Domes 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 by 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

# 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, hello there.

Have a look at this.

It's really good fun.

Hee-hee. Lots of shiny little domes.

ALARM BEEPS

Oh, I hear a beep. I see a flash.

I wonder what they are going to ask?

-BOTH: Hi, Nina.

-Hi.

We've got a question for you.

How are domes built?

That's a great question. How are domes built?

Domes are shaped like a whole ball that's been cut in half.

But how are they built?

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, time to get to work.

ALL: Neurons at the ready, Nina.

OK. Today's question is, "How are domes built?"

Which Neuron do you think will be most useful

in helping us find the answer?

It's Luke.

ALL: Go, Luke. Go, Luke. Go, Luke. Go, Luke.

Cool, Nina. I'll be looking out to help you.

Today's question is, "How are domes built?"

Now, we can see domes at the top of some buildings

so Luke will be busy 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.

Billy loves maths.

Katie likes playing Duck, Duck, Goose.

But they both want to know, "How are domes built?"

So today, for one day only,

Billy and Katie become the experimenters.

-Hi, guys.

-BOTH: Hi, Nina.

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

"How are domes built?"

Let's start by having a look at these photos.

Domes can be seen on important buildings like these

all over the world.

This is St Paul's Cathedral in London.

This is the Taj Mahal in India.

And this is Glasgow Central Mosque.

Now, what do the domes look like?

Half a ball.

Yes. Domes are like a hollow ball cut in half.

Why do people build domes, Nina?

Well, sometimes people build domes to make a building look

important or cover a big space without using any pillars.

But there is another good reason why people build domes

and I think we need to get experimenting to find out.

ALL: Whoo-whoo! An experiment. We're ready, Nina.

So, we've got some pretend buildings here.

We've got a cube-shaped building and a dome-shaped building.

We are going to find out how much space is inside them

by filling them with these balls.

-Can you help me count?

-Yes, Nina.

Let's start counting.

One. That's it.

Two.

Three.

One, two, three, four, five.

That's good.

OK, Billy. How many balls did you get into the cube-shaped building?

18.

-And what about the dome-shaped building?

-18.

So the cube and the dome both hold exactly the same number of balls.

That's right, Ollie, which means that both buildings

have the same amount of space inside them.

Now let's find out how big they are on the outside.

I'm going to undo the cube-shaped building.

OK. There we go.

Now I'm going to cut the card that made the dome and you

guys are going to place the pieces onto the card that made the cube.

OK? Here we go.

Here you are, Billy.

You, too, Katie.

Here's some more for you and some more for you.

So, what's happened, experimenters?

We've used up all the card, Nina.

Yes, and did we manage to completely cover the cube?

No, Nina.

No. We didn't. There's a big space at the end.

So, more card was used to make the cube shape than the dome shape.

The cube and the dome do have the same space inside them

but the dome is more efficient.

Efficient. Ooh, I like that word. Ha-ha.

Efficient means that a dome shape will use less material

than a cube shape for the same amount of space inside.

But, Nina, you built a little dome.

How do you build a really big one?

Good question, Luke. I think we need to go somewhere huge to find out.

Oh, goody. I love this bit. I wonder where Nina is taking us.

Nina said we'll see something huge.

Like a dinosaur. They're really huge. Rarr!

-I don't think we'll see a dinosaur, Bud.

-Sorry, guys.

No dinosaurs here

but it is huge.

So, your question was, "How are domes built?"

and so far we've discovered that dome-shaped buildings

are very efficient.

Now we want to find out how to build a really big dome.

So we've come here to the Eden Project in Cornwall.

Are those domes, Nina?

Yes, and there are eight here. What do they remind you of?

Big footballs.

Yes.

Well, these domes are actually giant greenhouses

and the space inside is used to grow plants.

So, let's explore.

Let's have a look at this lovely waterfall.

Look at the amazing roof.

We've got a great view of the dome from up here.

So let's have a look at the roof. What do you notice?

-There are lots of shapes joined together.

-That's right.

Let's look carefully at the shapes.

How many sides do they have?

Six.

That's right. And a six-sided shape is called a hexagon.

Hexagon.

That's a great sounding word.

These massive domes are mostly made up of hexagons all joined together.

Let's do an experiment to see how they work.

For this experiment, we have got our very own dome

that's been made with hexagons

and I want you guys to go around

and check that all the shapes have six sides.

-So, did all the shapes of six sides?

-No, Nina.

Some of them have five.

Well spotted.

Yes, some of the shapes have five sides, like this one here,

and they're called pentagons.

Pentagon. That sounds fancy.

The pentagon shapes in between the hexagons

help to make the dome curved.

If you have a look at this football,

the pink hexagons are joined to the black pentagon shapes

just like our dome and they help to make the ball round.

And you can see what I mean in the big domes behind us.

I see lots of six-sided hexagons.

The hexagons have been joined together...

With a five-sided pentagon in between them to help make the dome curved.

Brilliant. Well remembered, Neurons.

How do the domes stay up, Nina?

That's a great question.

These domes are huge but we didn't see any pillars holding up the roof.

So how do the domes stay up?

I think we need to go back to the workshop for one final experiment.

So we are going to make our very own dome

and we're going to make it stay up. OK?

This dome is a little bit different than the one we saw earlier

because it's made of different shapes but it works in the same way.

-Shall we give it a try?

-BOTH: Yeah.

-OK. Let's go.

Hold this part for me here.

And can you see if it's staying up?

Oh, dear. The dome keeps falling down.

Oh.

-So, what's happening, experimenters?

-The blocks won't stay up.

-Yes.

I think we need something to hold the blocks

until they are all in place.

What does the top of this balloon remind you of?

A dome.

Yes, it's like a dome shape. I think this might help us.

Can you pass the pieces of the dome up to me, please?

Thank you. Thank you.

Katie, do you want to pass me one?

Thank you.

Lovely.

It's a tight squeeze but I think it's working.

Great teamwork, experimenters.

So all the pieces of our dome are tightly packed

and they're pushing against each other.

Now, what do you think will happen when we take the balloon away?

It will fall over.

Do you think it will fall over? Well, let's see.

-Hey!

-NEURONS: Hooray!

It stayed up.

Because all the blocks are in place,

they're pushing against each other and holding themselves up.

And this is the same in a real dome.

When they're being built,

they need a structure underneath to hold them up.

But once all the pieces are in place...

They push against each other...

And then the dome can stay up on its own.

Thanks, Neurons.

So, your question was, "How are domes built?"

And I think we've answered it.

You often see domes in buildings like churches and mosques.

A dome is like a hollow ball cut in half.

Domes are efficient because for the same space, they use less material.

By joining hexagons and pentagons together,

they can be made into a curved dome.

All the parts of a dome push against each other

so they can stay up without any pillars.

So, I hope that's answered your question.

BOTH: Thanks, Nina. Bye.

Oh, you are 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.

# 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

# Race it, hold it, make it stick

# Come on, let's get building

# Come on, let's get building

# Some of them are cosy warm, some of them are chilly,

-# 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

# 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-bye.

-Get building!