0:00:05 > 0:00:08# If you've got a question and you don't know where to go
0:00:08 > 0:00:11# Ask Nina for some help, cos she's got a science show
0:00:11 > 0:00:14# She makes sense of her senses While helping all her fans
0:00:14 > 0:00:17# By doing her experiments with potions and with bangs
0:00:17 > 0:00:19- # Touch your tongue- Tongue!
0:00:19 > 0:00:20- # Fingers- Fingers!
0:00:20 > 0:00:23- # Eyes- Eyes! - Ears- Ears!- Nose- Nose!
0:00:23 > 0:00:26# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know
0:00:26 > 0:00:29# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know
0:00:29 > 0:00:32# Luke, he helps us with our eyes and Felix with our touch
0:00:32 > 0:00:35# Ollie sniffs out smells And Belle, she hears so much
0:00:35 > 0:00:38# Bud is Ollie's brother, he helps us with our taste
0:00:38 > 0:00:41# They're Nina's little neurons And they're coming to your place!
0:00:41 > 0:00:43- # Touch your tongue- Tongue!
0:00:43 > 0:00:44- # Fingers- Fingers!
0:00:44 > 0:00:48- # Eyes- Eyes! - Ears- Ears!- Nose- Nose!
0:00:48 > 0:00:50# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know
0:00:50 > 0:00:53# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know
0:00:53 > 0:00:55# Oh, yeah! #
0:00:55 > 0:00:58- NINA HUMS - Oh, hello.
0:00:58 > 0:01:03There we go, some lovely flowers to brighten up the workshop.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07- BEEPING - Oh!
0:01:07 > 0:01:11I hear a beep, I see a flash, I wonder what they're going to ask.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18ALL: Hi, Nina.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21- Hi.- We've got a question for you.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23How does a mirror work?
0:01:23 > 0:01:25That's a great question.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28A mirror is a brilliant invention
0:01:28 > 0:01:32because without it we wouldn't know what we looked like!
0:01:32 > 0:01:34My hair would be very messy.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37Come down to my workshop and we'll check it out.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40See you soon, Nina. Bye!
0:01:40 > 0:01:42Bye!
0:01:42 > 0:01:46I'll need help to answer this one and I know just who to ask.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49OK, Neurons, time to get to work.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07ALL: Neurons at the ready, Nina.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11OK, today's question is how does a mirror work?
0:02:11 > 0:02:16Which Neuron do you think would be most helpful in finding the answer?
0:02:16 > 0:02:19ALL: Me! Me! Me! Me! Me!
0:02:19 > 0:02:21Will it be Fabulous Felix?
0:02:21 > 0:02:25I can help so very much, if you need the sense of touch.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27Will it be Beautiful Belle?
0:02:27 > 0:02:32I send messages to brain from ear, if there's a sound I help you hear.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36- Will it be Lovely Luke? - For looking and seeing day or night,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39I'll help you with your sense of sight.
0:02:39 > 0:02:40Will it be Awesome Ollie?
0:02:40 > 0:02:43If it's pongy or wiffy and you can't tell,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46my messages help your sense of smell.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49- Or will it be baby Bud? - Sour, salty, bitter or sweet,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52I'm your taste buddy whenever you eat.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55BEEPING
0:02:57 > 0:02:59- It's Luke!- Yes!
0:02:59 > 0:03:01# Go, Luke, go, Luke
0:03:01 > 0:03:03# Go, Luke, go, Luke
0:03:03 > 0:03:05# Go, Luke, go, Luke
0:03:05 > 0:03:07- # Go, Luke. #- Cool, Nina.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10I'll be looking out to help ya.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Today's question is how does a mirror work?
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Since we look at a mirror, Luke will help us today.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19Standby, Neurons, I may need you all.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23I need to get the workshop ready before the inventors arrive.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Morven, Rachel and Ciara want to find out about mirrors.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Big mirrors, tiny mirrors and very, very shiny mirrors.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38So for one day only, Morven, Rachel and Ciara become the Inventors!
0:03:42 > 0:03:47- Hi, guys.- Hi, Nina.- Come on in.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Why do you want to know how a mirror works?
0:03:50 > 0:03:52Cos we love looking in the mirror.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56We pull funny faces and see who looks silliest.
0:03:56 > 0:03:57That's a brilliant game.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01Shall we have a go at it in my mirror? Over here, guys.
0:04:01 > 0:04:06Ho, ho, ho! Let's pull some funny faces...
0:04:10 > 0:04:13NINA LAUGHS
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Ha, ha. I can't decide who looks the silliest.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22- They are all doing a good job.- Yeah!
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Ha! They all look really silly.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Ho! This is a great game!
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Do you notice when you look in the mirror, you can see two of you?
0:04:31 > 0:04:35There's Nina 1 and Nina 2.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40So anything you put in front of a mirror you can see two of them.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Nina is right. When you stand in front of a mirror,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46another one of you appears in it. Just like that!
0:04:46 > 0:04:52- Do you notice anything unusual about the reflection?- ALL: No.
0:04:52 > 0:04:58The mirror bounces the picture back at you, so it's not an exact copy.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01The best way to show this is with words.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03Let's go over to my desk.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Let's all take the lids off of our pen,
0:05:07 > 0:05:11and write out names on the paper.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12Nice and big.
0:05:22 > 0:05:28Now, Morven, do you want to hold your name up in front of the mirror?
0:05:28 > 0:05:32That name doesn't look right! The letters are all funny.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Great, now, Ciara.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40- My name is back to front. - That's because the mirror
0:05:40 > 0:05:43bounces the letters back at you.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45So they appear back to front.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49So any picture you see in the mirror looks back to front. Hm...
0:05:49 > 0:05:52We need to get inside for a closer look.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57Taking things apart is my job, it can be dangerous, so don't do this.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00That's right. Nina has been specially trained to do this.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05You could get hurt taking things apart. Best leave it to the experts.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07So here is a mirror...
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Just going to turn it over.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13I can peel the backing off here.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18I might even use my Nina-cam for a closer look.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20Oh!
0:06:20 > 0:06:24What do you think this is?
0:06:24 > 0:06:26- Is it metal?- Yes.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29A mirror is actually a thin piece of metal.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34Sometimes like this and sometimes sprayed onto glass using chemicals.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38It's this shiny metal that makes a mirror work.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42And...the glass on the mirror...
0:06:42 > 0:06:47is there to stop the metal crinkling and getting scratched and also...
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Ooh!
0:06:50 > 0:06:52..to make the mirror
0:06:52 > 0:06:57really smooth because the smoother and shinier a mirror,
0:06:57 > 0:06:59the better the pictures in it.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03I know something very big and exciting that uses mirrors.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07- Shall we go and see another invention in action?- ALL: Yes!
0:07:07 > 0:07:09Let's go!
0:07:14 > 0:07:18Off they go. I really enjoy seeing the big inventions.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23LUKE: So we're going somewhere big and exciting that uses mirrors.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27BUD: Great! Will we be able to make more silly faces?
0:07:27 > 0:07:30BELLE: We'll find out soon. We're nearly there.
0:07:34 > 0:07:39- So here is the invention we've come to see.- A lighthouse.- Yes.
0:07:39 > 0:07:45To see how it uses mirrors, we need to get closer. Come on!
0:07:48 > 0:07:51- This lighthouse is amazing!- I know!
0:07:51 > 0:07:55We've come up to the top to look at this -
0:07:55 > 0:07:58the lighthouse lamp. It turns round,
0:07:58 > 0:08:04shining its light out to sea so the ships know there are rocks nearby.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06If you look at the lamp,
0:08:06 > 0:08:10you can see it's made up of lots of smaller lights.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14Here's an example. What can you see at the back of the light?
0:08:14 > 0:08:19- A mirror.- Right. Like a mirror bounces back a picture of our face,
0:08:19 > 0:08:25these mirrors bounce back the light making them seem even brighter.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29Of course the lighthouse lamp isn't on now but it's getting dark.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34I wonder if the lighthouse keeper is ready to turn it on. Let's go.
0:08:34 > 0:08:40- Excuse me, Barry, is it time to turn on the lamp?- Yes, it is.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42CLICK!
0:08:42 > 0:08:46- Oh! Shall we go outside and see what it looks like?- Yes!
0:08:48 > 0:08:51- It's really bright.- Yes!
0:08:51 > 0:08:55The mirrors are working well, helping the lamp shine brightly.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Would you look at how shiny that light is.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02Even though it's dark, all the ships will be able to see it,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05and make their way home safely.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10OK, time to go back to the workshop and get inventing. Let's go!
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Mirrors are used for all different kinds of things
0:09:15 > 0:09:18but who invented the mirror?
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Listen up, I can tell you that.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27Throughout history girls and boys have been desperate to know
0:09:27 > 0:09:29what they look like.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34But nobody had a mirror! They had to use shiny objects, like water.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38They even tried looking into each other's eyes.
0:09:38 > 0:09:44That changed when they discovered if they polished rocks, for hours,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48they could see their own reflection in them.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53It was like the first ever mirror!
0:09:58 > 0:10:03Your question was, how does a mirror work? We've found out a mirror
0:10:03 > 0:10:07is made of metal to reflect and of glass to make it smooth and shiny.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11We also know that a mirror reflects
0:10:11 > 0:10:15everything in front of it. But what is a reflection?
0:10:15 > 0:10:18How does it work? Let's get inventing to find out.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22So, take your scissors...
0:10:22 > 0:10:27and cut out all of these shapes. OK?
0:10:32 > 0:10:37Now we've cut out all the shapes, we'll stick down our green shape
0:10:37 > 0:10:38and our red donut.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46Next we'll cut these shapes out.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49Grab your scissors!
0:10:53 > 0:10:59Now we'll stick the stickyback plastic and the clear plastic.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01They'll go on top like this.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06- I love the sound of that.- I hope it's not crinkly when it's on, Belle.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11It needs to be smooth or we won't see their reflections properly.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Now let's take our clear plastic...
0:11:14 > 0:11:19and stick it on top of the shiny plastic. OK?
0:11:19 > 0:11:26Then we'll put our red donut around the edge to frame our mirror.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29There you have it. Well done, inventors.
0:11:29 > 0:11:34We have made our very own mirrors.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39- I can see myself in it.- Yes.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43We look in our mirror and it bounces our reflection back.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Well done, inventors.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50# Nina and the Neurons... #
0:11:50 > 0:11:54Your question was, how does a mirror work? I think we've answered it.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59We found out a mirror bounces back a copy of everything in front of it.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02A mirror is made of metal for shininess and
0:12:02 > 0:12:05glass to make it extra smooth.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Because of this it reflects pictures.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11But when we see a picture in a mirror it's called a reflection.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16It's back to front as the mirror is bouncing the picture straight back.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20So thanks very much for your brilliant question.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22ALL: Thanks, Nina, bye!
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Take care.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33To make today's invention, go to the Nina section on the website.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36That'll give you all the instructions.
0:12:36 > 0:12:41Or you may have other ideas of what you want to invent.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44- Bikes!- Trains!- Binoculars!
0:12:44 > 0:12:47- Televisions!- Speakers!- And cars!
0:12:47 > 0:12:50# We all love inventing
0:12:50 > 0:12:53# Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh Go inventing!
0:12:53 > 0:12:56# We all love inventing
0:12:56 > 0:12:58# Why don't you try it too?
0:12:58 > 0:13:02# Inventions make life easier
0:13:02 > 0:13:04# And help us get things done
0:13:04 > 0:13:05# Go inventing!
0:13:05 > 0:13:08# I always like to take a look
0:13:08 > 0:13:10# At how they work and run
0:13:10 > 0:13:12# Go inventing!
0:13:12 > 0:13:14# We all love inventing
0:13:14 > 0:13:17# Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh Go inventing!
0:13:17 > 0:13:23# We all love inventing Why don't you try it too? #
0:13:23 > 0:13:25I've had a fabby day!
0:13:25 > 0:13:30Looking at everyone's reflections in the smooth shiny mirror, ha ha!
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Especially when they made those silly faces!
0:13:33 > 0:13:37It's been such a great day, man.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41It was amazing when they peeled away the back of the mirror.
0:13:41 > 0:13:42I'd never seen that before.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45It's been a marvellous day.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49Seeing the lamp and mirrors at the lighthouse was fascinating.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52I really enjoyed myself today.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54The lighthouse light was SO bright,
0:13:54 > 0:13:58even in the darkness you could still smell the salty sea.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00I've had a brilliant day!
0:14:00 > 0:14:04I loved it when everyone made their own mirror. Fabulous!
0:14:05 > 0:14:09- We've had a great time, I hope you've enjoyed it too.- BYE!
0:14:09 > 0:14:12E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk