Grand Canyon 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 while helping all her fans

# By doing her experiments with potions and with bangs

-# Touch your tongue

-Tongue!

-# Fingers

-Fingers!

-# Eyes.

-Eyes!

-Ears.

-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 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

-Fingers!

-# Eyes.

-Eyes!

-Ears.

-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

# Oh, yeah! #

BUBBLING IN BACKGROUND

Oh, oh, oh!

There you go, little one.

SHE LAUGHS

Oh, hello there! I'm just making some yummy scones.

I mixed all the ingredients together

and now they're ready to go into the oven for baking. Woo!

BUTTON BEEPS

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

BUTTON BEEPS

MOUSE CLICKS

BOTH: Hi, Nina!

Hi!

We've got a question for you.

What is the Grand Canyon?

That's a great question.

"What is the Grand Canyon?"

Well, the Grand Canyon is a very famous place, but what is it?

Why don't you come down to my workshop and we'll investigate?

BOTH: 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, it's time to get to work.

ALL: Neurons at the ready, Nina.

OK, today's question is, "What is the Grand Canyon?"

Now, which Neuron do you think will be most useful in helping us

find the answer?

ALL: Me! Me! 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.

BEEPING

CHEERING

It's Luke!

# Go, Luke! Go, Luke!

# Go, Luke! Go, Luke!

# Go, Luke! #

Cool, Nina!

I'll be looking out to help you.

Today's question is, "What is the Grand Canyon?"

Because canyons are something we can see, Luke, our sight Neuron,

will be helping us today, but, stand by Neurons, I've a feeling

I may need help from all of you.

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

Ronnie's favourite animal is a lion

and William likes watching TV,

but they both want to know, "What is the Grand Canyon?"

The Grand Canyon is really big.

Where did it come from?

So, today, for one day only, Ronnie and William become the Explorers!

-Hi, guys.

-BOTH: Hi, Nina.

Welcome to my workshop and thank you for your great question,

"What is the Grand Canyon?"

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

ALL: Whoop-woo! A senses experiment!

We're ready, Nina.

A canyon is the name given to a really big, long gap

in the ground...like this one.

They are called canyons or gorges and lots of them

have rivers at the bottom.

This is a picture of the Grand Canyon in America!

Hee-hee! It's really big and the most famous canyon in the world.

-LUKE:

-Wow! Look at the size of that.

Oh, it must have taken people a long time to dig a hole that deep!

Canyons aren't made by people, Bud.

They're made naturally in the world around us,

but you're right, the Grand Canyon is very, very deep.

Why is it so deep, Nina?

Oh, that's a great question.

Now, in real life, canyons are really big,

so we've got a model one here for us to have a look at.

Now, scientists are still working out exactly how the Grand Canyon was

formed and why it's so deep,

but a lot of scientists think that a long, long time ago,

long before there were dinosaurs,

the Grand Canyon wasn't as deep as it is today.

So, something happened to make it a lot deeper. Can you guess what?

No.

Hee-hee! The ground at the side of the canyon moved up.

Did you just say that the ground moved up, Nina?

Yes, Felix.

The ground all over the world is moving really, really slowly.

It's moving at about the same speed as our fingernails grow.

Ha-ha! And a very, very long time ago,

the sides of the Grand Canyon lifted up,

but the river in the middle stayed where it was at the bottom.

It's a bit like my scones from earlier.

-BUD:

-Yum!

Look at that! They've risen perfectly!

A very, very long time ago,

the sides of the Grand Canyon lifted up...

..a bit like the way my scones have risen up.

But the river stayed at the bottom where it was,

and that's why it's so deep.

I'll show you with a bigger scone I made.

Oh!

Oh-ho! I put a pretend river on top of this big scone before I baked it.

Look what happened.

The pretend river stayed where it was,

but the sides have moved up around it,

making a big canyon in the middle.

-LUKE:

-So, the Grand Canyon is a great, big, long hole in the ground

with a river at the bottom of it.

And the reason the Grand Canyon is so deep, is because the ground

at the sides of it lifted up, but the river stayed where it was.

That's right, Felix.

How deep is it?

That's a great question, and I know a very big

and very exciting place where we can go to find out.

FELIX: Oh, goody! I love this bit.

-I wonder where Nina is taking us.

-She said it was big and exciting.

-Maybe it's a party!

-With lots of lovely music!

-LUKE:

-I don't think it's a party, but it looks amazing!

We've arrived in America.

THIS is the Grand Canyon.

I've NEVER seen anything as big as that before.

Magnificent!

So, you asked, "What is the Grand Canyon?"

And, so far, we've learned that the Grand Canyon is a great, big,

long gap in the ground and, like many canyons,

there's a river at the bottom.

We also learned that scientists believe that

one of the reasons the Grand Canyon is so deep is because a very

long time ago, the ground at the side of the canyon lifted up,

but the river stayed at the bottom.

-LUKE:

-That is seriously cool, man.

Let's go and explore!

Wow! Fantastic!

Amazing!

-LUKE:

-It's hard to see the other side because it's so far away!

Oh, wow! We're so high up!

SHE LAUGHS

-FELIX:

-Woo! It's very far down, Nina.

Wow, that was amazing!

This canyon is so deep that there's enough space for 300 giraffes

to stand on top of each other!

And can you see the river at the bottom?

That river helped to shape the canyon.

I think it's time for another experiment.

Let's go back to the workshop!

So, you asked, "What is the Grand Canyon?"

So far, we've found out that the Grand Canyon is a really big,

long gap in the ground with a river at the bottom.

We also know that the river helped to shape the canyon

and we want to find out how that happened.

Now, have you noticed that after it rains,

the water soaks into the ground in some places,

but, in other places, it lies on top and makes puddles?

BOTH: Yes.

-I love it when Nina splashes in puddles!

-Oh, no, Bud!

No splashing in puddles, please!

What happens to rainwater depends on the type of ground that it falls on.

Some ground is hard and rocky, like the ground in the Grand Canyon,

and other ground is soft and squishy,

like sand on a beach or grass in a field.

And we're going to do an experiment to find out what happens to

water on different types of ground.

Now, here we have two trays and in this tray there is sponge,

so this one's like soft ground and in your tray there, Ronnie, there's

no sponge in it, so it's like the hard, rocky ground of a canyon.

Now, you also have some water in front of you

and we're going to pretend this water is the river.

Now, you're going to pour the water onto the different

types of ground and we'll see what happens.

OK, so, William, you're first.

Can you please pour your water onto this soft ground?

What happened?

The water soaked in.

That's right. All the water has been soaked up by the sponge

and the rocks haven't moved very much.

Hmm.

OK, Ronnie, it's your turn now,

so can I ask you to pour your water onto the hard, rocky ground.

NINA GASPS AND LAUGHS

So, what happened this time?

They moved.

That's right. Water doesn't soak into hard, rocky ground.

It stays on top and washes all the rocks away

and this is what happened at the Grand Canyon.

When the ground started slowly moving upwards,

the river kept washing all the rocks and stones away,

so it made a big gap in the middle.

But this took a very, very long time to happen.

# Nina and the Neurons! #

So, your question was, "What is the Grand Canyon?"

And I think we've answered it.

-LUKE:

-A canyon is a great, big, long gap in the ground,

and the Grand Canyon is the most famous of all.

-FELIX:

-And a long time ago,

the ground at the sides of the Grand Canyon slowly lifted up.

But the river stayed at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, because it

washed away the rocks and stones.

And this made the Grand Canyon so deep.

So, I hope that's answered your question.

BOTH: 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

# Oh-oh!

# So, every day, take a look around and explore

-# Explore!

-Explore!

-Explore!

-Explore!

-Explore!

# Exploring in the garden

# Rocks!

# 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

# Oh-oh! Oh-oh!

# We're Earth Explorers!

# Oh-oh! Oh-oh!

# We're Earth Explorers!

And remember, exploring is about looking at the world around us,

asking why and finding out the answer.

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

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

See you again soon. Bye!

ALL: Bye!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd