Living Underground 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! #

There you go.

Oh, hello there! I'm just lining up my little ants.

They're following a trail for food.

They look like they're doing the conga, don't they?

# Da-doo-doo doo-doo-do do do!

# Da-doo-doo doo-doo-do do do! #

COMPUTER BEEPS

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

Hi, Nina!

-Hi!

-We've got a question for you.

Why do some animals live underground?

That's a great question!

Why do some animals live underground?

We build our homes above the ground,

but some animals live under the ground. I wonder why that is?

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

See you soon, Nina. Bye!

Bye.

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 at the ready, Nina.

OK, today's question is why do some animals live underground?

Which Neuron do you think would be most useful

helping us find the answer?

It's Felix! CHEERING

# Go, Felix! Go, Felix!

# Go, Felix! Go, Felix! #

Marvellous! A little touch can mean so much, Nina.

Today's question is why do some animals live underground?

It feels different underground, so Felix is helping us today.

But, stand by, Neurons.

I've a feeling I may need help from all of you.

I need to get the workshop ready before the experimenters arrive.

Taite likes playing games that make him think.

Taruni loves reading.

But they both want to know, why do some animals live underground?

So today, for one day only,

Taite and Taruni become the experimenters!

-Hi, guys!

-Hi, Nina!

Welcome to my workshop.

And thank you for your question -

why do some animals live underground?

Lots of animals and insects live underground.

Take a look at these.

Can you tell me what these are?

-Ants.

-Yes, they are ants.

And look, they're digging some amazing tunnels underground.

But we want to find out why they live underground?

Let's start with an experiment.

Whoop-woo! An experiment!

We're ready , Nina!

So, we've got two boxes here, each with a thermometer inside.

A thermometer tells us what the temperature is.

So if it gets warmer, the number on the thermometer goes up.

What do the thermometers say at the moment?

20.

20.

So, they're both at 20 degrees Celsius.

They're both the same temperature.

Now, we're going to keep this box above the ground,

but the other box that's already in the ground, we're going to bury it.

And I have some soil down here to do it with.

So, let's go for it!

Great work, experimenters.

Now, during the daytime, the sun heats things up.

So, we need a pretend sun.

This heat lamp here is going to be our pretend sun.

Does it feel nice and warm?

Yeah.

That feels lovely and warm, Nina.

Taruni, can you pass me up your box, please?

Thank you very much.

We're going to pop it on top, here.

Now, we need to wait for the warm sun to heat things up.

The sun has been shining for a while

and it's making the air above the ground quite warm.

I've got my suncream on, Nina!

Let's check the temperatures inside the boxes.

Can you tell me the temperature in the box above the ground, please?

32.

It's gone up, Nina.

32!

Because the sun was shining, the temperature in the box

above the ground went from 20 to 32 degrees Celsius.

It definitely got warmer.

OK, Taite, can you please check the temperature under the ground?

20.

It's the same as before, Nina.

Even though the sun made it hotter above the ground,

the temperature underground stayed the same.

You see, the ground takes much longer to heat up or cool down than the air.

So, the temperature underground stays about the same.

You see, animals are just like us.

They don't like to get too hot or too cold,

so living underground means that the temperature stays just right.

-OLLIE:

-So, ground takes longer to heat up or cool down than air.

-BELLE:

-And if the temperature changes above ground,

underground stays the same.

That's one reason why creatures like ants live underground.

Take a look at this.

These are termites.

They dig tunnels underground like the ants we saw.

But this is a mound,

millions of termites dig earth out of their tunnels

and pile it up, to build a big mound above the ground.

How do they know how to build it?

That's a great question!

Let's go somewhere with a really big hill to find out more.

-LUKE:

-Here we go! I can't wait to see where we'll end up today!

Nina said it was somewhere with a big hill.

Maybe we're going to climb to the top of a hill?

I hope there's a picnic at the top!

I can't see a picnic, Neurons, but it looks like we're here.

So far, we've found out that animals, like termites and ants,

make their homes underground because it's not too hot and not too cold.

But now we want to find out how termites know how to build a mound.

OK, termite friends, we've got some blocks here,

and we're going to build something just like termites do.

The clever thing about termites is they all work separately -

no-one tells them what to do -

but together they still manage to build a big mound.

We're going to follow three simple rules.

Rule number one is we put all the blocks in a row.

Rule number two, when you have a row of three blocks, turn right.

Rule number three, keep going.

To be really termite-like, no-one is going to be in charge

and we're not going to speak to each other while we build.

-Got it?

-Yes!

Excellent, let's get building.

Well done, experimenters! We've built a square box

and we did by following some very simple rules.

And that's exactly what termites do when they build a giant mound.

When termites build, they don't talk to each other.

But by following simple rules, they build a mound together.

That's right, Neurons.

Why do termites build a mound?

That's a great question.

Let's do one final experiment to find out.

Your question was, why do some animals live underground?

And so far, we've found that termites build

a mound above the ground, but now we want to find out why they build it.

So, we've come here, to find out what it's like

to be inside a termite mound.

Scientists investigated part of a real termite mound and built

this structure to look exactly the same on the inside, only much bigger.

Big enough so that we can go in.

Are you ready, termites?

-Yes!

-Let's go!

We're just like tiny termites.

There are only three of us in here,

but there would be millions of termites in a real mound.

Wow! That's a lot of termites!

One termite doesn't need much air to breathe.

But millions of termites need lots of fresh air.

So, can you see any holes in here, experimenters?

Yes.

Termite mounds might look solid from the outside,

but actually, there's lots of holes in them.

Why are there so many holes, Nina?

I'm going to add some red smoke to the air inside the mound

so we can see it, and we're going to go outside and watch what happens.

Let's go.

All the air inside the mound has changed colour!

Can you see what's happening to the air inside the mound?

-It's coming out.

-Yes!

The red air inside the termite mound is slowly coming out

through the holes. And fresh air is going in.

And this is the same thing that happens in a real termite mound.

Eventually, all this stale air that's inside the mound

will be replaced with lots of lovely fresh air.

So, the mound and tunnels stay filled with fresh air

and the termites can breathe wherever they are.

-LUKE:

-The termite mound has lots of holes in it to let air in and out.

-OLLIE:

-Lots of termites need lots of fresh air

while they're building those tunnels.

That's right, Neurons.

# Nina and the Neurons. #

Your question was, why do some animals live underground?

I think we've answered it.

-FELIX:

-The temperature underground doesn't change much.

-OLLIE:

-That means animals stay just right temperature.

-BUD:

-Termites build tunnels underground,

and they move the earth above the ground.

BELLE: They follow simple rules and, together, they make a mound.

-LUKE:

-The termite mound has lots of holes in it, to let old air out

and fresh air in,

So they can breathe.

-I hope that's answered your question.

-Thanks, Nina, bye!

You're welcome, bye!

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

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

# Superstructures

# 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 windey Whirly, whooshy, too

# All around!

# Look over here!

# Build it, stack it

# Pile it up

# Come on, let's get building

# Building, building, building!

# Race it, hold it

# Make it stick

# Come on, let's get building

# Come on, let's get building

# Some of them are a cosy warm

-# Some of them are chilly

-Brr!

-# 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!

# Race it, hold it

# Make it stick

# Come on, let's get building

# Wee-ooh

# Come on, let's get building! #

Remember, there are superstructures everywhere.

Whether they're big or small, wide or tall, we can all get building.

See you again soon. Bye!

-Bye!

-Get building!