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Questions for discussion

Kelly Gang Dig

1] Who was Ned Kelly? 2] What is a bushranger? 3] Why was Ned Kelly seen as a hero by some people? 4] Describe the battle between the Kelly gang and Police. 5] What is an archaeologist? 6] Why are they trying to find out what happened? 7] What has made the investigation difficult? 8] What items are the archaeologists looking for? 9] What question about the Kelly gang battle do experts still argue about? 10] Why do you think Ned Kelly has become an Australian legend?

Test your knowledge in the online quiz.

Mars Probe

1. What is the name of the space probe that has been sent to Mars? 2. What is its mission? 3. Why were NASA scientists nervous about the probe travelling to Mars? 4. Why is stopping the space probe a problem? 5. What are the `seven minutes of terror’? 6. Describe the images of Mars sent back by the probe? 7. What research is Phoenix doing on Mars and how is it being done? 8. Why do you think NASA scientists believe this is important research? 9. Why is Phoenix unlikely to return to Earth? 10. NASA has spent millions of dollars to get the space probe to land on Mars

successfully. Do you think this is money well spent? Explain your answer.

Create a timeline showing the different space missions to Mars.

Grocery Inquiry

1] What is happening to the price of groceries? 2] What are some of the costs of growing an apple? 3] What is a supply chain? 4] Draw a diagram that shows the different links in the supply chain. 5] How do all these links impact on the price of groceries? 6] What is the Government doing about the price increase? 7] What are some other factors affecting the price of groceries? 8] How do you think families can manage if grocery prices continue to rise? 9] What do you now know about the grocery industry that you didn’t know

before? 10] What do you think should happen next?

Create a crossword or wonderword puzzle about the rising cost of groceries.

EPISODE 14

3RD JUNE 2008

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Brain Bee

1] Retell the story in your own words. 2] What health problems did Quin face when she was younger? 3] Why did Quin become interested in the way the brain works? 4] What is the brain responsible for? 5] What is neuroscience? 6] What are neurons? 7] What can happen if they get damaged? 8] Describe Quin’s achievement in the competition. 9] Choose three adjectives that describe how Quin might have been feeling when

she was sick. 10] Describe how you were feeling when you were watching the BtN story.

Send a message or tell us what you think on the BtN Guestbook.

Aerosol Art

1] What is graffiti? 2] Why is graffiti against the law? 3] How has some graffiti become an art form? 4] Why are some authorities starting to work with graffiti artists? 5] Describe the Aerosol Art project. 6] How is the art being created different to the `tags’ that were on the bridge

before the project began? 7] How is the council saving money with this project? 8] How do you think projects like these affect people’s opinions about graffiti? 9] Do you think graffiti is art or vandalism? Explain your answer. 10] How has your thinking about graffiti changed after watching the BtN story?

`Is graffiti art or vandalism?’ Vote in the online poll.

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Mars Probe The Phoenix space probe has landed safely on

Mars. Its mission is to explore the polar ice caps to

see if life could have been supported.

Focus Questions

1. What is the name of the space probe that has been sent to Mars? 2. What is its mission? 3. Why were NASA scientists nervous about the probe travelling to Mars? 4. Why is stopping the space probe a problem? 5. What are the `seven minutes of terror’? 6. Describe the images of Mars sent back by the probe? 7. What research is Phoenix doing on Mars and how is it being done? 8. Why do you think NASA scientists believe this is important research? 9. Why is Phoenix unlikely to return to Earth? 10. NASA has spent millions of dollars to get the space probe to land on Mars

successfully. Do you think this is money well spent? Explain your answer

Exploring the red planet

Students will be developing some key questions about the planet Mars. Ask students

to complete the following chart as they go through the inquiry process. This can be

done individually, as a group or a whole class.

What do I know? What do I want

to know?

How will I find

out?

What have I

learnt?

In groups, ask students to come up with a range of questions around the topic. Some

possible areas for inquiry include:

Features of Mars

Facts about Mars

Myth and culture

Space missions

Collect the questions from each group and display them. Discuss with students the

criteria for selecting questions for inquiry. The Internet will be a valuable resource for

this inquiry but encourage students to use other resources.

Discuss with students what the choices are for presenting the information they have

found. Encourage students to choose a format they may be unfamiliar with. Some

possible end products include:

Brochure

EPISODE 14 3RD JUNE 2008

Learning Area

Society and Environment

Key learning

Students will develop a

greater understanding of

Mars and space missions

to the planet

There are some useful websites at the end of this activity sheet to help students with their research.

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Animation

Oral presentation

Power Point presentation

Further investigations

Design a plant or animal life that might survive on Mars.

Create a comic strip about a space mission to Mars.

Related Research Links ABC News –NASA probe lands on Mars

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mars/mars_orbit.html&edu=elem

ABC News – Canberra streams NASA photos of Mars

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/26/2256067.htm

ABC Science – Phoenix hunt for Mars life-support system

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/05/20/2250459.htm?site=science

Phoenix Mars lander

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/space_missions/mars/phoenix_mars_lander/

phoenix_mars_lander.html&edu=elem

The orbit of Mars

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mars/mars_orbit.html&edu=elem

NASA – Mars fun zone

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/funzone_flash.html

NASA – Mars Exploration Program

http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/

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TRANSCRIPTS 03/06/08

Episode 14 On this week's Behind the News is there life on Mars? The Aussie teenager competing in the International Brain Bee. And digging up the dirt on a bushranger legend. Hi I'm Nathan Bazley, welcome to Behind the News. Also on the show today can graffiti be art? Those items later but first to our top story.

GROCERY INQUIRY Sarah Larsen, Reporter INTRO: Have you noticed the cost of things going up at the school tuckshop? Well, it's not just your canteen that’s affected. All across the country the price of groceries has jumped and it's got quite a few people worried. It's so serious that the government has set up an inquiry. Here's Sarah. SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: Have you noticed food's getting more expensive? Grocery prices have really shot up in the past few years. REPORTER: Have a look at my shopping basket. Two years ago this lot would have cost me less than $20 now it costs almost 30. The prices of things like this are way higher than they used to be. That's a real problem for Aussie mums and dads. KID : So why's it happening? Good question. But before we answer it, let's have a look at your apple. It starts life in an orchard like this one. Now growing apples isn't that easy or cheap. Farmers have lots of costs like fertiliser and pesticides and water and they have to pay people to prune the trees and pick the fruit. For all that, this farmer gets between 1 and 2 dollars a kilo for his best apples. REPORTER: You can see that's heaps less than you pay at the supermarket. So what's going on? Well between the farmer and your lunch box your apple goes on quite a journey along what's called a supply chain. All of these guys are links in the chain. They've got jobs to do which add to the cost of the apple. After the farm, some farmers sell their fruit to people called wholesalers. They operate at markets like this where supermarkets, grocers and some restaurants come to buy. From there, if our apples are bought by a supermarket, it's likely they'll spend some time in a place like this. Its where all the food's sorted and sent off to the stores for sale and as you can see there are a few people working here. They have to be paid too. There's also the cost of transporting our apples. Petrol's expensive and the truckies need to make some money. Then there's the supermarket and shops. They're businesses so they have to make a profit and they have employees who need to be paid. So this apple is providing all these people with jobs. Who knew your recess could work that hard? KID: But that doesn't explain why the price has gone up!

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No, it doesn't. And that's why the government has launched a special investigation into the price of groceries. They're worried that people along the supply chain are taking more than their fair share. Some blame the supermarkets. They say prices have gone up way too much here and not enough back on the farm. But the supermarkets say there are other reasons, like the drought and rising petrol prices. But it's not just fruit and veg being examined. The inquiry is looking at all sorts of groceries. Will it makes things cheaper? We'll have to wait and see. But at least it'll be good to know where all that money goes.

Rising food prices are a problem around the world and Sarah's done a story on that as well. It's on our website at abc.net.au/btn. Now there's another price problem that has people worried and that's the cost of fuel. Catherine has the details.

THE WIRE What have fish and fuel got to do with each other? Well in Europe the fishing industry is protesting because the price of diesel for their boats has gone up so much. The cost of crude oil has skyrocketed in the past few months and it's affecting almost every type of transport. Some airlines have cut flights because it's too expensive. You're probably hearing your mum and dad complaining when they fill up the car. The Aussie government is looking at ways to try and get the price down. If you want to know more about what's going on there's a story on our website. ******************** Nearly 600 Australian troops have ended their mission in Iraq and are returning home. From now on, Aussies will not be involved in combat operations but more than 800 will stick around to support other troops or to provide security for officials. ********************* We're used to seeing big fires destroying sets in movies but what about in real life?! Well that's what happened on Sunday when a huge blaze broke out at Universal Studios in the United States. The famous courthouse square set from 'Back to the Future' went up in flames. A King Kong display was also damaged. ************************* And researchers are confident they've saved one of Australia's most vulnerable animals from extinction. There are only around two hundred northern corroboree frogs left in the wild. But for the first time they've been bred in captivity and within a few years large numbers could be released back into their natural habitat. MARS PROBE

Nathan Bazley, Reporter INTRO: Thanks Catherine. Last week, the Phoenix space probe landed safely on the surface of Mars ready to begin its 90 day mission to explore the red planet. It's an

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amazing feat of engineering skill and scientific research but how was it done? And what is it doing up there right now? Humans have always been fascinated and a little scared, about what is actually on Mars. While it may not be quite as weird and freaky as this old movie 'TRIP TO MARS', scientists have always dreamed of being able to search the red planet to find out if there's ever been life there. And this little probe could finally give them their wish. It took ten months for Phoenix to reach Mars and NASA scientists were on the edge of their seats. They had every reason to be nervous. Their little probe set them back 430 million bucks and 6 of their last 11 goes at landing on Mars had crashed and burned. You see, getting a probe there isn't the big problem, making it stop is! Once the Phoenix hit Mars' atmosphere, it was travelling at over 20,000 kms an hour. At that speed, it would only take you 2 hours to travel right round the world! Scientists used a massive parachute and rockets to try and slow the Phoenix down to a gentle stop, all within seven minutes! They called it the 'seven minutes of terror'! Everything went perfectly! NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: They even managed to get some happy snaps of the landing from a passing satellite. You can see the probe with its parachute open. Now the probe has safely landed it's already sent back these pictures. But the real work is still ahead! Back in 2002, scientists worked out that beneath Mars's polar regions are huge amounts of frozen water. So Phoenix was launched with one mission - to seek out that water - and see if it ever supported life. But how on earth can it do that? Well it turns out Phoenix is one sophisticated little robot. Its first order of business was to get power. So soon after landing Phoenix unfolded two big solar panels. Next up was a special camera to send back pictures of the planet. But the main work will be carried out by this long robotic arm. It will dig through the ground and get samples of ice. The samples will be heated in onboard ovens, then analysed for signs of any chemicals usually found in living organisms. Every step of the way the info will be beamed straight back here! But there's something else on Phoenix that you might not have expected. NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: It's a DVD! Just in case there is something, or someone up there, researchers must've wanted to give them a little entertainment! And it's got some very interesting stuff on it, like a recording of radio drama 'War of the Worlds'. Plus a poster from the film TRIP TO MARS. That's the old movie you saw a little earlier! But whether these strange creatures from Mars have DVD players is a whole other question! QUIZ 1 Right we'll do a space quiz. Which of these planets is closer to the Sun? ¶ a. Earth b. Mars c. Jupiter Answer: Earth

BRAIN BEE Catherine Ellis, Reporter

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INTRO: Earth is the third planet from the sun, Mars the fourth and Jupiter the fifth. Now imagine taking on some of the smartest kids in the world in a competition about the brain! Sounds pretty scary! Well this story is about an Aussie girl who did just that. And as Catherine discovered she had to overcome some big troubles of her own to get there. CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: Quinn McGennisken is a healthy, happy, 17-year-old from a town in country Victoria. But four years ago things were different. When she was just 13, she developed a serious illness called depression. While we all feel sad, moody and lonely from time to time people with Depression get those feelings really strongly for long periods of time and often for no reason. Quin also developed an eating disorder and became really sick. QUINN MCGENNISKEN, STUDENT: It's like I've got two brains, sort of, in my head, fighting against one another. So one's sort of saying, you know, "Don't eat" and the other is saying, "No, you do" and, you know, "Be reasonable. This is normal". She got help from counsellors and doctors and began to get better. CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: But also her illness made her really interested in the human brain. She wanted to learn all about it so she could try and understand her illness. You see, that one and a half kilogram mass of spongy tissue in our heads, it's responsible for everything. It controls our whole body including our emotions and memories. CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: Pretty amazing when you think about it! One organ the size of a cauliflower responsible for so many complex tasks! Basically it's made up of billions of special cells called neurons which all communicate by sending messages to each other and other cells around the body. Because of that the science of the brain is called Neuroscience. But if the neurons get damaged they don't communicate properly that can cause all sorts of illnesses. There's also special chemicals in the brain that are needed to pass the messages. Some scientists think if they become unbalanced, the messages can be ruined. QUINN: When you know the actual chemical imbalances and just those things that go on at the more sort of nitty gritty level, you do understand your illness better. She became so interested, that last year, she decided to enter a competition about neuroscience. It was called the Australian Brain Bee Challenge. She competed against nearly a thousand other school kids on topics like intelligence, memory and emotions. Quinn comes from a country town in Victoria where her parents own a shop and no one in her family has ever really been interested in science or medicine. But she made it to the final round of the comp.

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She had to compete against kids who'd done lots of extra training and most of their parents were doctors. But; TEACHER: We have a winner. Yep, she won! Her prize was a trip to North America where a week ago she competed in the International Brain Bee Championship in Canada. She came fourth in the world! What an incredible achievement! She'd managed to take her mind off her body image and illness by learning about her mind and in the process achieved something great! ******* If you have any worries about the issues in that story, talk to your teacher or there are some links on our website with more info.

AEROSOL ART Sarah Larsen, Reporter INTRO: What do you think about graffiti? Most people hate it and it costs a fortune to clean up. But there is at least one type that's considered art. Sarah's found how that's being used to try and stop kids causing trouble with spray cans. MAN: Destroying public property. GIRLS: It's just disgusting. I don't like it. SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: Graffiti. It's messy, it's often offensive, and it costs governments and ordinary people millions of dollars to fix up every year. In most places, it's illegal. But these guys don't need to worry. MICK SCHOOLEY, SA POLICE: Alright, boys, how are you going, alright? All cool? Corey, how are you brother? Good man. It's a surprising sight; a police officer handing out spray cans MICK SCHOOLEY: Hopefully, they're all the right colours. No, he's not turning to a life of crime, he's helping create a work of art. This is the sort of graffiti these guys are working on and as you can see it's a world away from illegal scribbles. REPORTER: These things have earned a pretty bad rep over the years. In some places you're not allowed to buy spray paint if you're under 18. But some people don't see the difference between one of these and one of these. In some cities there are places where walls have actually become open air galleries. But it's often hard for graffiti artists to find a place to work legally. That's why some authorities have started to work with them. They're realising that if it's done properly, everybody wins. JOE WALASEK, AEROSOL ARTIST: Yeah, because it brightens up the area instead of just normal tagging. Tagging's pretty disgusting and no one likes that so having all these different types of pictures just brightens up the area so...

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These guys are part of a project called Aerosol Art. The train bridge they're painting used to be covered with illegal graffiti and the council spent about 75,000 dollars a year cleaning it. But since the murals went up, there's been hardly any tagging. The boys are learning more about their art and about being part of a team, but the work's not easy. ADAM: Early starts, late finishes. CHRISTIAN: A lot harder than pens and paper. BRAD: When I first started it kills all up there because you're holding it like that all the time. CHRISTIAN: You're not really used to it so. There are rules to be a member of Aerosol Art. There's no alcohol or drugs allowed, and if the guys are caught doing any illegal graffiti they'll be thrown off the team. Not that there's much chance of that. They hate seeing tags on their work. ADAM: Because we put time and effort into it. BRAD: And it just gets boring going over it every time. The boys' work is so popular, they've been asked to spray murals in other areas - even at a primary school. So maybe more people will see that there are much better ways to make your mark than this. ONLINE POLL And we'll make that our poll this week. The question is: "Is graffiti art or vandalism?" If you want to vote go to our website at abc.net.au/btn ****** If you want to have your say, you can leave a comment on the story on our website. Time for sport now, here's Catherine. THE SCORE Australia has taken a big step towards the 2010 soccer world cup, with a one-nil victory over Iraq. The game’s only goal was scored by Socceroos captain Harry Kewell with a well-placed header just after half time. They'll line up next week in Dubai for the return leg only needing a draw to go through. ***** Meanwhile the Australian women's team is doing well in the Asian Cup. They beat South Korea two nil in this game. Ellyse Perry scored one and Lisa De Vanna knocked in the other. ******

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The NSW Waratahs have gone down to the Crusaders in the final of this year's Super 14's Rugby final. Despite both sides scoring two tries, it was the Crusaders’ penalty kicks that put them ahead. It was the New Zealanders’ seventh title. QUIZ 2 Thanks Catherine. Time for another quiz. What do these people all have in common? a. Captain Moonlight b. Mad Dan Morgan c. Captain Thunderbolt They're all bushrangers! NED KELLY Nathan Bazley, Reporter INTRO: And our next story is about the most famous Aussie bushranger - Ned Kelly. A team of archaeologists in Victoria has been searching for clues about his last battle with police. Now I know you're thinking - archaeologist - like Indiana Jones! Well the truth is their work isn't quite as exciting as the movie but the story they're looking at certainly is. This was Ned Kelly's last stand - a fierce gunfight between a gang of outlaws and the police that took place in Victoria more than 120 years ago. It quickly became the stuff of legend. So much so that this movie, the first feature film made anywhere in the world was made about it. But why did he capture so much attention? Well, he robbed banks pretty much! He and his brothers had a gang that held up banks and farmhouses in the bush. That's why they were called bushrangers. At the time, quite a few poor people were angry at the authorities, so because Kelly embarrassed the police, they started to see him as a hero. They even started a saying you still might hear. "As game as Ned Kelly." But he pushed his luck too far one day, when police cornered him and his gang in a hotel called the 'Glenrowan Inn.' They wore this strange armour to protect themselves but it didn't help. Many of the gang were killed and Ned Kelly was taken prisoner and eventually hanged. But what exactly happened during that final battle is still something of a mystery. ADAM FORD, ARCHAEOLOGIST: You can imagine scrubbing their armour on. They're thinking, "This is it. What we gonna do?" They go outside. They engage the police. The police fire an enormous number of rounds back. I think we've lost that idea that it was such a ferocious action. You know, it was a real culmination. The Kelly Gang: they were fighting for their lives. This is the 'Glenrowan Inn' site today and archeologists are doing some amazing detective work to find out what happened all those years ago! It's a difficult job, during the Kelly siege, the inn was burnt to the ground. Two other buildings were built on the site and they also burnt down - you can see their foundations. Going through all those layers can be slow work. NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: And here's why archeologists have to dig incredibly carefully with tiny shovels or sometimes just brushes. Because if they go too quickly, they could easily break something very important to their research.

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They're looking for anything - scraps of clothes, bits of paper, old coins - here they came across these bullet casings. They were out the back of the Inn and the team thinks they were fired by police. They're hoping to find more so they can piece together the events of that day. But how on earth can a few shells tell us what happened so long ago? NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: Think of it like this - if you found a pile of police shells here - and pile of bushranger's shells over there behind that log then you'd know where they'd been in the battle. You might also work out how many were fighting and what strategies they used. The archaeologists might also be able to answer a Kelly question that still has experts arguing - did some of the gang hide in the cellar and escape? Whatever the answer to that question, they reckon they'll come up with some fascinating finds that will make the legend even more legendary. CLOSER Now if you want more info about Ned or any of our other stories you just have to dig around our website - abc.net.au/btn. And don't forget we have a news update every Monday to Friday at 5 to 6 on BTN Daily. See ya then!