Whizz Pop Bang Science Magazine for Kids! Issue 97: SAFARI by Whizz Pop Bang

MAKE AN AFRICAN GAME

How walkie talkies work

ISSN 2399 -2840

THE AWESOME SCIENCE MAGAZINE FOR KIDS!

Take the camouflage challenge

ri Craft a safa x in a shoe bo WHIZZPOPBANG.COM ISSUE 97

EXPERIMENTS PUZZLES AMAZING FACTS SCIENCE NEWS

WELCOME!

Come with us as we head off on an African adventure! Riley

Ge t re ady to journey throug h the African savannah inside this wild edition of Whizz Po p Bang! Look out for thunde ring wilde be est, circling vulture s and misc hie vous me erkats whilst you find out about the incredible adaptations that allow animals to survive in this sc orching habitat. You’ll also be able to pr int leopard-print pape r, make a fun African game and create a safari diorama pack ed with wild animals and with re al liv ing grass!

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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

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I’ve made my own leopard-print design!

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

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

CONTENTS

AWESOME NEWS AND AMAZING FACTS

Read about beatboxing orangutans, plant-powered cars and the kids fighting climate change in court!

SURVIVING THE SAVANNAH

Take the camouflage challenge, challenge find out how animals survive in hot weather and more as you explore this African habitat!

ANIMAL ANTICS

Meet one of the largest and most ferocious predators around – the glorious lion!

SILLY SCIENCE

Can you spot the camouflaged creatures hiding in our photo gallery?

hu ©S tte

rst oc

c k.

Make an African game using an egg carton!

PULLOUT

Craft a safari in a shoebox, shoebox complete with its own watering hole and real grass!

Meet Dorothy Lowakutuk, an elephant keeper at a very special Kenyan animal sanctuary.

HOW STUFF WORKS Discover how walkie talkies work!

TEN AWESOMELY AMAZING…

26 28

Atom

EMMI’S ECO CLUB

INTERVIEW WITH A SCIENCE HERO

Safari animals! Get stuck into some fascinating facts about these incredible African creatures.

SENSATIONAL SCIENTISTS

Thomas Odhiambo used science to find Earth-friendly ways to control pesky insect pests.

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

QUIZ POP BANG AND COMPETITION I’d love to see pictures of your knowledge with our super-duper 32 Test science quiz and win a pocket microscope! your experiments! Send them to Y@whizzpopbang.com and ask an JOKES AND ANSWERS adult to tag us on social media out loud at some awesome jokes and find the 34 Laugh @whizzpopbangmag answers to all of our quizzes, puzzles and riddles.

SPECTACULAR SCIENCE

Have a look at the incredible fruit of the sausage tree!

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

Y’S WONDER CLUB

s Awesome New cts and Amazing Fa FLOWER POWER © Shutterstock.com

Plants are powered by sunlight – but could cars get their energy the same way? Scientists at Cambridge University are working on a new fuel made using sunlight, which could power the cars of the future. The petrol that most cars run on harms the environment by releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. But this new technology would do the opposite: artificial photosynthesis (the process plants use to make energy) would convert carbon dioxide and water into liquid © M oti a r Ra ha m an ‘solar fuels’ using sunlight. To do this, the researchers have developed artificial leaves in An which this chemical reaction takes place. artificial

KIDS FIGHT BACK! Children in Montana, USA, have taken their state to court for supporting the fossil fuel industry instead of protecting their health and the environment. This is the first court case of its kind to go to trial. The 16 kids and young people, aged 5 to 21, have argued that, by continuing to burn fossil fuels, Montana has knowingly violated its own state laws, which say that all people have the right to a “clean and healthful environment,” which the state will look after for present and future generations. The trial is over now, but the judge’s decision is expected to take several weeks. Whatever the outcome, this case paves the way for kids and adults across the world to hold their governments responsible for contributing to the climate crisis – and make them take action to reduce carbon emissions.

leaf Rahaman, r ia t o M r D y d u on the st who worked Shining sunlight on the artificial leaves and getting liquid fuel from News Flash carbon dioxide and water Later this year, kids in Portugal will take 32 European countries, is an amazing bit including the UK, to the European Court of Human Rights of chemistry. for failing to take action to reduce global heating. © Robin Loznak; Courtesy of Our Children’s Trust

Find out more here: youth4climatejustice.org

Listen to the orangutan sounds here

bit.ly/3XEgOza

WEE-LY IMPRESSIVE! © NASA

Have you ever heard someone beatboxing? It’s when people make drum-like sounds with their mouths and voices. You can listen to some beatboxing here: bit.ly/3PCWxb7 Scientists from the University of Warwick have discovered that orangutans can make two separate sounds at the same time, in the same way that human beatboxers do. What’s more, this could provide clues about the way human speech evolved. “The very fact that humans are anatomically able to beatbox raises questions about where that ability came from,” said researcher Dr Madeleine Hardus. “We know now the answer could lie within the evolution of our ancestors”. “It could be possible that early human language resembled something that sounded more like beatboxing,” added researcher Dr Adriano Lameira. © Shutterstock.com

es,

BEATBOXING ORANGUTANS

ayla Barron K t u a n o r t s A ilter replaces a f Astronauts living on the International Space Station (ISS) are now able to reuse 98% of the water from their wee, sweat and breath, turning it back into clean drinking water! Wee is collected from the toilets and filtered to extract and clean the water in it, making it safe for drinking. Special dehumidifiers capture moisture in the air from astronauts’ breath and sweat to process and reuse. This might sound gross, but the end product is even cleaner than our tap water! Before this was possible, huge amounts of fresh water had to be flown to the ISS from Earth, which was very expensive. That wouldn’t be possible on longer space missions, so this milestone achievement takes us one step closer to exploring Mars and beyond!

CAN YOU SOLVE THIS SCIENCE MYSTERY? Scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London, are baffled by the discovery of a new species of palm plant on the tropical island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia, that flowers and fruits underground. Most plants have evolved to grow their flowers and fruits above ground, so that insects can pollinate their flowers and their seeds can be dispersed. This plant’s seeds are dispersed by wild pigs, who dig up the fruits to eat then poo out the seeds around the forest. But how the plant is pollinated remains a complete mystery! “This unexpected find poses many more questions than it answers,” said lead researcher Dr William Baker. “What is pollinating the palm? How does the pollinator find the flowers underground? How did this phenomenon evolve and what on Earth will palms surprise us with next?”

Maybe you’ll solve the mystery one day…!

The plant’s name is a Pinanga subterrane © xxxxx

whizzpopbang.com 5

Giraffe

By Anna Claybourne

If you were standing in the middle of the African savannah right now, you’d see endless grassy plains, dotted with rocks, bushes and trees – and probably lots of animals too! This hot, flat grassland is an important habitat for a huge range of living things…

Savannah is one of the world’s main biomes (types of habitat). There are savannah areas in several parts of the world, but the biggest and best-known are in Africa.

Zebra African bush elephant

PLANT-EATE RS

Ostrich

All that grass and greenery means lots of food for plant-eating herbivores.

Antelope

Warthog

W ildebeest White rhino

CH ECK OUT TH E EYES…

Predators’ eyes are usually at the front of their heads, helping them to spot prey in the distance and pounce accurately.

Mmmm, looks like lunch!

But prey animals’ eyes are usually on the sides of their heads instead. That gives them a wide range of vision, helping them to spot predators creeping up behind them!

Yikes, looks

like danger!

Hold up both hands in front of you and straighten one arm so that one hand is further away – see how easily you can judge the distance between them. Now close one eye. Suddenly one hand looks smaller instead of further away. This is because

depth perception

is harder if you can’t see things with both eyes.

The savannah is a habitat, or home, for lots of different animals.

HUNG RY HUNT ERS

Lion

Martial eagle

African And all those herbivores wild dog

are tempting prey for meat-eating carnivores.

Africa

Predators like these often have sharp claws and teeth for catching prey.

Savannah

Crocodile

Cheetah

What do cheetahs call antelopes? Fast food!

CA N’T SEE ME! Both predators and prey use camouflage to help them hide from each other.

Can you spot the cleverly camouflaged creatures? Try this challenge!

Yo u will need

wo pieces of paper in a strong or T dark colour White paint or a silver or gold marker Scissors A sheet of clear plastic, if you have one (optional)

What you do 1. Use the pen or paint to draw spots all over both pieces of paper. 2. Cut out some small, simple animal shapes, such as snakes and butterflies, from one of the pieces.

Hyena

CAMOUFLAGE CHALLENGE

A cheetah can run as fast as a car on a motorway! Answer on page 34

3. Put them on the other piece so that they blend into the background! 4. If you have a clear plastic sheet, lay it over the top to keep the paper flat. 5. Now stand about 1 m away. Can you still see where the animals are?

Spots and stripes break up an animal’s outline and make it harder to see.

6. Challenge a friend or family member to try it too.

Light brown and golden shades match the dry grasses.

Countershading means an

animal is paler underneath, so its shadowed underside doesn’t look darker and stand out.

Camouflage can make some animals almost impossible to see! Try spotting some more creatures on page 14!

You could also try

the same thing with old newspaper or patterned wrapping paper. whizzpopbang.com 7

HOW HOT?

FLAP THOS E EARS!

The savannah has a warm

Having big ears is a brilliant way to keep cool! Big ears have a big surface area, making it easier for body heat to escape. Elephants are famous for their ear-normous ears, and some other savannah animals have them too…

wet season and a cooler dry season.

In the wet season, the temperature can reach a sweltering 38° C.

African elephant, proud owner of the world’s biggest ears!

At night in the dry season, it can drop to about 20° C – still pretty warm! Greater kudu antelope Bat-eared fox

TAKE A DIP!

When it’s hot, there’s nothing like jumping into some lovely cool water! During the rainy season, the rain fills up hollows in the ground, making ponds known as watering holes. Animals come here to drink, but also for a cool bath.

Fancy a shower?

Elephants use their trunks to suck up water and spray themselves or each other.

THE NIGHT SHIFT Some animals only come out at night when it’s cooler.

Aardvarks stay in their burrows during the day and emerge at night to feed on ants and termites.

Warthog

Not coming out, too sunny!

That’s better!

WHAT ABOUT PLANT S?

COOLING DOWN RACE

Savannah plants are at risk of drying out in the heat – but they have a few survival tricks… In the dry season, the grass turns brown and can catch fire if there’s a lightning strike. But its underground roots stay alive, and as soon as the rain comes, the grass grows again.

How does the shape of something help it to cool down? Find out here!

Baobab trees store water in their thick trunks.

Yo u will need

wo potatoes the same size T Plate Table knife A food thermometer (optional)

What you do 1. Ask your adult to boil both potatoes until they’re cooked, then drain them and put them on the plate. 2. While they’re still hot, cut one potato into slices and spread them out. Leave the other whole. Leave them for a minute or two.

Acacia trees

have long, wide roots to collect water from deep underground, even in the dry season. Acacia trees can also ‘talk’ to each other to warn of a giraffe attack! When a giraffe starts eating an acacia, the tree releases a gas into the air. Other acacias sense it and fill their leaves with bitter chemicals that put giraffes off!

Watering holes are ponds where animals can drink water and cool down.

What’s three metres tall and wears glass slippers? Cinderellephant!

3. Now check how hot they are! Feel the slices with your fingers and cut the whole potato in half and feel the inside (or, if you have a food thermometer, use that).

Yo u should find

The sliced-up potato cools down a lot faster! Cutting it into slices gives it more surface area, just like an elephant’s ear – so it’s easier for heat to escape.

whizzpopbang.com 9

Every year, millions of tourists visit the African savannah to go wildlife-watching – otherwise known as a safari. Imagine how exciting it is seeing real elephants, giraffes, lions, crocodiles and eagles in the wild!

WATCHING THE WILDLIFE

Look over there!

a It has an open top so you can stand up to get a good view.

Safaris ARE exciting and fun – but you have to take care! It’s important not to bother the animals or leave a mess. It could also be very dangerous if you got too close to a grumpy elephant or a hungry croc! And because many animals are camouflaged, they can be hard to find. So how does it work?

An expert wildlife guide helps you to spot the animals.

Tourists usually go on safari tours in an all-terrain vehicle, like this

A safari is a wildlife-watching trip.

There are other types of safari trips too, such as boat rides, or even a hot-air balloon safari!

Shhh! You have to stay calm and quiet so you don’t scare the wildlife away.

THE GREAT MIGRATION

Every year, wildebeests (a type of large antelope), zebras and gazelles migrate in huge herds around the East African savannah. They do this to follow the patterns of rainfall, which makes thick, delicious grass grow. The migration is a top attraction for safari-goers. It’s an amazing sight as millions of animals thunder across the grasslands and plunge through the rivers. Along the way, predators like leopards and lions wait for them and catch as many meals as they can.

Watch migrating wildebeests crossing a river in Tanzania here: bit.ly/3I6uIU6

Follow the footprints

LEOPARD-PRINT PAPER

Safari guides often look for footprints to help them find wildlife. Follow the footprints to find out which animals made the tracks. Check your answers on page 34.

Make this totally wild leopard-print paper – perfect for cove ring notebooks, wrapping presents or ma king decorations!

b 1

3 4

5 6

Leopard spots are called rosettes. They look like this

Yo u will need

Old newspaper Yellow paper Celery Saucer Black and light brown paint or ink Paintbrush

What you do

1. Spread out some newspaper, then put the yellow paper on top. 2. Ask an adult to cut a short section off a celery stick (you can eat the rest!).

Are safaris a good idea?

3. Put some black paint in a saucer and dip the celery in it. Stamp a ring of celery marks to make each rosette, like this

at safaris are not Some people worry th . very good for wildlife

4. When the spots are dry, paint a light brown splodge in the middle of each one.

GOOD…

for local people.  They provide jobs ey that can be  They bring in mon ife. used to protect wildl

re, out wildlife and natu  If people learn ab look after it. they’re more likely to

NOT SO GOOD…

What do you think? How would you make sure safaris cause as little damage as possible?

ls, roads, toilets  Tourists need hote ich changes and other things, wh . the surrounding area e a noise and  Safari vehicles mak ust fumes. release polluting exha als. rb or annoy the anim  Tourists can distu

Each leopard has its own unique pattern of spots. Answer on page 34

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Lions

AL ANIM S TIC

Peering nervously through the long grass of an African plain, our vet Joe Inglis is tracking down all the info about one of the world’s most magnificent predators.

Lions are big cats that live in the wilds of the African grasslands, as well as in a small area of India. They were once much more widespread, roaming across all of Africa, the Middle East, southern Europe and North America, but habitat loss and conflict with humans has massively reduced their range.

Big cats Lions are one of the largest and most fearsome cats on the planet, rivalled in size only by their cousin the tiger. Male lions are larger than females, at up to 2 m long (plus another metre of tail) and weighing over 200 kg.

Cat naps Like our domestic cats, lions love a good nap – they usually spend around 20 hours a day resting! Hunting, eating and socialising with family and friends takes up just a few hours, usually at the start and end of each day.

Purr-fect predators

Lions are apex predators, which means they are right at the top of the food chain with no natural predators themselves (except people). They mainly prey on large animals like wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, gemsbok, deer and giraffe. They hunt by carefully stalking their prey to get as close as possible, before leaping out of cover for the kill.

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HARD TO SPOT ! Cubs are born with a rosette pattern on their coats which fades as they get older. This helps them stay camouflaged in long grass.

The mane event

Totally roar some

Male lions usually have a magnificent furry mane around their neck. These shaggy neck-warmers are thought to have evolved as a way of showing off to females how fit and healthy they are. The colour of the fur in the mane reflects how healthy the lion is, with a darker mane being linked to better health and a longer life.

Unlike many cats, lions are very sociable and communicate with each other through grooming, body language and roaring. The loudest roars can be heard 8 km away and are used to warn other lions away from their territory.

74 km/h

The top speed recorded for a lion. They can only run this fast for a few seconds so need to be close to their prey before starting the chase.

What does a lion call his barber? His mane man!

Find the shortest route across the lion’s mane from the start to the finish. Check your answer on page 34. Start

F inish

Packs of pride Most lions live in groups of around 15 individuals called a pride, with male and female adults as well as cubs living and hunting together. Male lions often spend years as nomads, roaming alone or in pairs, before finding a pride to join.

Male lions do most of the hunting for the pride. Answer on page 34

ican Some of these photos have Afr me animals hiding in them, and so don’t. Can you spot the crafty camouflaged creatures?

What did the leopard say after lunch? That hit the spot!

One of the earliest parts of the brain to evolve gave us the ability to recognise the edges of things. Many animals have contrasting patterns of light and dark to break up their outlines, helping them blend into their surroundings. But it’s hard to hide a whole herd of animals, such as zebras! When threatened, they huddle together, creating a confusing mass of stripes that makes it difficult to tell where one zebra starts and another one ends. Zebrasʼ stripes also help to keep biting insects away. Scientists think the flies are confused by the pattern, making it harder for them to land.

Hide k e e s and 3

These two zebras aren’t quite the same. Find and circle five differences between them and then check your answers on page 34.

Put a tick or a cross in each box and then check your answers on page 34.

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b... clu O C E

Emmi’s

Mancala is a game for two players that originated in Africa. Find out how to make your own set!

EGG BOX MANCALA GAME Yo u will need

cardboard egg box that A holds 12 eggs Scissors Glue (PVA or homemade glue) 8 pegs How to make Paints your own glue:

bit.ly/3WQgeO6

arker pens or paint pens M (optional) 48 small objects to use as game tokens – you could use dried beans or chickpeas, small pebbles, buttons or even pieces of cereal!

1 Carefully cut the lid off the egg box, then cut it in half. Remove the label from the box lid, if there is one.

Trim the edges of the sections of the egg box lid, so that they’re roughly the same height all the way around.

3 4

Turn the bottom of the egg box over. Put glue on the bottoms and outer edges of four of the egg cups at one end of the box. Place a lid piece over the glued area (making sure you leave eight egg cups uncovered), then hold it in place with four pegs. Repeat at the other end (leaving four egg cups uncovered) and leave to dry.

16 whizzpopbang.com

Paint the whole box and leave it to dry.

Continued on page 21 ➜

e m a g e h t p u g in t t e S

Use paint pens or markers to colour the egg cups as above (any two colours will do). Decorate the outside too if you like!

I’d love to see your mancala game! Take a photo and ask an adult to tag us on social media @whizzpopbangmag and email it to Y@whizzpopbang.com We can all help to save the planet. Lots of small actions can make a BIG difference!

ECO

ideas...

It’s tempting to buy new toys and games, but making these things uses a lot of resources, and they’re often shipped thousands of miles across the planet to reach us. Here are some planetfriendly ideas for finding new ways to play: ling bin ake your own games from things in your recyc M to tubes – can you find enough plastic bottles or loo roll make a set of skittles? friends Hold a toy swap! With adults’ permission, ask your to bring three toys that they don’t play with anymore. Everyone can take something different home! Play an old game in a new way! Try playing snakes and ladders going up the snakes and down the ladders or keepy uppy with your eyes closed!

Continued from page 16

Sit opposite the other player with the game between you, lengthways. The cups (called ‘pockets’) on your side belong to you. Place four game tokens (called ‘stones’) into each of the twelve pockets. The larger sections at each end (called ‘mancalas’) should be empty. The mancala to your right belongs to you. The object of the game is to collect the most stones in your mancala.

Ho w to p lay

To start, you go first by picking up all the stones from any one of the pockets on your side. Drop one stone into the next pocket to the right, then one stone in the next pocket to the right, continuing anti-clockwise around the board. If you reach your mancala, drop a stone in, but if you reach the other player’s mancala, skip over it. Keep going until you have no stones left. If your last stone lands in an empty pocket, take all of the stones from the opposite pocket, as well as your last stone, then put them in your mancala. If your last stone lands in your mancala, have another turn. Take it in turns to play until all of the six pockets on one side are empty. The player who still has stones in their pockets can move them all to their mancala. The player with the most stones in their mancala is the winner!

Watch how to play here:

bit.ly/43LqTMo

whizzpopbang.com 21

➜

Riddles Check your answers on page 34.

1. I use my long tongue to eat leaves from the trees. It’s too high for you, but for me it’s a breeze! What am I? 2. You’re riding a horse at full speed. An elephant is beside you, a giraffe is in front of you and a lion is behind you. What happens when the music stops? 3. The alphabet goes from A to Z but I go from Z to A. What am I?

18 whizzpopbang.com

We’d love to see your dioramas! Send your photos to Y@whizzpopbang.com and ask an adult to tag us on social media @whizzpopbangmag

PULL OUT pages 17-20 and get making!

WATERING HOLE SCENE!

During the dry season, streams and other water sources in the savannah dry up, leaving just ponds and small lakes called watering holes for animals to drink from. Create your own watering hole scene; you could even add real grass!

Yo u will need

The safari background and animals over the page A shoebox or similar cardboard box

Extra things to add to your scene, such as twigs, stones or toy animals!

Find a printable version of the pullout here: bit.ly/43SREi3

Optional:

Scissors Glue Paint A jar lid or saucer

A shallow tray about the same size as your shoebox, such as a clean food tray Compost or garden soil Grass seed

What yo u do

1. If you are growing grass for your savannah, fill your tray with some compost or garden soil, sprinkle on some patches of grass seeds and finish with a little more compost or soil. Water it and keep it moist. The seeds should start sprouting in about a week. 2. Cut off one long side of the cardboard box. 3. Cut out the background on pages 18 and 19 and stick it to the inside of the box with glue. If your shoebox is big, paint any extra bits at the sides or cut them off. 4. Place your tray of grass inside the box.

If you’re not growing grass, paint the base of the box shades of brown and green to look like a savannah. 5. Fill the jar lid or saucer with water and put it in your scene. 6. Cut out the animals on pages 18 and 19. If you like, you can make them stronger by sticking them to the spare cardboard you cut off the box. Fold the tabs so your animals can stand up and place them around your scene. 7. Add any other items you’ve collected for the finishing touches!

whizzpopbang.com 17

Fill in the grid with the animal names below (one has been done for you), then write down the letters from the yellow boxes to find the answer to this joke:

Where do safari animals do their shopping? BUFFALO CHEETAH CROCODILE GIRAFFE HIPPOPOTAMUS HYENA IMPALA 1

JACKAL LEOPARD LION RHINOCEROS VULTURE WILDEBEEST ZEBRA 5

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E L E P H A N T

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Interview with a SCIENCE HERO

In my job I get to...

Dorothy Lowakutu k, Elephant keeper

“

look after elephants!

”

I belong to the Samburu community, and we say that elephants are our inheritance.

”

in the bush and I collected wild elephant dung elled like a sm it t put it in the stable so tha nts. I also pha y ele safe, familiar area to the bab illed to thr : I was prepared the elephants’ meals bottles of milk learn about their diets. I made rs, too! Now, I for the babies every three hou ing taking blood, perform health checks, includ to monitor the urine and fecal (poo) samples elephants’ health.

22 whizzpopbang.com

”

Nairobi

It can be scary, but we are guided by our elders who understand them better. We learn a lot from growing up around wild animals. For example, elephants’ large bodies make paths through the thick bush which are useful for people and our domestic animals – it would be hard to make our own paths through this rough terrain.

“

Dorothy works at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, Africa’s first community-owned elephant sanctuary, in northern Kenya. To find out more about the sanctuary, please visit www.reteti.org

We live here with our domestic animals (goats, camels and cows) and share the land with wild animals, like elephants, buffaloes, leopards, hyenas, giraffes and more. Some of our community are like brothers to elephants and can communicate with them. They can command elephants to go away if they come too close to our village, to stop them from damaging anything or harming anyone.

Every Samburu child meets elephants when they’re young.

One of my first jobs at the sanctuary was collecting poo!

“

Long’uro has adapted to life

with a short trunk

Interview with a SCIENCE HERO

“

Observing and learning the elephants’ behaviour is the keeper' s most important skill.

”

y in the mud, Itʼs beautiful watching them pla er, throw feed bottles of milk to each oth ited when a soil on their bodies and get exc ctuary. We san new elephant arrives at the and can sad understand if they’re happy or ance. recognise individuals from a dist

Dorothy’s

er elephants – Dorothy doesn’t only look aft too! there are giraffes there

“

I have a few favourite elephants.

”

I love Shaba, whom we rescued from poachers. She accepted us, moved on with her life and now lives in the wild. We rescued Long’uro when he was just one month old. He lost part of his trunk to hyenas when he got stuck down a well and has adapted brilliantly to having a short trunk. I love Lodokejek too – I call him my little boy. Not all of the stories have happy endings – I have had my heart broken a few times. Feeding milk to the babies is one of Dorothy’s jobs

ELEPHANT FACTS ou can tell at least three species apart Y by their ears. lephants use their trunks as much as E we use our hands. Their skin is up to 2.5 cm thick in places! They communicate through vibrations underground and ‘hear’ with their feet. heir tusks are T actually teeth. hey flap their T ears to lower their body temperature. © Nyuso za Nairobi

Walkie Talkies WORKS HOW STUFF

When you’re on a scientific expedition in the wilderness with no mobile phone signal, simple hand-held radio communication devices are the best way to stay in touch with base camp. Here’s how they work…

Walkie talkies are two-way radios, which means they can send messages as well as receive them – unlike the radio you might listen to in the car or at home.

On the side of a walkie talkie is the ‘push to talk’ or PTT button, which sets the device into transmitting mode.

When the PTT button is held down, the main loudspeaker works like a microphone, converting sound waves from your voice into electronic signals.

Inside the walkie talkie, a radio transceiver circuit converts the data from the microphone into electronic radio signals.

Walkie talkies can use around 20 different radio frequencies to send and receive messages, and these are selected using buttons and an LCD screen. It’s vital that everyone trying to communicate together is using the same frequency, otherwise you won’t be able to hear each other.

The radio signals are transmitted via an antenna at the top of the walkie talkie. This is made from metal wrapped in tough plastic. It turns the electronic signals from the transceiver circuit into radio waves that radiate out into the air, travelling at the speed of light.

The radio waves from one walkie talkie can travel several miles through the air until they are picked up by the antenna on another walkie talkie (tuned to the same frequency) and converted back into electronic data by the transceiver circuit.

The incoming radio signal is converted into sound by the loudspeaker, so you can hear what your friend is saying. Unlike mobile phones, you can’t speak and listen at the same time, so you have to remember to say ‘Over,’ and then take your finger off the PTT button when you stop talking, so that you can hear the reply.

Walkie talkies were developed for military use in the Second World War. They were so large they had to be carried in specially made backpacks!

Make a string telephone Cut a piece of string between 5 and 20 metres long. Make a hole in the base of two paper cups using a pencil. Thread the string through the holes and tie a knot or use tape to secure it. Take a cup each, stand far enough apart so the string is tightly stretched, and test out your telephone! Your voice causes the air inside the cup to vibrate. These vibrations travel through the bottom of the cup and along the taut string to the other cup. We hear the vibrations as sound.

whizzpopbang.com 25

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

I N A I SAFAR 1 2 3 4 is teeming with The African savannah e… Let’s meet a few mor incredible creatures.

Small birds are often seen hitching a ride on enormous animals, including rhinoceroses, snacking on insects found on the animals’ skin as they go! This black rhino has some oxpecker birds on its back.

Chatty meerkats use at least ten different sounds to communicate, including growls, clucks, murmurs and barks.

Tiny termites work together for up to five years to build vast mounds that can be over 5 m high and house up to a million individuals! They contain tunnels, chambers and even fungus farms.

Like many primates,

baboons forage for their

food, which includes vegetation, insects, fish, birds and small mammals. They then store it in their cheeks to eat later.

26 whizzpopbang.com

Vultures’ strong sense of smell leads them

to animal carcasses recently killed by carnivores (like big cats). They use their hooked beaks to strip leftover flesh from the bones, then insects eat anything that remains. Together, they work as a clean-up crew!

S L A M I N 7 6 Dung beetles are another of

nature’s cleaners, collecting animal poo to eat, feed to their young, build nests, attract mates and even cool their feet on hot days!

Giraffes have the

same number of neck vertebrae (the small bones that make up their spines) as humans – just seven. But theirs are much longer than ours!

Colourful vervet monkeys use several parts of their bodies to communicate – even their eyelids! They move their eyebrows and open and close their eyes, flashing their light-coloured eyelids, to warn others of danger.

9 10

Male

Female

In adult male buffalos the bases of the horns grow very close together, forming a shield known as a ‘boss’. The larger and thicker the horns, the higher the status of the buffalo.

Nothing goes to waste when hyenas are around – they have incredibly powerful jaws that can crush bones up to about 6 cm in diameter. They eat the rich marrow inside, and their strong stomach acid means they can even digest the bone itself.

All photographs © Shutterstock.com

whizzpopbang.com 27

Sensational Scientists

By Joanna Tubbs

Thomas Odhiambo Thomas Odhiambo was an entomologist (insect expert) and environmentalist who used his scientific ideas to help African farmers.

Thom a was a s sta stude r n at sch t ool

Thomas grew up with his nine brothers and sisters in Mombasa, a city on the Indian Ocean. After school, he travelled to Uganda to study biology at university, where he learned lots about insects.

THOMAS RISLEY ODHIAMBO WAS BORN IN MOMBASA, KENYA, IN 1931.

Thomas was the first Kenyan student to study at Queen’s College at Cambridge University. He completed a PhD about the desert locust – a major pest in Africa. He then went to teach zoology at the University of East Africa, back in Kenya.

Mirid bugs Identified by T.R. Odhiambo

Petasma pertusa Odhiambo, 1961

Prodromus kawandanus Odhiambo, 1962

In Africa, Thomas identified and collected many new species of mirid bugs. This massive insect family includes over 10,000 known species, including pests that cause major damage to crops.

Thomas decided he wanted to help farmers to control pests without using dangerous chemicals or spending a lot of money.

Campylomma citrinella Odhiambo, 1960

Circle the Petasma pertusa bug that matches the one in the frame above. Check your answer on page 34.

Thomas noticed that many talented African scientists who travelled abroad to study didn’t come home. He wanted to build a great African community of scientists. He thought that setting up centres of excellence focussing on specific areas of science could help to make this happen. He was also determined to use science to help to find environmentally friendly methods of pest control that even the poorest farmers could use. In 1970, Thomas combined these passions by founding the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (known as ICIPE) in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

How many locusts can you spot? Check your answer on page 34.

Scientists at ICIPE developed a new system of farming called push-pull, which controls pests without using chemical pesticides. Plants are used to repel pest insects or draw them away from crops. It has helped many thousands of farmers in East Africa.

Push-pull farming ck to er s utt © Sh

Maize Main crop often attacked by maize stem-borer caterpillars

.c om

Maize stem-borer caterpillars

Desmodium plants drive caterpillars away and keep weeds down

Napier grass attracts caterpillars, keeping them away from the crops

Thomas also founded the World Academy of Sciences, the Kenya National Academy of Sciences and the African Academy of Sciences. He won many awards, published over 100 scientific papers, founded a children’s science publishing house in Kenya and wrote six books about science for children!

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

whizzpopbang.com/shop

F oR

CURIoUS K I DS

Dear Y, I was wondering how some algae glow when disturbed.

Jack, aged 6, with his marble run from the Ancient Greece edition.

Michael, aged 7, made r the cat burgla g in ar D e th from Detectives edition.

Hello, Why do hot water and soap cut through grease while cold water and soap don’t? Thanks!

From Angus, aged 7

Some marine algae (tiny plant-like organisms) are bioluminescent (say by-o-loom-in-ess-ent). They create a beautiful blue-green glow in the sea when their environment is disturbed (e.g. by a fish swimming past or a wave crashing on the shore). Scientists think this is a natural defence reaction – predators are reluctant to eat glowing algae in case their glowing stomachs attract larger predators (which would eat them!). The glow comes from a chemical reaction inside the algae that releases light energy.

Bioluminescenc e the sea at nig in ht

Soap is made from long chain-like molecules. One end sticks to grease and the other end sticks to water. If you are happy to spend time scrubbing, soap will carry the grease away, even in cold water! BUT if you use hot water, the molecules move around more because they have more energy. This helps them break the weak forces holding the grease together in clumps, making it easier for the soap molecules to get access and lift the grease away. The soap and heat work together to make washing up much easie r!

Have you ever seen this? Send us a photo if you have!

Rahel, aged 11

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.

CALLING ALL SUPERFANS!

It looks like you all had great fun with the activities in our Dino Disaster edition!

This autumn we’ll be celebrating

100 issues of Whizz Pop Bang magazine!

We’d love to showcase some of our biggest fans in the Issue 100 Wonder Club pages. Send us a photo of you with your favourite edition of the magazine or tell us your favourite fact, experiment or joke from Whizz Pop Bang to be in with a chance of featuring on our special superfans page!

Poppy and Annie made these yummy strata sandwiches.

It’s great to see all the fantastic things you’ve been doing to earn your Eco Hero badges.

Noah, aged 5, enjoyed making the craters and erupting volcano from Issue 93.

Jess, aged 7, h pours her bat er at w a water into e b n ca it butt, so e th r fo d se reu garden.

Tilly, aged 11, an Florence, aged d organised a li 8, tt pick and upcy er cled a bowl they fo un into a plant p d ot.

From Belle, aged 8

An itch is your body’s way of telling you there are harmful chemicals, insects or parasites around – so you should move away from the danger. If you can’t see a clear cause, you might be getting tickled by a tiny annoying hair, or you could be sensitive to something like pollen or washing powder. Sometimes itching can be caused by dry skin, and a moisturiser will help. You can also get contagious itching which is when you start scratching because you’ve seen someone else scratching – a bit like yawning. Why not try it on your family?!

Get problem solving to earn your Epic Engineer badge.

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

Felicity, aged 7, and Phoebe, aged 5, enjoyed making crat ers in flour and hot ch ocolate powder (Issue 93). Th ey experimented with dropping different sized East er eggs from different heig hts and predicted the size of the craters. 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.

To find out how to earn your badges, go to whizzpopbang.com/wonder-club. Schools can get Q qV involved too! Find out how here: bit.ly/39xNQ

whizzpopbang.com 31

um/ Test your m at dad/local c

How much can you remember from this issue?

at they know! to see wh

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 type of bugs di d Thomas Odhiambo identify

a) Mirid bugs

b) Blood, sweat and tears

c) Mini bugs

A walkie talkie is a…

a) chatty, moving robot b) two-way radio

c) Urine, breath and sweat

Which of these is a nocturnal animal? a) Aardvark

c) pair of trainers with speakers in the soles

Where does astronauts’ drinking water come from?

a) An underground ocean on Europa

b) Horrid bugs

What did the lion use to sharpen its claws? Me, ow!

b) Antelope c) Acacia

Why do wildebeests, zebras and gazelles migrate? a) To find dry weather

b) To find fresh, delicious grass c) Because they get bored of

Every day, lions rest for around… a) 20 minutes b) 12 hours c) 20 hours

being in the same place

What might you find in a termite mound? a) A queen ant b) A fungus farm c) A tiny termite TV

What grows on a Kigelia tree? a) Fruits that look

Answers on page 34.

I scored: ..........

like sausages

1-3: Monkeying around!

b) F lowers that smell

4-6: Savannah skills!

like baked beans

c) Leaves that taste like bacon

Need a hint? Find the answers by reading these pages… 1) Page 28 2) Page 5 3) Page 24 4) Page 8 5) Page 10 6) Page 12 7) Page 26 8) Page 35

7-8: Apex predator!

Emmi’s jeep is setting off for the watering hole, and she’d love to photograph a zebra on the way!

! IN

Safari search

Find the coordinates of the two places that Emmi needs to get to by looking at the letters along the bottom of the map (the horizontal axis) and the numbers on the left side of the map (the vertical axis). Start with the letter followed by the number, until you find the right square on the map. For example, Emmi’s jeep is setting off from coordinates A4.

Write down the coordinates of the zebra first, followed by the watering hole. Send in your answer to be in with a chance of winning one of three fantastic pocket microscopes to help you on your own bug safaris! Zebra Watering hole

Pocket microscope This microscope from playmonster.co.uk is small enough to fit in your pocket but it magnifies 30 times! When you unfold the microscope, a light automatically shines on the area in front of the lens. It comes with sample slides and everything you need to collect specimens and make your own slides. The instruction booklet gives you some helpful hints from nature expert Nick Baker. Send your entry to win@whizzpopbang.com with ‘Safari competition’ as the subject of your email. Alternatively, post it to Safari 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. Sorry, we are unable to return any post. Deadline: September 8th 2023. UK residents only. Full terms and conditions available at whizzpopbang.com.

WINNERS

Issue 95 competition winners Thank you to all of you who sent in your entries to our Monster Machines competition. Your designs were epic! These three lucky winners will each receive a Simple Machines kit from thamesandkosmos.com

Angus Wright, aged 13

Scanned with AnyScanner

Erica Cheung, aged 11

Hester Woolf, aged 8

whizzpopbang.com 33

What animal is grey an has four legs and a tr d unk? A mouse going on holid ay!

JOKES Why did the lion cross the road? To get to the other pride!

Why don’t zebras play cards? There are too many cheetahs!

me to stop My friend told a flamingo. e pretending to b foot down! I had to put my

How do you raise a baby elephant? With a forklift! Page 7 – True/Untrue

Page 15 – Camouflaged animals

TRUE: A cheetah’s top speed is about 122 km/h or 70 mph – the same as the UK motorway speed limit – making it the fastest animal on land.

Photos 3, 6, 11 and 14 have no animals in them. These African creatures were hiding in the other photos: 1

Page 11 – Footprints puzzle

Page 20 – Word grid

Page 12 – True/Untrue UNTRUE: Female lions do around 85% of the hunting, while the males patrol the territory and protect the pride from rivals.

Scops owl

5 B

I 6

E L E P H A N T

Z 7

E N

The answer to the joke ‘Where do safari animals do their shopping?’ is ‘supermeerkats’.

Lion Gaboon adder 9

R O

F inish

E 9

Desert locust 7

M P

N 5

C W

TRUE: A leopard’s spot pattern is as unique as our fingerprints.

Rock python

Page 11 – True/Untrue

Start

1) c 2) a 3) e 4) b 5) f 6) d

Page 13 – Lion maze

Ghost praying mantis

Answers

Page 28 – Bug puzzle The matching Petasma pertusa bug is b.

Pages 28-29 – Locusts

Agama lizard

There are 14 locusts in the picture.

Thomas odhiambo

Nile crocodile 13

Cheetah

Sensational Scientists

By Joanna Tubbs

Thomas Odhiambo Thomas Odhiambo was an entomologist (insect expert) and environmentalist who used his scientific ideas to help African farmers. Thomas grew up with his nine brothers and sisters in Mombasa, a city on the Indian Ocean. After school, he travelled to Uganda to study biology at university, where he learned lots about insects. Later, he studied bugs at research centres in Kenya and Uganda and worked as an entomologist for the Ugandan government.

How many locust can you spot? Check your answer on page 34.

Thomas was a star student at scho ol. THOMAS RISLEY ODHIAMBO WAS BORN IN MOMBASA, KENYA, IN 1931.

Push-pull farming

Maize Main crop often attacked by maize stem-borer caterpillars

Thomas became the first Kenyan student to study at Queen’s College at Cambridge University – a huge achievement! He studied Natural Sciences before completing a PhD focusing on the desert locust. He then went to teach zoology at the University of East Africa, back in Kenya.

.c om

These are the five differences:

Maize stem-borer caterpillars

Page 15 – Zebras puzzle

Mirid bugs

Leopard Campylomma citrinella Odhiambo, 1960

Page 18 – Riddles 1) A giraffe 2) You get off the carousel! 3) A zebra

Petasma pertusa Odhiambo, 1961

Prodromus kawandanus Odhiambo, 1962

In Africa, Thomas identified and collected many new species of mirid bugs. This massive insect family includes over 10,000 known species, including pests that cause major damage to crops.

Thomas decided he wanted to help farmers to control pests without using dangerous chemicals or spending a lot of money.

Circle the Petasma pertusa bug that matches the one in the frame above. Check your answer on page 34.

Desmodium plants drive caterpillars away and keeps weeds down

Napier grass attracts caterpillars, keeping them away from the crops

whizzpopbang.com 29

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

R A L U C A T C E SP

e c n e i c s

Sausage tree! The dangling fruits of the Kigelia tree, nicknamed the sausage tree, can grow up to a metre long. The fruits usually weigh 5-10 kg but can weigh as much as 12 kg; you wouldn’t want one to fall on your head! The sausage tree grows along rivers and streams and on floodplains in central and southern Africa. Its dark red flowers are mostly pollinated by bats but also attract some birds and insects. The raw fruit is poisonous to humans, but it can be eaten once dried and baked. © Anton Gvozdikov / Shutterstock.com

FANTAST IC FACTS FR OM

CELEBRI TY SCIENTI STS

COMING SO O

N...

celebrating

100 issues of

Whizz Pop

Bang!

T EVER S! T N E M I R E EXP OUR BES

AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 2023

LOA D S O F A M A ZI N G

S C IE N T IF IC D IS C O V E R IE S T u r n to p a ge 3 1 t o find out h ow can ge t i n v o lved!

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