O C E

Emmi’s

PETAL PERFUME

Make eco-friendly perfume that’ll leave you smelling of roses!

Yo u will need

-2 handfuls of rose petals 1 from the most fragrant roses you can find Lavender or other non-toxic flowers or herbs (optional) sieve A Freshly boiled water

1

2

Rinse the petals in a sieve to get rid of any dirt and rescue any bugs that were hiding in the flowers, then place the petals in a small bowl.

4

3

16 whizzpopbang.com

Use a sieve to strain the mixture, saving the liquid for later, then put the petals in a mortar and grind them up with the pestle. You might need to bash them a bit first, before grinding, to help break them down.

small bowl A A spoon A pestle and mortar A jug A clean small bottle or jar A sticky label (or paper and glue) Pens to decorate your label

Ask an adult to boil e some water. Allow th fe sa a to water to cool ur temperature (ask yo adult to check!), then er pour about 100 ml ov to ir st d the petals an l make sure they’re al r. te covered with hot wa Leave in a sunny spot for or other warm place e (th s te at least 30 minu longer the better).

Pour the water into the mortar and stir to combine with the ground-up petals.

Leave in a warm place for another 30 minutes, then check to see if your perfume smells strong enough. If it doesn’t, you can repeat steps 3-4 and/ or add some more rose petals or other fragrant flowers or herbs (check with an adult that they’re not toxic. Lavender works well).

Continued on page 21 ➜

5

6 When you’re happy with the scent of your perfume, strain it through the sieve into a jug, using the back of the spoon to squeeze all the liquid from the petals.

I’d love to see your perfumes! Take a photo and ask an adult to tag us on social media @whizzpopbangmag and email it to Y@whizzpopbang.com

ECO

More

Pour the liquid into your bottle or jar.

Choose a name for your perfume and design a label.

If you keep your perfume in the fridge it will last longer and cool you down on hot days!

We can all help to save the planet. Lots of small actions can make a BIG difference!

ideas...

Petals can be used to make all kinds of things!

Flower ice cubes – wash some rose

petals or other edible flowers (e.g. lavender, elderflower, nasturtiums or marigolds) or herbs (e.g. mint, rosemary or thyme), place them in an ice cube tray and top up with water. Freeze for at least four hours.

Scented bath – sprinkle clean rose

petals into your bath. You can also add dried rose petals or lavender to Epsom salts (available from most chemists) to make your own scented bath salts.

Continued from page 16

Lavender bags – put

dried lavender mixed with a little dry rice in homemade bags or cushions (you could make these by cutting fabric from old stained or ripped clothes and tying with ribbon or sewing). Store them in your drawers to make your clothes smell nice or leave them in the car to smell when you feel travel sick.

whizzpopbang.com 21

➜

What yo u do

1. P lace the end of your long cardboard tube onto what will be the top box and draw around it. Ask an adult to help you cut out the hole.

2. P ush the tube through the hole to the other side of the box and draw around it again. Remove the tube and cut out the hole.

3. P lace the box onto the bottom box so they line up, draw around the hole and cut it out.

Yo u should find

You’ve made a model of the Amazon rainforest, complete with the different layers. The tree sticking out of the top is just like an emergent tree pushing through and above the canopy.

Closer to the ground is the understory, while the forest floor has fewer plants.

4. Stack up your cardboard boxes and glue or tape them together.

You could paint them if you like.

5. P ush the long cardboard tube through the holes. Leave some of the tube sticking out of the top. Stick the other tube to the side of the box with sticky tape.

6. S crunch up some green tissue paper and stick it into your model. Put some on top of the boxes for the rainforest canopy and where the boxes join, for the understory. Add some more to the top of the emergent tree.

7. Cut out the leaves and animals from these pages and stick them into your model.

8. Add some more finishing touches!

18 whizzpopbang.com

Emergent layer Canopy

Understory

Forest floor

PULL OUT pages 17-20 and get making!

AMAZON RAINFOREST MODEL

Find a printable version of the pullout here: bit.ly/3KIyfcc

After reading about the different layers of the rainforest on page 8, create your own magnificent jungle model with lots of awesome animals!

Yo u will need

We’d love to see a photo of your rainforest model! Send it to Y@whizzpopbang.com and ask an adult to tag us on social media @whizzpopbangmag

he rainforest animals and T leaves on these pages Scissors Two cardboard boxes of the same width A long cardboard tube, or brown paper rolled up and secured with sticky tape A shorter cardboard tube Glue Sticky tape Sticky tack Green tissue paper or crepe paper Other things to put in your scene, e.g. toys, sticks, stones, string

whizzpopbang.com 17

Riddles

Check your answers on page 34.

1. What has rivers without any water and forests without any leaves?

in a basket and you take s na na ba e re th e ar re he T

2. s do you have now? na na ba ny ma w Ho o. tw ay aw 3. In the Amazon, you can’t take a picture of a person with a monkey. Why not?

This is a Hercules beetle, which lives in the Amazon rainforest. It is one of the largest flying insects in the world. Which of these shadows belongs to the beetle? Check your answer on page 34.

C

A B

Interview with a SCIENCE HERO

In my job I get to... study Amazon river dolphins

lla María Jimena Valderrama Avevet wildlife National Geographic explorer and

“

María Jimena works for the Omacha Foundation in Colombia, which helps to protect dolphins and other aquatic wildlife and helps local communities to take care of important ecosystems in the Amazon.

My first trip to the Amazon changed my life.

”

I grew up inland, rarely visiting the sea or rivers, but now I find them fascinating. I volunteered with the Omacha Foundation on a dolphin tagging expedition. We fitted sat ellite tags to river dolphins so that we could track their movement patterns and find out which areas of the river they preferred. It was the first time I had seen pink dolphins, met indigenous communities and seen the lush biodiversity alo ng this huge river. From the first day, I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to conserving this landscape.

© National Geographic

/National Geogr © Fernando Trujillo aphic

© Ismael Fernández/National Geog

al vet C lara Macedo María Jimena and loc river dolphin evaluate the health of a

“

I studied environmental sciences and veterinary medicine.

”

I wanted to learn more about the natural world so that I could connect to it. I have always been interested in animals and medicine, and I wanted to be able to heal anima ls. Becoming a vet was the best decision of my life. © worldclassphoto / Shuttersrock.com

María Jimena loves being a vet

raphic

Interview with a SCIENCE HERO

“

River dolphins are highly intelligent, strong and resilient beings.

María Jimena took this underw photo of an Amazon river dolphater in © María Jimena Valderra

“

”

Over around four million years, river dolphins have adapted to the freshwater conditions of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers. They are the ‘jaguars of the water’, sitting at the top of the food chain. They are also important indicators of the health of the river – if they are in poor condition, it suggests that there are problems in their surroundings. There are two species of river dolphin in the Amazon, both of which are endangered. We need to keep learning more about these species so that we can understand how best to help them survive.

ma

There are so many fascinating animals in the Amazon!

”

© Tharuka Photographer / Shuttersrock

.com

Manatees are the biggest herbivorous lt aquatic mammals in the Amazon. Adu atic plants manatees can eat up to 20 kg of aqu system per day, which is excellent for the eco er. Their wat the in as they help flush out toxins too! it poo fertilises the soil, and fish eat

An Amazonian manatee

“

We must improve our relationship with our planet if we want to protect the Amazon.

” “

There are many things we can all do to help. We can reduce water usage, buy only what we truly need, reu se items, avoid single-use plastics an d reduce our intake of animal produ cts.

Telling other people about the importance of looking after these ecosystems can inspir e them to help, too. © COULANGES / Shuttersrock.com

n If you’d like to be a ke me, aquatic biologist li g! never stop dreamin wonder Stay curious and ound about the world ar aquatic you. Read about ect with nn co ecosystems and u can. yo nature whenever

”

whizzpopbang.com 23

HOW STUFF

WORKS

Compasses A compass is a simple but essential part of any great explorer’s kit – pointing the way through dense rainforest, thick fog or far out at sea. But how does a compass always know the way?

A compass contains a small, lightweight magnetic needle that’s carefully balanced so it can spin around freely. The needle has polar (opposite) ends – its south pole is attracted to the Earth’s magnetic north pole, and vice versa. So whichever way you hold a compass, the needle will always align with the Earth’s magnetic field.

Animal navigation Although we need a compass to detect the Earth’s magnetic field, some animals have evolved the ability to sense it themselves.

Salmon, dolphins, bees and pigeons all have an extra sense called magnetoreception. This helps them to navigate long distances.

24 whizzpopbang.com

A magnetic compass needle points towards the North Pole because the Earth itself is a giant magnet! The Earth’s core is made of iron and nickel, which are naturally magnetic metals. As the Earth spins through space, these metals move around and create a huge magnetic field that surrounds the planet.

© Abstract51 / Shutterstock.com

The magnetic poles move slightly each day and completely flip every few hundred thousand years!

Earth’s axis

North pole

Because the Earth’s magnetic field doesn’t quite line up with the planet’s axis, the magnetic poles are actually hundreds of kilometres away from Earth’s geographic poles. And, confusingly, the magnetic pole near the Earth’s geographic North Pole is actually a magnetic south pole, which is why the north pole of a compass is attracted to it!

Natural light show Earth’s magnetic field is what causes the stunning light displays known as aurora. When charged particles from the Sun’s surface hit the magnetic field they make bright flashes of coloured light, visible in the sky near the Earth’s poles, and sometimes even in the UK.

whizzpopbang.com 25

.

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

A L P N O Z AMA

m is home to around This incredible ecosyste ful plant species…

40,000 weird and wonder

1

Although this looks like it belongs in a crumble, Brazilian giant rhubarb isn’t closely related to rhubarb. This enormous plant has flower spikes that are 1 m long and leaves can grow bigger than 3 m wide.

2

Did you know that rubber comes from trees? Milky sap called latex is harvested from the trunks of rubber trees. It’s mixed with chemicals, then used to make things like tyres.

3

5

Chewing a flower bud from the

toothache plant is said to have a

numbing effect, so it’s used as a traditional medicine for sore mouths. It’s also known as the electric daisy and buzz buttons!

4

Giant water lilies have leaves, or lily pads, that can grow up to 3 m wide and support weights of up to 200 kg – that’s the weight of a lion! The flowers start to open at night and take two days to open fully.

26 whizzpopbang.com

The cannonball tree produces up to a thousand beautifully scented flowers per tree as well as fruit that look like – you guessed it – cannonballs! They smell awful and are often fed to pigs and chickens.

6 L ANTS Sometimes, the host tree rots away, leaving a hollow core.

7

Bromeliads are a family of plants with swirls of leaves at the top that collect water. There are thousands of species of bromeliad in the Amazon, and pineapples are the best known.

After germinating high in the rainforest canopy, the seeds of strangler figs grow long roots down to the ground, wrapping around a host tree, while the plant grows upwards.

8

The enormous

corpse flower

has the biggest flower in the world – and it smells like rotting flesh. It might sound disgusting, but flies love it!

9 10

This weird-looking fruit hides a tasty surprise – cacao beans, which are the main ingredient in chocolate!

The cacao tree’s flowers are unusually pollinated by midges.

The seed pods of the kapok tree produce fluff that feels like cotton wool and it is used for filling things like mattresses, pillows and teddy bears! © 1. Alexey Stiop / Shutterstock.com, 2. structuresxx / Shutterstock.com, 3. Yui Yuize / Shutterstock.com, 4. slowmotiongli / Shutterstock.com, 5. Vanessa Volk / Shutterstock.com, 6. Sonia Vapaus / Shutterstock.com, 7. Bellamaree / Shutterstock.com and Olrut / Shutterstock.com, 8. CC BY-SA 4.0 / Rhododendrites, 9. CC BY-SA 3.0 / H. Zell, 10. FRRN / Shutterstock.com.

whizzpopbang.com 27

My AmaZ ing Life

Charles Darwin

Meet an amazing scientist whose ideas changed the way we see the natural world.

My passion for natural history started when I was very young. Even before I first went to school I collected plants, bugs and animals in the fields near my house in Shrewsbury. I was fascinated by how every living creature seemed to be perfectly suited to the environment around it.

Back then, in the early nineteenth century, you couldn’t just decide to be a scientist by studying science at university so I set out to train to become a doctor like my father at Edinburgh University. I soon realised that I wasn’t cut out for medicine though, especially the surgery, which was really gruesome. There were no anaesthetics and the surgeons used saws and knives to operate on people – it was really horrible!

I left Edinburgh after a year and went to Cambridge instead, to study to become a priest. My family weren’t very religious but it was the best way to get a good education.

I didn’t really like the religious training, but luckily I had plenty of time for my passion for natural history.

I had my first scientific paper published in a journal all about insects. Beetles might sound dull to you, but to me they are amazing little creatures. There are so many different species, each slightly different to the others.

28 whizzpopbang.com

CHAR LES DARW IN WAS BORN IN SHREW SBURY, ENGL AND, IN 1809.

After I left university, one of those amazing life-changing opportunities came along; I was offered a place on a ship called the HMS Beagle, which was leaving on a roundthe-world voyage to map and explore remote parts of the world. It was too good a chance to miss. So after persuading my father to pay (which took a bit of doing!), I set sail with Captain Robert Fitzroy on The Beagle on 27th December 1831, not knowing that I wouldn’t return to England for nearly five whole years.

The first few months were terrible. The little ship crossed the rough Atlantic Ocean, crashing and rolling through the violent waves. I felt so seasick that I thought I was going to die. When we finally reached the coast of South America the misery of the journey was soon forgotten as I started to explore the lush rainforests. I was soon busy collecting specimens and exploring the jungles and mountains of Brazil, making my way on foot as the Beagle surveyed the coast from out at sea.

Darwin liked to taste all kinds of strange meats. He is known to have eaten owl, puma, iguana and tortoise.

After several months, we reached Patagonia in the southern tip of Argentina, and I made my first really exciting discovery, a tooth of a giant extinct mammal called a Megatherium, which was like a giant sloth.

After rounding Cape Horn at the foot of South America, we sailed north until we reached the remote Galapagos Islands. I was particularly interested in the little finches that lived on the islands. I noticed that the finches on each island were slightly different – some had long beaks, ideal for making holes in cactus fruit to get at the juicy pulp, and others had short beaks which were better for eating the base of cacti. It was here that I started to think about how species of animals and plants might change over time rather than being fixed, as most people thought at the time.

Large Ground-finch one of Darwin’s finche s

© Linda Hall Lib

It was a big new idea, and caused a lot of controversy, especially as the idea that species evolved instead of being created by God went against most religious beliefs of the time. I didn’t like the stress and attention that came after my book was published, and my health suffered even more, but I was convinced that my ideas were right and that all living beings, even people, have been created by the gradual process of evolution.

Did you know that one of our writers – TV vet Joe Inglis – is one of Charles Darwin’s great great great grandsons!

When I finally made it back to England in 1836, I started cataloguing the vast number of specimens that I’d brought back from my travels. It was hard work, and my health started to suffer, but I knew I was on to something really important. As well as IGIN working on my finds from the Beagle ON THE OR S voyage, I also spent years working on OF SPECIE barnacles – like beetles, they really are by means of n tio much more interesting than you Natural Selec might think!

Finally, after years and years of study, my theory of evolution was ready to share with the world and I published On the Origin of Species in 1859.

I’d worked out that species change over time through a process I called natural selection. The best and ‘fittest’ animals and plants thrive because they are most suited to their environment, and species that aren’t as well adapted don’t do as well and tend to die out.

rary

Charles Darwin died in 1882.

His theory of evolution changed our understanding of life on Earth.

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

Hi Y, How does the Sun burn when there is no oxygen in space?

CURIoUS K I DS

From AJ, aged 9

You curious kids really enjoyed becoming Viking warriors after reading our Viking Voyagers edition (Issue 105). We loved seeing all the different helmets, axes and shields you made…

Xavier, aged 6

You’re right AJ – normal fires need oxygen to burn. But the Sun is not like any fire on Earth!

The Sun is made from plasma, superheated gas-like matter made up of charged particles.

The Sun’s enormous gravity squeezes the plasma until hydrogen atoms fuse together and become helium atoms. This nuclear fusion creates a LOT of heat and light – which is why the Sun appears to be burning, even though it’s not!

Vincent, aged 6

Cecilia, aged 7

Sarah, aged 8

Hana, aged 7 Joseph, aged 6

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

Hello Y, I would like to ask why does honey look orange in the jar but pale yellow when you take it out?

Emily, aged 8

We were very impressed with your woven wall hangings from Emmi’s Eco Club (Issue 105).

Felicity, aged 8

Honey is mostly sugar and water, but it also contains small amounts of vitamins, minerals and pigments (colour molecules). In a jar, there are lots of pigment molecules to reflect colour back to your eyes and lots of molecules which block the light coming through from the other side of the jar. That makes a stronger, darker colour – like orange. A thin layer on a spoon has fewer molecules to reflect colour, so it’s paler yellow, but the surface of the spoon also reflects light, making the honey look even lighter. Natural honey can be any colour from very pale to dark brown.

Daphne, aged 10, enjoyed how calming it was and the satisfaction of the pattern it made.

In 2012, beekeepers in France were alarmed to find their bees were making honey in shocking shades of blue or green! It turned out that, instead of collecting nectar from flowers, the bees had been snacking on coloured sweets from a nearby M&M factory!

Tilly, aged 7, loved making butter like a Viking and eating it on toast. The whole family helped to shake the jar of cream – it was hard work!

Dear Y, I know plesiosaur fossils can be found on land because the continents moved, but how did the fossils end up on land instead of moving with the water?

Jacob, aged 7 Imogen, aged 7, was inspired by reading about toric Mary Anning in the Prehis tion edi ep Monsters of the De the to nt we she (Issue 104), so for rch sea to ast Co Jurassic fossils. She found some huge ammonites!

Darcie, a made the ged 9, V Delight e ampire’s dible fake blood fro m Bubble B Fizz o (Issue 77). om!

It w delicious as !

Get problem solving to earn your Epic Engineer badge.

Our planet’s surface is made of tectonic plates, like giant pieces of a puzzle that make up the Earth’s crust. These plates move around very slowly, changing the positions of the oceans and continents over millions of years. Where the plates pull apart, new crust forms in the gap. However, because the Earth stays the same size, the moving plates are pushed together in other places. This might make one plate lift and slide over the top of another, or both plates might get squashed and crumple to form mountain ranges. As a tectonic plate lifts, it can bring the ancient seabed – and the fossils in it – onto land. Over time, as wind and water wear away the sedimentary rock, fossilised plesiosaurs that were once buried deep under the seabed become exposed.

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.

Write a report or a review to earn your Science Reporter badge.

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whizzpopbang.com 31

Test your mum/ dad/parro t to

see what they know !

1 3 5

How much can you remember from this issue?

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.

What is a ‘flea toad’? a) A tiny frog b) A tiny toad c) A tiny flea

2 4

7

he Sick Bucket c) T

What do green iguanas have on top of their heads? a) A ‘third nostril’

a) Himalayas to the Indian Ocean b) Andes to the Atlantic Ocean ockies to the Pacific Ocean c) R

6

b) A ‘third eye’ c) A ‘third ear’

Why do sloths climb down to the ground once a week? a) To drink from the river b) To socialise with other sloths c) To have a poo

…

The Amazon River flows from the

lled What was the ship ca in on rw that took Charles Da yage? a round-the-world vo a) The Barnacle b) The Beagle

Where do capybaras buy their flowers?

The rain-florist!

Why do capybaras have webbed feet? a) To help them run faster b) T o help them dig deep burrows

c) To help them swim

Why is a jaguar’s roar called a ‘saw’?

a) Because if you hear it, it means it saw you! b) Because it sounds like a squeaky see-saw

8

c) Because it sounds like the sawing of wood

What is the toothache plant also known as?

I scored...

a) Buzz buttons b) Z ap lily c) S nap daisy

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

1) Page 5 2) Page 6 3) Page 28 4) Page 12 5) Page 35 6) Page 15 7) Page 9 8) Page 26

1-3: Understory!

4-6: Canopy!

7-8: Emergent tree!

W !

IN

Jungle fun We’ve got four fantastic animal kits to give away!

To be in with a chance of winning one, simply solve the puzzle and send in your answer.

Riley is heading off on an expedition to the Amazon and he’s packed some handy supplies in his rucksack. Can you work out which South American country he’s visiting?

Tip: The numbers next to each item will help you. We’ve done the first one for you.

KED RILEY PAC m f s u n c re a 4 tu b e s o 1 c a m e ra s 2 s u n h at 2 m a ps of socks 1 dry pair of water 2 bottles t 1 raincoa

E ______ Answer: _

Build Your Own Endangered Animal These slot-together kits feature pull tabs to make your completed animal move; the mountain gorilla beats its chest, the hawksbill turtle’s flippers flap and the white rhino’s head moves up and down, while the snowy owl’s head rotates 270°. These kits from buildyourownkits.com support the vital work of the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF).

Kits will be assigned to winners at random.

Send your entry to win@whizzpopbang.com with ‘Amazon competition’ as the subject of your email. Alternatively, post it to Amazon 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: September 8th 2024. UK residents only.

Full terms and conditions available at whizzpopbang.com.

WINNERS

Issue 107 competition winners Thank you to everyone who sent in entries to our Water competition. We loved your fantastic pictures! These six lucky winners each receive either a Pick a Flower or Match a Track memory game from Laurence King (prizes assigned to winners at random):

Maxwell Wrigglesworth, aged 7

Priscilla Suresh, aged 9

Kai, aged 7

Sofia Rivera Langton, aged 9

Siân Marbrow, aged 7

Angus Wright, aged 14

whizzpopbang.com 33

S E K O J naconda’s What’s a giant a ble? favourite vegeta Squash!

Why did the ja wear a T-s guar hirt?

It didn’t wa nt t be spotted! o

Why are tree frogs so happy? er They eat whatev bugs them!

How can you lea rn about jungle spid more ers?

Check out their web site!

What happens when a jaguar eats a lemon?

It becomes a sour puss!

Why do mon ke like banana ys s?

They have a ppeal!

Page 6 – True/Untrue

Page 13 – Capybara puzzle

UNTRUE: The Amazon is the biggest, but the deepest is the Congo in Africa, reaching 220 m deep in some places.

The word in the yellow boxes is RODENT.

1

F

Page 10 – True/Untrue

3

TRUE: Very few roads cross the river, and where they do, people cross by boat.

Page 13 – True/Untrue UNTRUE: They are nicknamed ‘moving chairs’ but it’s because they don’t seem to mind other animals sitting on their backs, including birds, rabbits, monkeys and even other capybaras!

5

A

L

O

R

I

2

P

O O

S

O U N D

S

4

W A

R

N

A

C O N D

6

F

E

T E

E

D

Answers Page 19 – Hercules beetle puzzle Shadow C belongs to the beetle.

A

T

Page 15 – Jaguar spot the difference These are the eight differences:

A

Page 20 – Riddles 1) A map 2) Two, because you took two away.

3) Because you can’t take photos with a monkey, you need a camera!

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

Jungle dragon!

Green tree iguanas live high up in the trees of the Amazon rainforest. They can reach up to 1.8 m long, from their nose to the tip of their long tail. They spend most of the day in the canopy or basking in the sunshine near a river and will jump into the water if they sense danger. Iguanas are excellent swimmers and can stay underwater for several minutes. Unlike most other lizards, green iguanas have a sensory organ on top of their head known as the ‘third eye’ (parietal eye). It can detect changes in light and movement, helping the iguana spot predators above.

R A L U C A T C E SP

e c n e i c s

© Peter OToole / Shutterstock.com

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