Demolition Nina and the Neurons

# 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 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 (Fingers)

# Eyes (Eyes) Ears (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! #

Oh, come on, Nina, come on.

Oh, I nearly clocked one.

Oh, hello there.

I was concentrating so hard I didn't see you there.

There we go.

I'm trying to see how many blocks I can remove from this tower

without it falling over.

And I'm doing really well. Er, this one.

Let's try this one. Oh.

Oh, no!

NINA LAUGHS

-Hm.

-ALARM BEEPS

I hear a beep. I see a flash. I wonder what they are going to ask?

-ALL: Hi, Nina.

-Hi.

We've got a question for you.

-How are old buildings knocked down?

-Oh, that's a great question.

How are old buildings knocked down.

Well, old buildings sometimes have to be knocked down

to make space for new buildings.

So why did you come down to my workshop and we'll investigate?

-ALL: 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.

ALL: Neurons at the ready, Nina.

OK. Today's question is, "How are old buildings knocked down?"

Which Neuron you think will be most useful

in helping us find the answer?

It's Belle.

Go, Belle. Go, Belle. Go, Belle. Go, Belle. Go, Belle. Go, Belle.

Brilliant. I'm all ears, Nina.

Today's question is, "How are old buildings knocked down?"

Well, knocking down buildings is a very noisy business.

So Belle 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 experimenters arrive.

Soham loves superheroes.

Andrea likes doing puzzles.

Yusuf loves reading.

But they all want to know how are old buildings knocked down?

So today, for one day only,

Soham, Andrea and Yusuf become the Experimenters!

-Hi, guys.

-ALL: Hi, Nina.

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

"How are old buildings knocked down?"

Let's start by having a look at this.

Sometimes old buildings are knocked down because they become unsafe

or to make space for new ones

and when buildings are knocked down it's called a demolition.

Demolition. De-mo-lit-ion. Ooh, I like that word.

So, what did you think, experimenters?

It was loud and really quick.

Yes, these buildings were demolished using a big bang

that scientists call an explosion.

Just what is an explosion?

Let's do an experiment to find.

ALL: Whoo-whoo! An experiment.

We're ready, Nina.

We are going to create our very own mini explosion

by making these bags go pop.

I can smell vinegar, Nina.

So, our bag have vinegar inside them

and these paper towels have bicarbonate of soda inside.

We can do this because it's perfectly safe

but you must never take things from the kitchen

without asking a grown-up first.

OK, so we will be putting the paper towels inside the bag,

then sealing them up and then we'll see what happens.

-Are you ready?

-ALL: Yeah.

Go.

And just sit it inside gently.

OK, now, we are going to pick up our bags and slosh them around.

That's it.

Andrea, put it down and take a step back.

That's good.

And put yours down as well, take a step back.

So what is happening, experimenters?

The bags are getting bigger, Nina.

Yes, when the bicarbonate of soda and vinegar mix together,

they react to make a gas.

Nina. Nina?

You can't see the gas but it's trapped inside the sealed bags

and it is blowing them up, making them bigger and bigger.

Nina.

It looks like those bags are going to...

BANG

Pop!

So what happened?

The bags popped, Nina.

Yes, when the bicarbonate of soda and vinegar mixed together,

it made lots of gas and eventually,

the bags couldn't hold it in any more and they...

-ALL:

-Popped!

Yes, they popped, like a mini explosion.

But, did this happen slowly or quickly?

-ALL:

-Slowly.

Slowly, that's absolutely right.

An explosion happens when gas suddenly takes up more space

and the faster this happens, the more powerful the explosion.

And to demolish a building, you need a really big explosion

so you need to make lots of gas and really quickly.

It's really important to know where the buildings will fall

so that there's nothing in the way that could get damaged.

But how do they know, Nina?

That's a great question.

I think we need to do another experiment to find out.

We are going to pretend that this tower

is a building that we are going to demolish

and these blocks are other buildings and the blue material is a river.

If we are going to knock this tower over,

what do you think we need to avoid?

-Other buildings.

-The river.

That's right, so we need to control what way this tower falls

so we don't hit the other buildings and the river.

Where do you think will be a good place for it to fall?

The gap, Nina.

Yes, that's right.

How can we get the tower to fall safely into that gap?

-Take the cans from one side, Nina.

-Excellent, idea,

and we just happen to have pieces of string here.

I've got one each and they are attached to cans

at the bottom of our tower on one side.

We are going to pull these pieces of string really fast...

NINA GIGGLES

..as if we're removing the cans with an explosion.

So let's pick up our pieces of string, really gently.

-Is everyone ready?

-ALL:

-Yes.

Three, two, one -

Pull!

THEY CHEER AND LAUGH

-That was cool.

-Oh, brilliant.

THE NEURONS CONGRATULATE THEM

Well done, guys, our tower fell in one direction

and it landed exactly where we wanted it to -

between the buildings and the river.

And this is exactly what demolition engineers do.

By placing explosives in just the right place,

they can control what way the building will fall.

Well, I must say, Nina, I'm most impressed.

Oh, thanks, Felix.

But, there is another way that buildings can be demolished.

In fact, experimenters, I think it is time to get your claws out.

Mmm, where do you think we are going today?

Nina mentioned getting our claws ready.

Maybe it is a zoo with lions and tigers?

-Aah! I love lions.

-HE ROARS

Well, something is roaring but I don't think it's a lion.

So, your question was, how are old buildings knocked down?

So I have brought you to see this old building being demolished.

Now, we've got special permission to be here but demolition sites

can be really dangerous so you should never go near one.

Now, as we found out, explosives aren't always

the best way to demolish a building.

-And why do you think that is?

-Because of the buildings nearby.

That's right. If there are buildings nearby.

So another way is to use one of these special machines.

What do you notice about the machine they're using?

It's huge, Nina.

It's very noisy.

It is very noisy.

Now, this machine is called a high reach machine,

and its long arm reaches right to the top of the building.

High reach machine. What a great name.

It demolishes the building bit by bit,

slowly working down from the top to the bottom.

Its long arm has a big metal claw on the end and it munches

its way through the concrete and the brick to remove them.

A claw! Oh, that is so cool.

Shall we have a go at doing some demolishing of our own?

ALL: Yeah!

We're going to pretend we're high reaching machines and these

special grabbers are like the long arm with the claw at the end,

and we're going to use them to demolish this cool tower.

So where do you think we should start first?

From the top.

Yes. It's safest to grab the cans at the top first

and then work our way down.

And, remember, we don't want to hit any of these buildings nearby. OK?

So, ready, steady,

let's get demolishing!

-Oh, well done.

-I got one.

Careful now. Slowly.

Marvellous.

Oh, that's it.

Pull, pull, pull.

I'll get this one.

Oh, oh, oh, hey!

Brilliant, demolition experimenters.

By using the long arm and the claw,

slowly, we have demolished the whole tower safely.

What happened to the pieces, Nina?

That's a great question, Andrea.

In a real demolition,

some pieces from an old building will be used to make new buildings.

Excellent recycling.

So, your question was how are old buildings knocked down?

And I think we've answered it.

When an old building is taken down, it's called the demolition.

Engineers put explosives in the bricks and concrete

to blow them apart.

The explosion happens when gas suddenly takes up more space.

They place explosives carefully

to control which way the building will fall.

Buildings are also demolished using high reach machines.

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 is all around us,

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

# Superstructures

# Superstructures

# Superstructures, superstructures superstructures!

# Some of them are tall

# Some of them are wide

# They're bumpy, lumpy, wiggly, too

# Wiggly, too

# Some of them are strong

-# Some of them are small... #

-Like me!

# They're windy, whirly whooshy, too

# All around

# Look over here

# Build it, stack it

# Pile it up

# Come on, let's get building... #

Building! Building! Building!

# Brace it, hold it

# Make it stick

# Come on, let's get building

# Whee-oo-ooh

# Come on, let's get building

# Some of them are cosy warm

-# Some of them are chilly... #

-Brrr!

# Keep us safe and hide us, too

# Hide us, too!

# Some of them are just for fun

# Or help us to stay dry

# They're underground and high up, too

# Look around

# Over here

# Build it, stack it

# Pile it up

# Come on, let's get building... #

-Building!

-Building!

-Building!

# Brace it, hold it

# Make it stick

# Come on, let's get building

# Whee-oo-ooh

# Come on, let's get building! #

And, remember, there are superstructures everywhere.

Whether they're big or small, wide or tall,

we can all get building.

See you again soon. Bye!

ALL: Bye!