This is one of those questions that gets scientists very excited. The theory is that you can never get 2 identical snowflakes, because of the way that they grow. How do snowflakes grow? Snowflakes are not just frozen raindrops. They're crystals that grow superfast inside a snow cloud. All snowflakes start life as 6-sided hexagons, then they turn into stars with 6 arms. They … [Read more...]
How big is infinity?
Infinity is big - really, really big. It's beyond massive and enormous, through gigantic, and out the other end. You think it would take a long time to count to 1,000? Just try counting to infinity. How long would it take? Forever. No really, it would. Even if you started now, and did nothing else but count - except eat your tea and sleep - you'd still never get there. … [Read more...]
How do you make a ball?
How do you make a ball? ... with great difficulty. Making something perfectly round is harder than you think. Take a football. A thousand years ago, footballs were really rubbish. They were just pigs' bladders that had been blown up like balloons. They weren't very round, so when you kicked one, you had no control of where it would go. (By the way, the pig-bladder balls had to … [Read more...]
Can animals count?
A thousand years ago, people believed that being able to count was what made humans different from animals. But now it turns out that lots of animals can count. And elephants are top of the class when it comes to sums, according to scientists. So how do they know that? They tested an elephant called Ashiya, using 2 tin buckets and a load of apples. They dropped 3 apples … [Read more...]
5 tips to make maths fun
I'm not really sure that maths can be described as "fun" but it should be; after all was fun in the beginning! From being a toddler you were your child's first maths teacher. Counting, singing songs and making things out of cardboard all have their part to play in encouraging your child to explore the magical world of numbers. Once your child starts school it's important to … [Read more...]