Gymnastics 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! #

# Doo, duh, doo, duh, doo, duh, doo... #

Ho, ho, ho! Hello there!

I'm just doing some different types of jumps.

I can jump and land on two feet. Oh! Or I can jump and land on one foot.

Ho, ho! I'm a bit wobbly on one foot. Woh!

-Two feet are much better.

-BEEPING

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

-BOTH:

-Hi, Nina!

-Hi!

We've got a question for you...

Why do we bend our knees when we land?

That's a great question. Why do we bend our knees when we land?

I've been jumping and landing and it was great fun.

Why don't you come down to my lab 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.

WHIZZING

MUSIC PLAYS

Neurons at the ready, Nina!

OK, today's question is why do we bend our knees when we land?

Which Neuron will help us find the answer?

-ALL:

-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.

COMPUTER BLEEPS

-It's Felix!

-CHEERING

-THEY CHANT:

-Go, Felix! Go, Felix! Go, Felix! Go, Felix!

Go Felix! Go Felix!

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

Today's question - why do we bend our knees when we land?

As jumping and landing is something we feel,

Felix, our touch Neuron will help us today.

Right, I need to get the lab ready before the experimenters arrive.

Imogen loves helping in the kitchen. Grace loves art.

-I love jumping off things.

-I like landing in puddles.

They both want to know, why do we bend our knees when we land?

So today, for one day only, Imogen and Grace become...

the experimenters!

-Hi, guys!

-BOTH:

-Hi, Nina!

Welcome to my lab. Thanks for your question -

why do we bend our knees when we land?

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

Woot woo! A senses experiment! We're ready, Nina!

To find out more about landing,

let's take a look at some gymnasts landing.

Gymnasts are specially trained. You should never try this.

Gymnasts learn how to tumble and twist and turn

and they do lots of landing, so it's important they can land safely.

The gymnasts bend their knees when they land.

That's right, Luke.

And we can see it even better in slow motion.

And the reason gymnasts bend like this is to do with

something called impact.

Impact is what happens when something bumps into something else.

If we high-five... Give me a high-five... Very good!

When your hand bumped into mine, it made an impact.

Do you want a go? Excellent high-fives, girls.

And the faster the bump happens, the bigger the impact is.

So, let's do an experiment to find out more.

I have something over here...

I have two eggs on blocks. OK...

This egg is stuck onto a hard block, so let's push down on the block...

-Push down... Does the block bend?

-No.

I didn't feel any bending, Nina.

-It stayed just where it was.

-That's right, Felix.

But this egg is stuck onto a block with bendy bits.

Let's push down on this block. That's it. What was that like?

-It was bendy.

-Yes, it was bendy!

Now let's see what happens to the eggs when the blocks land.

Let's go here. I'll bring these...

OK, Grace...

It's your turn first. Can you have the hard block?

I'd like you to hold it over the top of this tube. That's it.

Are you holding on to it tight? I want you to drop it when I say.

One...two...three... Drop!

-Oh! Ha, ha, ha!

-Wow! What a crack!

-Is it time to make scrambled eggs, Nina? Yummy!

-No, sorry, Bud.

Imogen, it's your turn.

I'd like you to do the same with the bendy block.

Hold it over the top of this tube...

OK, I want you to drop it when I say.

One...two...three... Drop!

-Hey... Did it break?

-No.

-No, it didn't.

-It's amazing, isn't it?

-BOTH:

-Yes!

Hee-hee! So, the first egg broke

because it landed really hard on the tray

and made a big impact. The big impact broke the eggshell.

When the second egg was dropped, the bendy bits hit the tray first.

They bent and slowed the egg down.

So, it had a much softer landing and didn't break.

Our knees are a bit like the bendy bits in this block.

They bend and slow us down when we land,

so we have a softer landing and the impact doesn't hurt.

It's not just our bendy knees that help us to land.

Let's go somewhere squidgy to find out more.

-Where are we going today?

-Nina said it was somewhere squidgy.

Beds are squidgy. Maybe we're going to jump up and down on a giant bed.

That sounds like fun, Bud.

I can't see a bed, Neurons. But it looks like we're here.

This is Bellahouston Gymnastics Centre.

Now, look... The gymnast is bending his knees when he lands -

to make it a softer landing with less impact.

That way, he won't hurt himself.

Those mats look nice and soft, Nina.

Oh, yes, Felix.

-They do look soft. What does this soft mat remind you of?

-A bed.

Yes, it does look a bit like a soft mattress on a bed.

Why do you think gymnasts land on soft mats rather than hard floor?

-So that they don't hurt themselves.

-That's right.

Gymnasts are moving really quickly, so when they land,

they make a big impact.

And the soft mats help them to land more gently.

Let's look at something that's inside our bodies that

works a bit like the soft mats when we land.

This is what our knees look like under the skin.

These are the bones at the top of our legs.

And these are the bones at the bottom.

These pads at the ends of our bones

work a bit like the soft mats where the bones meet.

Let's do an experiment to find out how they work!

This giant water balloon is a bit like the pads inside our knees.

I'd like you guys to jump onto the water balloon

and I'm going to film it with this special camera

to see what happens when there's an impact.

SPLOSH

SPLOSH

-Go for it!

-SPLOSH

Hee-hee-hee! That was brilliant!

Let's watch it back and see what happened when you jumped

on the balloon. We're going to watch it in slow motion.

Can you see the balloon moving, even at the sides,

-where your body didn't touch it?

-BOTH:

-Yes!

Your bodies landed on one part of the water balloon.

Because the balloon is squishy,

the impact was spread out throughout the whole balloon.

That helped to soften your landing.

Landing on crash mats can help us to land safely by softening the impact.

Our knees are the place where our leg bones meet.

We have squishy pads at the ends of our leg bones

and they spread out the impact when we land, so it doesn't hurt.

Well remembered, Neurons! Have a look at this gymnast landing.

It looks like it might be quite hard to balance when you land!

Keeping our balance is really important when we land.

Let's go back to the lab for one final experiment.

So, you asked...

why do we bend our knees when we land?

So far, we've discovered that, when the land, we feel an impact.

And the faster we move, the bigger the impact is.

So take a look at this.

In lots of different sports, it's difficult

to keep your balance when you land. Gymnasts train hard to become

great at keeping their balance when they land.

Let's do an experiment to find out more. Over here, girls.

Here we have two balance boards.

I'd like you guys to try standing on the balance boards

with your legs straight.

I want you to try to keep balanced without bending your knees.

OK, step onto it and keep those legs straight!

That's it. Try and balance with straight legs...

Whoo!

Oh, ho, ho, ho!

Oh! They keep falling off, Nina!

OK, girls... And step off safely...

-Was it easy to stay balanced?

-BOTH:

-No...

OK, let's try again, but this time, you can bend your knees.

That's it. And you can bend your knees... Go for it!

Oh, my goodness! Look at those fantastic bent knees.

Very good balancing indeed.

Was it easier to keep balanced with your legs

-straight or bent?

-Bent.

-Bent.

-Bent, that's right!

So, when our knees are bent, we're lower to the ground,

so it's much easier to stay balanced.

That's another reason why sportspeople bend their knees

when they land. And it's important to land safely

so you can keep on jumping!

# Nina and the Neurons! #

You asked...

why do we bend our knees when we land?

And I think we've answered it.

When we land on something, we make an impact.

Big impacts can feel painful.

Gymnasts bend their knees to help them land more gently.

Landing on soft mats helps us to land safely by softening the impact.

Inside of our knees, we have squidgy pads

that spread the impact when we land.

Bending our knees also helps us get closer to the ground

and stay balanced, so we don't fall over.

-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!

-ALL:

-On your marks, get set, go!

# Get sporty

# Dooby, dooby, doop, doop, dooby, dee, doo

# Get sporty

# Dooby, dooby, doop, doop, dooby, dee, doo

# If you're itching for some exercise

-# From your head down to your toes

-Toes!

# Why not try out something new?

-# And give it a real go?

-Go!

-# Whenever you are restless and feeling kind of bored

-Bored...

# Grab your friends and go outside and try a brand-new sport

# Get sporty

# Dooby, dooby, doop, doop, dooby, dee, doo

# Get sporty

# Dooby, dooby, doop, doop, dooby, dee, doo

# Spinning, throwing, running, jumping, lots of fun to do

# Cycling, diving, sliding, rolling, it's really up to you

# Yoo-hoo!

# If you're wondering how a swimmer swims or a bike can go so fast

# Give it a bash and make it last, it's time to go get sporty

# Get sporty

# Dooby, dooby, doop, doop, dooby, dee, doo

# Get sporty

# Dooby, dooby, doop, doop, dooby, dee, doo

# Get sporty

# Dooby, dooby, doop, doop, dooby, dee, doo

# Get sporty

# Dooby, dooby, doop, doop, dooby, dee, doo. #

And remember, whether it's inside, outside,

on a bike or in a pool, we can all try something new

and get sporty!

-See you again soon. Bye!

-ALL:

-Bye!

Get sporty!