Cliffs Nina and the Neurons: Earth Explorers

# If you've got a question and you don't know where to go

# Ask Nina for some help cos she's got a science show

# She makes sense of her senses by helping all her fans

# By doing her experiments with potions and with bangs

-# Touch your tongue

-# Tongue

-# Fingers

-# Fingers

-# Eyes, ears

-# Eyes, ears

-# Nose

-# Nose

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Luke he helps us with our eyes and Felix with our touch

# Ollie sniffs out smells and scents and Belle she hears so much

# Bud is Ollie's brother He helps us with our taste

# They're Nina's little Neurons and they're coming to your place

-# Touch your tongue

-# Tongue

# Fingers

# Eyes, ears

-# Nose

-# Nose

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know, yeah!

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Oh, yeah! #

Hello. I'm just counting balloons for an experiment.

And when counting, I find it helps to write things down.

So two blue balloons, two red balloons

and two plus two is four.

Oh, here's a little yellow balloon hiding over here.

So that's another one.

And altogether that makes...

Five balloons. Perfect!

-BEEPING

-Oh!

I hear a beep, I see a flash, I wonder what they're going to ask.

-ALL: Hi, Nina.

-Hi!

We've got a question for you.

Why are cliffs shaped like this?

That's a great question. Why are cliffs shaped like this?

Now, we usually find cliffs near the seaside

and they do go straight down.

This'll be a very interesting subject.

Why don't you come to my workshop

-and we'll investigate.

-See you soon, Nina. Bye.

Bye! Well, I'm going to need some help to answer this one

and I know just who to ask.

OK, Neurons, time to get to work.

NEURONS: Neurons at the ready, Nina.

OK, today's question is "Why are cliffs shaped like this?"

Which Neuron do you think will be most useful

-in helping us find the answer?

-Me!

-Me!

-Me!

-Oh, me!

-Me.

Will it be fabulous Felix?

I can help so very much, if you need the sense of touch.

Will it be beautiful Belle?

I send messages to brain from ear.

If there's a sound, I'll help you hear.

Will it be lovely Luke?

For looking and seeing, day or night,

I'll help you with your sense of sight.

Will it be awesome Ollie?

If it's pongy or whiffy but you can't tell,

my messages help your sense of smell.

Or will it be baby Bud?

Sour, salty, bitter or sweet,

I'm your taste buddy whenever you eat.

It's Belle and Luke!

Go Belle, go Luke! Go Belle, go Luke!

Go Belle, go Belle, go Luke!

Today's question is "Why are cliffs shaped like this?"

To explore cliffs, we'll be using our eyes and ears

so Luke and Belle will be helping today.

But stand by, Neurons, I may need help from all of you.

Right, I need to get the workshop ready before the explorers arrive.

Sonny likes colouring in.

Olivia loves jumping on her trampoline.

And Ben likes camping.

But they all want to know "Why are cliffs shaped like this?"

We saw the cliff at the beach.

It looked like a big wall.

Why is it shaped like this?

So today, for one day only,

Sonny, Olivia and Ben become the explorers.

-Hi, guys.

-ALL:

-Hi, Nina.

Welcome to my workshop and thank you for your great question

"Why are cliffs shaped like this?"

To find the answer, let's start by using our senses.

-ALL:

-Woop-woo, a senses experiment. We're ready, Nina.

Have a look at these pictures.

So how would you describe the pictures?

-That's a hill, that's a big cliff.

-Yes.

And how is the cliff different to the hill?

The cliff is near the sea.

The cliff is like a wall.

Yes, cliffs are usually found near the seaside.

And they're different to hills because they don't slope gently.

They just go straight down, like a big wall.

Cliffs can be very dangerous.

It's important to stay away from the edge.

That's a very good point, Felix.

Now, what do you think cliffs are made of?

Rock.

Yes, cliffs can be made of lots of different types of rock

depending on where they are.

This white cliff is made of chalk.

Chalk? Like we use on blackboards, Nina?

Yes, Belle. But the chalk we write on blackboards with

has other things added to it to make it different colours.

This is natural chalk.

It's a kind of rock.

It's made of tiny shells

from sea creatures that lived a very, very long time ago.

When the sea creatures died, they fell to the bottom of the sea

and their tiny shells piled up on top of each other,

a bit like this.

And over time, more and more shells piled up. Oh!

And the shells at the very bottom got squashed

because there were so many shells on top of them.

And after a while, the shells got so squashed

they became white rock, like chalk.

The ground all over the earth is moving really, really slowly

and over many, many years,

the chalk got lifted up from under the sea

and it made a cliff.

Now, you've got some chalk in front of you

so pick it up and have a feel.

Yeah.

How does it feel?

Hard.

A bit rough.

Hmm, it feels quite hard and firm.

Chalk may feel like a hard rock

but it's much softer than other rocks.

Try rubbing the chalk on to these boards

and we'll see what happens.

Oh! Go for it, Ben.

Nice stripes.

Now, what happened?

-It left a white mark.

-Yes!

Because it's quite soft,

tiny bits of the chalk flaked off when you rubbed it onto the boards.

-LUKE:

-Cliffs are like big high walls of rock.

BELLE: It's amazing that chalk cliffs are made of tiny seashells.

All squashed down over many, many years.

This chalk is very small.

To see some big cliff chalk, we need to go on a special journey.

-FELIX:

-Oh, goody. I love this bit.

I wonder where Nina is taking us.

Nina said we are going on a special journey.

Maybe it's a hot-air balloon ride, way up to the sky!

I'm getting salty wafts of the seaside.

Your question was "Why are cliffs shaped like this?"

And we've looked at small pieces of chalk

but what is cliff chalk like up close?

Let's get exploring. Can you see any cliffs from here?

Yes, over there.

Those huge white cliffs are awesome.

Yes, there are lots of big white cliffs made of chalk, around here.

Oh! Remember to keep well away from the edge, Nina.

You're right, we need to be careful near the edge of cliffs.

But we're safe here, behind this barrier.

What can you see from here, explorers?

-There are some big white rocks sticking out of the sea, Nina.

-Yes!

And those special chalk cliffs are called The Needles.

Now, needles are long, thin, sharp things

that we can use for sewing clothes.

So why do you think those are called The Needles?

-Because they are long and thin?

-Yes!

Can you see how The Needles stretch out from the main cliff?

The Needles used to be a long cliff that stretched out into the sea.

But the sea washed bits of it away

and now there are gaps where rock used to be.

-And when this happens, we call it erosion.

-Erosion.

That's an interesting word.

Let's take a closer look at The Needles

to see what erosion has done.

Way-hey! Fresh, salty, seaweedy smells. My favourite.

Oh, I do love feeling the sea breeze.

Listen carefully.

-WAVES CRASH

-What can you hear?

-The sea!

-I can hear waves hitting off the cliffs.

Yeah, the waves are constantly back and forth, hitting the chalk cliffs.

And look at the bottom -

you can see the sea has started to wash the chalk away.

-And this is called erosion.

-That's right. Well done, Belle.

Erosion over many, many years

has changed the way these cliffs look.

But how has erosion made the cliffs this shape?

Time for another experiment. Let's go, explorers.

Look - our very own cliff!

Now, let's make some waves to hit the cliffs,

just like at The Needles. And we'll use these.

Oh! One for you.

And one for me. Let's go.

Oh! Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!

Look, Nina, it's working.

Your waves are making the cliffs break away.

You're right, Luke.

The waves are washing the cliffs away, just like at The Needles.

But The Needles have been eroded by the waves for many, many years.

So we'd better keep going.

A big bit of cliff fell away! Oh!

Oh!

Look, this rock's falling away into the sea.

Ooh! Now, what do you notice about the cliff that's left?

It goes straight down.

Yes, sea waves kept crashing against the bottom of the cliff

and the rocks eroded away.

And because so much of the bottom of the cliff fell away,

the top part fell away too

and that's why cliffs are that shape.

And it's also what happened at The Needles. Have a look.

They eroded away so much, it made gaps in the cliff.

It takes a long, long time for waves to wash away rocks

which means cliffs don't fall down very often.

# Nina and the Neurons. #

So, your question was "Why are cliffs shaped like this?"

And I think we've answered it.

-LUKE:

-Cliffs look like big high rocks - a bit like a wall.

-BELLE:

-Cliffs are usually found near the sea.

Waves crash against the bottom of the cliffs...

Making the cliff break and fall away.

And this is called erosion.

So, I hope that's answered your question.

-ALL:

-Thanks, Nina. Bye.

-You're welcome. Bye.

If you want to know more about the science that's all around us,

go to the Nina section on the CBeebies website. Have fun.

# Every day the sun comes up It brightens up the sky

# A brand-new day to understand

-# A chance to ask ourselves why

-# Why?

# There's a world of possibilities outside our front door

# Front door, front door

# So every day, take a look around and explore

-# Explore,

-explore,

-explore,

-explore

-# Exploring in the garden

-# Grass

-# Exploring in the park

-# Rivers

-# Exploring in the daytime

-# Mountains

-# And even when it's dark

-# Planets

# Look at the Earth, look at the sky

# Look at the world before us

-# Explore,

-explore,

-explore,

-explore

# We're always on the lookout

-# We're Earth explorers

-# O-oh, o-oh

-# We're Earth explorers

-# O-oh o-oh

# We're Earth explorers. #

Remember, exploring is about looking at the world around us,

asking why and finding out the answer.

Whether it's deep underground, at the end of your playground

or way above the clouds, let's keep exploring our exciting world.

See you again soon. Bye.

ALL: Bye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd