Climbing 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 helps us with our eyes, Felix with our touch

# Ollie sniffs out smells and Belle 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! #

Up and up and up... Oh, hello there!

I'm just helping my wee frog pal here get to the top.

Just a few more tugs should do it. One, two, three, four. Yay!

-We've done it!

-BEEPS

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

Oh, sorry.

-ALL: Hi, Nina.

-Hi.

-We've got a question for you.

-How do we get better at climbing?

That's a great question. How can I get better at climbing?

Lots of people climb up things,

like mountaineers going up huge mountains,

but what makes them so good at it?

Come down to my lab and 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.

Today's question is, "How can you get better at climbing?"

Which Neuron do you think will be most useful in helping us?

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 message is help your sense of smell.

Or will it be baby Bud?

Sour, salty, bitter or sweet, I'm your taste buddy whenever you eat.

-It's Felix.

-CHEERING

ALL: Go, Felix! Go, Felix! Go, Felix!

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

Today's question is, "How can we get better at climbing?"

Because climbing is all about getting a grip and holding on,

Felix, our touch Neuron, will help today.

But stand by, Neurons,

I have a feeling I may need help from all of you.

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

Will likes beetroot. Sunny loves going to taekwondo.

Evie loves solving puzzles.

I love climbing.

I like swinging on the frame.

How can we get better at climbing?

They want to know, "How can we get better at climbing?"

Today, Will, Sunny and Evie become the experimenters!

-Hi, guys!

-ALL: Hi, Nina!

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

"How can we get better at climbing?"

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

ALL: Woot-whoo! A senses experiment! We're ready, Nina.

-Climbing's great fun, isn't it?

-ALL: Yes.

So let's have a look at some expert climbers.

What parts of our bodies do we use to help us climb?

Our arms and legs.

That's right! We use our arms and our legs for climbing.

Let's see if we can find out the BEST way to use them for climbing.

It's time for an experiment.

Now, experimenters, I know you're not cheeky monkeys, but I wonder

if you can move like monkeys along these bars using just your arms.

Ready, steady, go!

Hey, hey, well done!

OK, Will, off you go.

That's it, you're doing really well. And drop down. Good lad, well done.

OK, Sunny.

Oh, it's hard. You're doing so well. And drop!

-It looks very tricky, Nina.

-It does, Felix.

-So, how was that, experimenters?

-It was hard.

Yes, it was difficult to move along because your arms were

holding the weight of your body.

Let's try something different.

Now, this time,

I would like you guys to climb over these bars using just your legs.

And off you go!

Excellent, go for it.

Wonderful!

Excellent!

That looks easy-breezy, Nina!

-How was that, guys?

-Much easier.

It was, and that's

because your legs were holding the weight of your body.

Our legs hold the weight of our bodies every day,

so they're very good at it,

and they don't get tired in the same way as our arms do.

OK, experimenters, let me see your muscles! Oh, my goodness!

They look fantastic.

Whoa! My muscles are huge!

Now, let's try putting our hand around our arm muscles

and give them a feel.

Now, let's do the same thing to our leg muscles.

At the top of our legs, these main ones here. Now, what do you notice?

-Our leg muscles are bigger.

-Yes!

The muscles in our legs are much bigger

and stronger than the muscles in our arms.

And because our leg muscles are stronger,

when we use them to climb, we can keep going for much longer.

Nina, is there a way to move your legs to climb better?

That's a great question, Felix. Let's get climbing to find out.

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

I wonder if Nina's going to take us to the top of the mountain?

-Cars can't drive to the top of a mountain.

-Woo-hoo! We're here!

-It's not a mountain, it's a big building.

-Wow, look at this place!

It's so cool! This is a special room that's been made just for climbing.

It's got a very special soft floor that's safe to land on

and that means the climbers don't need to use ropes.

You should only climb in places that are safe

and you should always have an adult with you.

We've come here to meet a brilliant climber

and there she is! Hi, Fran!

Go, Fran!

-You make climbing look easy!

-Thanks.

I'm a paraclimbing world champion.

There's a competition for people

whose arms and legs don't work normally.

It doesn't keep me grounded.

From our experiment,

we found out it's easier to climb using our legs.

But HOW do we use our legs to climb? Let's do an experiment.

Fran climbs differently than we do,

but she's a great expert to help us with this.

-So, Fran, would you help us?

-Yes.

We'd like you to climb the wall and I'll shout, "freeze"

and if you stop, we'll look at what you're doing.

-Is that OK?

-No problem.

OK, experimenters, so which leg is Fran's weight on?

The yellow leg or the red leg?

Both legs, Nina.

That's right, Will. It's actually both legs.

On you go, Fran. Oh, freeze!

-So, which leg is her weight on this time?

-The red one.

-Well done.

Fran moved her weight onto her red leg

so she could lift her yellow leg up.

On you go, Fran. And freeze!

-Yellow leg next.

-Nice one, Felix.

On you go, Fran. And freeze.

Red leg now.

OK, Fran, you can stop now. Thank you so much.

So, you have to move your body weight to climb.

And by moving your body weight from one leg to another, you can step up.

Correct, Neurons. That's how you move and climb.

-But, Nina, Fran was using her arms as well.

-That's right, Felix.

Fran was good at reaching far.

Let's do an experiment to find out more.

-Careful, Nina.

-It's OK, Felix.

Remember, we're in this special room with a very soft floor. Whoa!

Aw, that was great fun!

It was difficult to reach some of the holes

with your hands, wasn't it?

Sometimes we couldn't quite stretch far enough,

so I wonder how we could reach out further to move on the wall.

Let's do an experiment.

One at a time, I want you to stand with your legs straight

and your feet together, and show how far you can

reach by drawing a line around you like this.

And you'll all get a different colour, so here we go!

Good stretching!

Stretch!

Ooh, a rainbow!

So how did it feel when you were reaching?

-A bit wobbly, Nina.

-Oh, OK.

Let's try it again, but this time you can

have your feet much further apart and you can bend your knees.

Go for it, Evie.

Bend your knees, lean out!

-So, did you feel wobbly that time?

-ALL: No.

Hmm. And could you reach further to the side

-when your legs were straight or bent?

-Bent legs.

-Yes.

And I can see that by here.

Look, your rainbow is much wider when you could bend your knees.

-Why is that, Nina?

-That's a great question.

Well, when your legs were together and straight,

you were in an unstable position.

That meant when you stretched, you were a bit wobbly

and it felt like you might fall over,

so you couldn't reach very far.

But when your legs were further apart

and you could bend your knees, that meant you could lean your

body weight out the side without feeling wobbly or falling over.

This helps us with our climbing

because we can reach more hand holes,

so we can keep climbing across and up the wall.

# Nina and the Neurons. #

So, your question was, "How can we get better at climbing?"

And I think we've answered it.

It is easier to use your legs to climb as they're used to

holding your body weight.

You move your body weight from one leg to another when climbing.

You can reach further if you spread your feet apart.

Everyone can find a way to climb, whatever their body.

And remember, we should only climb when and where it's safe.

-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's all around us,

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

ALL: On your marks, get set, go!

# Get sporty, do-be do-be doop doop do-be do-do

# Get sporty, do-be do-be doop doop do-be do-do

# 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, do-be do-be doop doop do-be do-do

# Get sporty, do-be do-be doop doop do-be do-do

# 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, do-be do-be doop doop do-be do-do

# Get sporty, do-be do-be doop doop do-be do-do

# Get sporty, do-be do-be doop doop do-be do-do

# Get sporty, do-be do-be doop doop do-be do-do. #

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!