DON'T BE THE LAST TO HEAR ABOUT BLAST
Blast Science
  • Home
  • Contact
  • Ask a Scientist
  • Brad Gross Memorial Page

Why Science?

4/10/2017

 
Picture
Fascinating question. Why Science? I dunno. It just seems like such a bottomless subject. Like Music. You never really get "good" at it,  just find yourself asking lots more questions. A good understanding of science is a good understanding of facts. We live in a world full of rubbish, cheap talk, internet gossip and blah blah blah.  Science is fact.  And we are learning more facts each and every day about ourselves, each other and the world around, under and above us.  I find all of this most interesting.  So yea, science.  

​- Brad Gross.

​How do volcanoes erupt?

4/10/2017

 
Picture
Ahh, geology. The science of time and pressure. What's under your bed? Stinky socks? Lego? Dust? And what's under that?  Pipes, electrical wires? And under that? Rock? Miles of it. And under that?!?!?! A ball of magnetic molten magma. Next time you are on the internet, type in the word PANGEA. It's a word to describe when all the continents on earth were one big land mass. One big party. Then, as the earth cooled and spun, the continents, floating on a sphere of molten lava, started to spread out. Scientists called this GONDWANA. As they floated around (and they are still floating around, and moving) they create earthquakes, and volcanoes.  This type of earth science is called Plate Tectonics. India was floating around, and smashed into Central Asia, thus creating the Himalayas. As the cracks between the plates moooovvvveee, they occasionally let some of the magma seep out, oops. The plates push together and form a point, and the lava comes out, creating new land. The earth is covered with active volcanoes. Some people still live very close to them. Ask the folks in Pompeii if they are worried. They were when they got buried in ash, preserved for eternity. If you want to get up close to a volcano, learn more about geology, and take a few courses. Then go on a field trip to an active volcano, and take a whiff of a real crack in the earths bottom. You'll be glad you did.  

- Brad Gross.

How do you know all this stuff?  

4/10/2017

 
Picture

I don't, and I never will... But I'm interested, and I try to get other people to be interested. An inquisitive mind is a busy mind. And a busy mind is sharp. A rolling stone gathers no moss. Use it or loose it. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. And all that. 

I like to learn new things, but I'm still very frustrated about a lot of things that I don't know, could do better or just don't get (like banking). I run an after school kids club in Hastings on Tuesdays called TASKIAC, The After School Know it All Club. It's a club for kids hungry for knowledge, and it keeps me busy, preparing the events.  As well as all the science for Blast, gigs with my bands, and life in general, there is a sufficient amount of learn-able material out there. TASKIAC is great, really gets me digging into subjects. Upcoming sessions: First Aid, Jazz, Fire, geography, mysteries, constellations, time, and a few other large subjects to tackle in under two hour sessions. It's great. I don't know all this stuff. The trick is to try.  

- Brad Gross.

What is the smallest plant in the world? Lowenna, age 7, Blackboys School.

4/10/2017

 
Picture
Wolffia is the smallest plant in the world (nothing at all to do with the Wolf!) They are incredibly small, just a bit bigger than a grain of sand each. But they grow in big numbers together so it’s easy to see them. It grows on water so if you dipped your hand in it would look something like the picture above.
​
And the best thing about these plants? They are edible! And quite nutritious. They are eaten in parts of Asia and you could probably fit around 100,000 plants inside your mouth at once. That’s a pretty good way of getting your ‘5 a day’ vegetables I think. I can’t promise it will taste nice.
 
- Ivan Teage.

What's the biggest tree? Coco, age 5, Blackboys School.

4/10/2017

 
Picture
‘General Sherman’ is the biggest tree in the world. Yes, it has its own name and is a ‘Giant Sequoia’ tree which is almost 1500 cubic meters in volume. That is the same size as 10 double decker buses or 1000 cows; or about 50 times the size of your bedroom. It is also 84 metres high, which is nearly as tall as Big Ben in London but not quite.
​
It all depends how you measure ‘big’ of course!  There are taller trees (some are 115m high), and there are wider trees, but this one is probably overall the biggest and heaviest.  There were probably bigger trees in the past, and there may be a bigger tree out there somewhere still (let us know if you find it!).

- Ivan Teage.
    Picture
    Please email us with your questions!!
    ask@blastscience.co.uk
    * Kids - ask an adult before you use their email

    * Please include your age!
    Picture

    VID 1: Do you love your job?

    VID 2: Can you come to my party?

    VID 3: What is your favourite experiment?

    Our team of Scientists...

    Picture
    Lydia Samuel  
    As Director
     of Blast Science and a Primary Science Teacher for more than 15 years, Lydia has answered unending questions about Science from hundreds of children for over a decade and has a wealth of Primary Science classroom experience. She has a particular passion for Wizard Science, Chocolate Science and all things Gross!
    Picture
    Tom Holloway
    ​is a Primary Science Teacher and Space Enthusiast. Alongside being a full time teacher he runs Star Gazing evenings, is a Science Advisor, has established a Darwin Garden in his school in Caterham and won Primary Science Teacher of the Year in 2013/14. Watch the video here!
    Picture
    Steve Evans
    ​has recently joined Blast Science as a performer after working for several years at Herstmonceux Observatory. He knows a huge amount about physics, chemistry, space and.... Star Wars! So can answer all your intergalactic questions..
    Picture
    Keita Lynch 
    has helped Sussex 'stay curious' by coordinating the Brighton Science Festival for three years.  She's passionate about sharing science in simple 
    and engaging ways; without all the big words. 
    Keita's also a keen supporter of campaigns 
    like Let Toys Be Toys that encourage toy makers and retailers to stop limiting children's imagination by branding things for 'girls' or 'boys'. Astronaut suits and dinosaurs for all!
    Picture
    Dr Sarah Newnham
    I am 26 and have a degree and PhD in biochemistry. I enjoy learning new things and have spent 7 years at university studying and experimenting with molecules and microorganisms. I mainly like to play with bacteria and get them to do new things and produce different chemicals.  I also enjoy helping with Science projects in schools and enthusing children about my subject.
    Picture
    Dr Matt Edwards 
    Dr Matt decided to become a doctor when he ran out  of his own scabs to pick. He used to work in Accident and Emergency in Brighton,  pulling broken bones back into place and sewing up cuts. He now works in Brisbane, Australia as a Family doctor. This involves cutting out lots of funny lumps and sticking his fingers in every hole that people have. In his time he has been covered in every body juice you can think of, and once juggled with three hearts. Ask him anything about bodies and Gross Science.
    Picture
    Jonathan Brown 
    (Engineer at Ricardo) Had a strange fascination with all things mechanical from an early age and would often spend time 'fixing' his Dad's car without telling his Dad first. Rarely did it end happily, so of course he decided to continue this into a career than now spans almost 2 decades of designing engines for big names the world over. Having studied Mechanical Engineering at university he has been working since at a world leading technology consultancy, principally creating models and simulations of engines big and small for everyone from McLaren to Volvo. These days you're as likely to find him on a ship or looking at a tidal turbine, but it's still engines that keep him running.
    Picture
    Ivan Teage
    Ivan is a experienced all-round scientist. He studied astrophysics after a childhood of being obsessed with going to the moon, and now works at the Natural History Museum in London using technology to explain Science to young and old audiences. Ivan is interested in the science of music and is keen to help people understand the natural world, how it works, and what it has to offer. He is looking forward to your questions about nature, space, music, sound & the meaning of life.
    Picture
    Alex Nicholls
    With A-levels in Pure Maths, Applied Maths, Physics and Chemistry he went to Uni to read Nuclear Physics, but in the end switched to Law. He nevertheless retained a great interest in Science and has an encyclopedic general knowledge about nearly everything. Alex is also the linchpin of the Blast Science props dept but helps out answering complicated questions about Science for light relief from complicated carpentry. 

    Archives

    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    April 2017
    September 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014

    Categories

    All
    Chemicals
    Explosions
    Life
    Space

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly