Flying High 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!

# Every day we use our senses Wherever we may go

-# 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 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

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Oh yeah! #

Hi, everyone!

ALL: Hi, Nina!

I've got a really exciting experiment to show you today.

Take a look at these glass rods.

They look the same, they feel the same

but they're different.

Take a closer look at the ends of the rods.

One of the rods has a hole in the middle

and the hole goes through to the other side.

It's like a drinking straw

and this glass rod is called hollow.

But the other one, there's no hole in the middle,

it's glass all the way through and that's what we call solid.

So which is the strongest?

-ALL: Solid!

-Solid, OK.

Well, let's put it to the test.

Now, here is the hollow rod

and over here we have the solid rod.

Now I'm going to take some of these weights and one at a time,

put them on to these dishes

to find out which glass rod is going to snap first.

But safety first, I'm going to put my goggles on.

Are we ready?

ALL: Yes!

Brilliant! can we have the lights down, please?

First weight.

SHE STRAINS

It's not that heavy!

Can you hear any cracking of glass?

ALL: No!

OK, we'll try another one.

ALL: Yes!

Here's the third one.

Here's number four.

Ah! Oh!

Here's the fifth one for the hollow glass rod.

Number five onto the solid rod.

Oh!

SHE LAUGHS

After all that, it's the solid rod that's broken

and the hollow rod is still in one piece.

That may surprise you.

You may have thought that having a hole in the middle

and thin walls would make it weaker

but it allows the glass rod to bend and because it can bend

as the weights get heavier, it doesn't snap.

But with the solid rod, it can't bend so all it can do

is snap!

So the hollow rod was the strongest of all!

APPLAUSE

BEEP

I hear a beep, I see a flash,

I wonder what they're going to ask.

Hi, Nina. I'm Jennifer.

I've got a question for you.

Why can't we fly like birds?

That's a great question, Jennifer.

Why can't we fly like birds?

I love seeing birds flying high in the sky

but why can't we do it too?

Oh, thanks, Jennifer.

I'll be round soon to help answer your question.

-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!

ALL: Neurons to the ready, Nina.

OK, today's question is why can't we fly like birds?

Which Neuron will be most useful

in finding 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 with your sense of sight.

Will it be awesome Ollie?

If it's pongy or whiffy but you can't tell

I'll help your sense of smell.

Or will it be baby Bud?

Sour, salty, bitter or sweet,

I'm your taste buddy whenever you eat.

BEEPING

It's Felix!

CHEERING

ALL: Felix, go Felix!

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

Marvellous!

A little touch can mean so much, Nina.

Thanks, Felix. Today's question is why can't we fly like birds?

We may be touching and feeling so Felix will help us,

but standby, Neurons, I may need help from all of you.

OK. Let's go.

Jennifer's question is about birds.

Soaring through the sky birds, hovering high birds,

fluttering and twittering birds,

so today, for one day only, Jennifer, Eve and Ailish become

The Experimenters!

Hi, everyone!

ALL: Hi, Nina.

You must be Jennifer. Your question is why can't we fly like birds?

Why do you want to find out that?

I always wanted to fly like a bird

but when I flap my arms nothing happens.

You're right. It doesn't matter how hard we flap our arms, we can't fly.

To answer your question, we need to find out more about birds.

Here at the falconry centre we'll see loads of birds in action.

-Are you ready?

-Yeah!

Felix, are you ready to help?

It's my big moment.

Standing by, ready to send lots of messages.

Excellent, let's go!

Ah! Wow!

Those birds are massive!

They've got big, pointy beaks,

and really, really big claws.

Their claws are called talons, Bud.

They're big because they use them to catch food.

Food? Like sausages and mashed potato?

Not quite, Bud.

This is a hawk, and it's what we call a bird of prey.

Which means it uses its talons to catch its food.

It likes to eat little animals like rats and mice.

What else do they eat, Nina?

Some eat insects. When you think about it, too many insects,

rats and mice wouldn't be good for the environment.

Because birds eat these, they help our planet.

Birds are very important.

Hi, Nina. Hi, girls.

Hi.

Do you know what type of bird this is?

-An owl.

-An owl, that's right.

An owl is also a bird of prey. They hunt for food at night

so are good at seeing in the dark.

-Would you like to hold Bandit?

-Yes, please.

SNIFFS

Oh, that big glove smells lovely.

Like leather.

It's important to put on that glove.

Birds' talons can be very sharp and they could give you a nasty scratch.

Oh! He's a big bird, isn't he? How does he feel?

Very light.

Even though he looks like he'd be heavy, his body is light.

What covers his body?

Feathers.

All birds are covered in lovely feathers.

-We don't have feathers, do we?

-No.

A few freckles, some hairs,

but definitely no feathers.

Maybe it's a clue as to why we can't fly.

I've got an idea for an experiment.

Has anyone heard the saying, as light as a feather?

ALL: Yes.

I've heard of that. It means something isn't heavy at all.

That's right.

We should check if these feathers are as light as they say.

Pick up your feather and when I say "now" drop your feather.

Now!

Oh! What did the feathers do?

They floated to the table.

That's right. So they are very light. Look at this.

-It has a hole in the middle like a straw.

-Exactly.

That's why feathers are so light. They're hollow.

Birds are covered in feathers so they are also light.

Think back to the birds we saw earlier.

How are wings different to our arms?

They're sort of flat.

And they have feathers on them.

Birds' wings are flat and wide and covered with feathers.

The shape of their wings is very important.

The air goes over and under a bird's wing and lifts it up into the air.

In the air, it can move its feathers to change direction or to land.

So why can't WE fly like birds?

Well, we found out birds are covered with hollow, light feathers

and their feathers and the shape of their wings help lift them up.

But we still don't know why WE can't fly.

I know a game that might help us!

These pieces of paper are exactly the same. They look the same,

they're the same size and they weigh the same.

But we're going to change their shape.

Jennifer, I'd like you to make a paper aeroplane.

Eve, I'd like you to scrunch up a ball.

Ailish, you leave the paper the way it is.

Fold it in half, fold the corners into the middle.

Scrunch it nice and tight.

Well done! We now have three pieces of paper, all in different shapes.

-Let's see which shape flies through the air best. Are you ready?

-Yeah!

Let's throw!

Which shape flew the best?

-The plane.

-That's right.

-Did the shape of the plane remind you of anything?

-A bird.

-Correct.

How can a paper plane be the same as a bird?! It doesn't have feathers!

It's the shape. Birds and planes both have wings and pointy heads.

That shape is called an aerodynamic shape.

That's a big word, Nina!

Aerodynamic is a really big word, but it's an important word.

We started with four pieces of paper exactly the same.

We changed their shapes and found the aerodynamic shape flew the best.

Things that fly, like birds and planes, tend to be aerodynamic.

But, Nina, people aren't aero... um, aero...aerody...

People don't fly!

Birds and planes and things that fly are all aerodynamic, but we aren't.

We've just answered your question!

You wanted to know, why can't we fly like birds?

Birds can fly because they have wings,

they're covered in hollow feathers which make them really light

and they're aerodynamic in shape which is the best shape for flying.

People have no wings, no feathers and we're not aerodynamic in shape.

-That's why birds can fly, but people can't!

-Thanks, Nina.

# Help protect our planet

-# Go eco!

-Go eco!

# Walk to school or cycle

-# Go eco!

-Go eco!

# Turn off the tap Switch off the light

# Recycle what you can

# Help protect our planet

-# Go eco!

-Go eco!

# Go eco! #

It's been such a great day,

seeing all those amazing birds of prey flying through the air.

I really enjoyed myself today.

Especially smelling that lovely, leathery glove the bird sat on.

It's been a marvellous day. Bird feathers feel so soft and silky.

I've had a fabby day! Especially when Nina was making paper aeroplanes!

That was great fun!

-We've had a sensational time, I hope you've enjoyed it too. Bye!

-Bye!