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Peculiar Pets

HaitiCharity

Bottle Craft

Sparkler Art

(Inside this issue)

www.justkidding.com.au

(Geography)

Haiti:EarthquakessHaiti before the earthquake:• In Haiti, before the earthquake, more than 70% of its people were living

on less than $US2 per day. Around 86% of people in Port au Prince – which is the capital city of Haiti, were living in slum conditions; mostly in tightly-packed and poorly built concrete buildings.

• Around 80% of education in Haiti was provided in often poor quality private schools; the state system generally provided better education but did not offer enough places.

• Half of the people in Port-au-Prince had no access to proper toilets and only one-third had access to tap water.

What causes earthquakes and where do they happen?The earth has four major layers: the inner core, outer core, mantle and crust. The crust and the top of the mantle make up a thin skin on the surface of our planet. But this skin is not all in one piece, it is made up of many pieces like a puzzle covering the surface of the earth. Not only that, but these puzzle pieces keep slowly moving around, sliding past one another and bumping into each other. These puzzle pieces are called tectonic plates, and the edges of the plates are called the plate boundaries. The plate boundaries are made up of many faults, and most of the earthquakes around the world occur on these faults. Since the edges of the plates are rough, they get stuck while the rest of the plate keeps moving. Finally, when the plate has moved far enough, the edges unstick on one of the faults and that is what causes an earthquake.

It is estimated that there are around 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year – 100,000 of those can be felt, and 100 of them cause damage.

Impact of the earthquake:• There were around two million people who were living in the most affected

area. Over 180,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, and around one and a half million people were now homeless.

• One and a half million people were living in camps, including over 100,000 who were at critical risk and danger from storms and flooding.

• There were over 1,100 camps and 54 of these were home to 5,000 people or more.

• Over 600,000 people left their home area in Port-au-Prince and mostly were staying with host families or friends.

• Nearly 5,000 schools were damaged or destroyed.

What is an earthquake?An earthquake is what happens when two pieces of the earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where they slip is called the ‘fault’ or a ‘fault plane’. The location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the ‘hypocentre’, and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the ‘epicentre’.

Sometimes an earthquake has foreshocks. These are smaller earthquakes that happen in the same place before the larger earthquake. The largest, main earthquake is called the ‘main shock’. Main shocks always have aftershocks that follow. These are smaller earthquakes that occur afterwards in the same place as the main shock. It depends on the size of the main shock, to how long the aftershocks can continue for. They can go for weeks, months, and even years after the main shock.

(Money)

Haiti:Earthquakess Money Matters:

Charity!What is charity?The definition of charity and what classifies as charity work is different in each country. For Australia the definition of charity is the voluntary giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver.

Charitable giving is the act of giving money, goods or time to the unfortunate. Most forms of charity are about providing food, water, clothing, and shelter, and tending the ill, but other actions may be performed as charity as well. Donations to causes that benefit the unfortunate indirectly, such as donations to fund cancer research, are also charity. A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO).

Example of charity in Australia:During late December 2010 and early January 2011, Queensland suffered from horrific floods and storms. People from all across Australia and even countries overseas stepped in to help. Volunteers rushed to Queensland to help with the clean up and to lend a helping hand wherever needed. Families whose homes were not effected by the floods opened their doors to those who no longer had a home or could not return to theirs due to the floods. Events like the Network Nine’s flood relief appeal raised over 10 million dollars, with the help of big Australian names in entertainment and sport. Even the little things like people donating clothes, toys and small amounts of money went a long way as for some people all they had left were the clothes they had on them. Many schools around Australia had fundraisers and Community groups ran BBQ’s to raise money for the flood victims. People were helping out in all different ways and gave up their time to help those in need.

There are many different types of charities, for example:• Emergency work,• Aid work,• working with animals,• work towards cancer or other illnesses or diseases,• working with children,• working with the homeless,• working with poverty,

Something that seems so little and doesn’t mean much to you can mean so much to someone else. Those little things like smiling at someone on the street, sending a card to a friend and keeping a lonely relative company are all ways that you can help others. Another great way is to do a simple cupboard clean up. By sorting through your cupboard with a parent and gathering a bag of clothes or toys you’ve outgrown or don’t use anymore, and then taking them down to your local charity, is an easy way to give back to your community.

Match the Cars!Francesco is Italy’s superstar race car!

Which two pictures of Francesco are exactly the same?

Answ

er: A &

E Only at the movies June 23in Disney Digital 3D™ in select cinemas

For more colouring and activity, check out the book department in your local retailer. www.disney.com.au/cars

©2011 Disney/Pixar

Mater and FinnEscape!

Help Mater and Finn reach safety. Which line will lead them to Siddeley the spy plane?

Answ

er: C Only at the movies June 23in Disney Digital 3D™ in select cinemas

For more colouring and activity, check out the book department in your local retailer. www.disney.com.au/cars

©2011 Disney/Pixar

(Craft)

Instructions:1. Cover the work surface with newspaper. Then place a sheet of wax paper on a

cutting board.

2. Place some sand on the wax paper. Roll a piece of coloured chalk across the sand until the sand is completely changed to that colour.

3. Carefully lift the wax paper and gently shake the sand to the centre of the wax paper. Hold both ends of the paper up.

4. Use a stick or the eraser end of a pencil to make a few dips in the sand so that it is not all at the one level.

5. Repeat these steps until you have several colours of sand layered in your bottle(s).

6. If you have a cap for your bottle, be sure to fill it completely with sand and press down firmly on the sand to compact it. Place cap on tight. If you do not have a bottle cap, fill sand to around a centimetre from the top of the bottle. Compact the sand with a pencil or your finger if it fits in the opening and then fill to the top with glue and let dry.

Beach in a Bottle

Sand-Filled Bottles

Instructions:1. Start out by cleaning the bottle well and removing the label. Make sure the bottle is totally

dry before you start this project.

2. Its best to use white craft sand. You can also use sea glass which you can get from a craft store. The twigs are used to look like driftwood. You can find small sea shells at a craft store as well. You just need to make sure that anything you use should be able to fit into the top of the bottle.

3. Place the end of the funnel into the bottle and start filling it up. Start out with about 2/3 of a cup of sand. You can add more or less if you like. Then, start adding your small beach items into the bottle. Place a few of each item into the bottle. Make sure, if young children are helping you, that they do not put any of the small items in their mouth.

4. Once you have everything you want in your bottle, spread some glue around the threads on the neck and replace the cap tightly. This will prevent the cap from falling off or being removed by small fingers.

5. You can reveal different ‘seascapes’ by shaking the bottle gently and laying it on its side. It’s fun and interesting to see how different the scene looks every time you move it around.

What you will need:• Clear Soda or

Water Bottle with Lid

• Sand• Sea Glass, Sea

Shells, Pebbles, Twigs, Plastic Sea Creatures/Fish (all of these items must be small enough to fit into the bottle)

• Small Kitchen Funnel

• Craft Glue

What you will need:• Sand (If using sand from the beach or outside, be sure to sift it with a flour sifter

first to remove any bits of rock and sticks)• Newspaper • A stick or pencil• Wax paper (a kind of paper that is made moisture proof through the use of wax)• Coloured chalk (as many different colours as you like)• Clear glass or plastic bottles with the caps (lids)• PVA glue • Cutting board

(Experiments)

Sparkler pictures

What you will need:• a digital camera (with a night-time setting or

a full manual camera)• a tripod (a table top tripod or something you

can rest the camera on)• sparklers• a dark setting• a torch• a group of people with a lot of patience that

are ready to have fun.

CAUTION:Sparklers should only be used under careful adult supervision. Sparklers burn at a very high temperature

and can be dangerous. Sparklers present a fire-hazard and this is especially true in drier areas.

Follow these instructions to make your own sparkler pictures

and learn a bit about how photography and sparklers work.

Some helpful tips before you begin:• The quicker you move the sparkler, the smaller the streak of light in the photo. The slower

you move it, the thicker the streak appears.

• If you leave the sparkler in one spot, the camera will just keep recording the amount of light, making the ball of light bigger and brighter.

• If you don’t want to see the people in the picture make sure they wear dark clothes and hold the sparkler away from themselves.

What to do:1. Set your camera up on a tripod or place it on a table or

some other stable structure.

2. Turn your camera into full manual mode or night mode.

3. Make certain there are no other light sources.

4. Give your friends the sparklers and practice drawing or writing with the sparkler.

5. Get everyone in place and then light all the sparklers at the same time.

6. Start drawing the picture and then take your photo.

7. Tell everyone when the photo has finished.

8. Check out the photo and decide what you want to change.

9. You are limited only by the number of sparklers you have and your own creativity.

Join CSIRO’s Double Helix Science Club!If science makes you smile, then join the club! Membership includes a magazine subscription to Scientriffic (age 7+) or The Helix (age 10+) full of news, activities and science fun, plus exciting events around Australia, holiday programs, email newsletters, discounts and lots more. To join call 02 6276 6643 or visit www.csiro.au/helix.

(Pets)

The not so

cute & cuddly

Children’s and Carpet PythonsMany kids, especially boys, love snakes. Pythons are generally placid snakes and are not highly active; they are the least active during the colder months. They can live for around 25-30 years when looked after properly. They must be kept indoors in a climate-controlled terrarium (a low-maintenance indoor garden). Reptiles require heating at all times. They need different types of heating and lighting for during the day and during the night. Though to be able to have a snake as a pet you will need a reptile keeper’s licence.

Australian ScorpionsOver the past five years scorpions have become more available in pet shops. They are known to live as long as nine years, but in captivity most only last for two to three years. Scorpions need to feed only once every week or two. Your scorpion will spend most of its time in its burrow hidden underground and only very rarely venture out to get food. Owners say scorpions are fascinating to watch and are low maintenance and low cost to keep. In Australia there are thought to be more than 100 species of scorpions. Tthey can be found in many different habitats all over the country and can be found in cold and hot climates as well as rainforest and desert.

Puffer fishThese fish require special care and feeding. They will almost always adapt to aquarium foods and can live long lives when kept in a proper environment.

They need plenty of room, and most importantly need to be provided an appropriate diet. The Puffer fish belong to the Tetraodontidae family. The majority of the puffers are a marine fish and are found in most of the tropical oceans of the world. There are only a few freshwater species of puffers; out of the 150 species of puffer fish there are only around 40 species that are fresh water.

Brazilian Black TarantulaThe Brazilian black tarantula is often thought of as the best tarantula species to have as a pet. They are large, quiet and impressive looking spiders. The Brazilian black tarantulas are originally from the grasslands of Brazil and Uruguay. They have a maximum leg span of around 13 centimetres. Their bodies are jet black in colour. Females may live up to twenty years, but males have a much shorter life span.

Mexican Walking FishAnyone who wants something a little different should consider a Mexican walking fish. They’re very popular with teenagers and for people who live in small houses as there tanks do not take up much room.

If kept healthy and well they can live for around 12 to 15 years but have been reported to even live as long as 25 years. They can grow to about 20-25cm and are also able to regenerate damaged limbs and gills.

Image courtesy of Stan Shebs