Wakey Wakey 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 our senses By helping all her fans

# By doing her experiments With potions and bangs. #

Touch your tongue!

Fingers!

Eyes! Ears! Nose!

# Every day we use our senses

# Wherever we may go. #

Tongue!

Fingers!

Eyes! Ears! Nose!

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

# Luke helps us with our eyes And Felix with our touch

# Ollie sniffs out smells Belle hears so much

# Bud is Ollie's brother He helps us with our taste

# They're all Neurons And they're coming to your place. #

Touch your tongue!

Fingers!

Eyes! Ears! Nose!

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

# Oh, yeah! #

Oh, hi, everyone. I hope you can hear me OK, I've got a sore throat.

You see, during my show sometimes I have to shout really loud,

so that people at the back can hear me.

I have a solution - microphone and speaker.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

Oh, oh, goodness that was loud.

I'm really sorry.

Hello? Is that better?

Sorry about that.

I've even decided that my show can be about how this speaker works.

I have a plate here with some cake decorations on it.

Oh, and there's a piece of cake as well.

Mmm...

So, I'll pop this plate onto the speaker to see what happens.

And when I speak into the microphone,

you can see the decorations JUMP UP AND DOWN!

JUMP, JUMP, JUMP!

So, the sound coming from the speaker makes the speaker wobble

and that's why the decorations jump up and down.

Now, let's see what happens if we make the sound

even LOUDER!! AAAAAAH!

Did you see how high they jumped that time?

That's because the louder the sound from the speaker,

the bigger the wobble, hee-hee.

-Thank you very much, everyone. Have a lovely day.

-ALL: Bye-bye.

-Bye.

ALARM BLEEPS

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

Hi, Nina. I'm Maddie. We keep sleeping in.

How can I make my daddy hear the alarm clock?

There's nothing worse than sleeping in.

You rush around trying to get out on time.

It's a terrible way to start the day.

Of course I'll help you. Bye!

I think we're going to need some help to answer this one.

I know just who to ask. OK, Neurons, time to get to work.

ALL: Neurons at the ready, Nina!

OK, guys, Maddie's question is,

"How can I make my dad hear his alarm clock?"

Which Neuron do you think will be able to help us find the answer?

ALL: Me! Me! 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 sent messages brain to 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.

-Yes!

-It's Belle!

-CHEERING

# Go, Belle! Go, Belle! Go, Belle! Go, Belle! Go, Belle!

# Go, Belle! Go, Belle! #

Brilliant, I'm all ears, Nina.

The question is about what we hear.

So we need Belle, the hearing Neuron to help us work this one out.

OK, then...

Let's go!

Meet Maddie, her sisters Florence and Juliet,

brother Reuben and their mum and dad.

Today, this regular family from Helensburgh are...

The Experimenters!

-Hi, Nina.

-Hi, Maddie. How are you?

-Fine.

I'm here to help you solve the problem about waking up.

-The first thing we should do is have a listen to this alarm clock.

-OK.

Thank you.

ALARM RINGS

I'm surprised Maddie's dad sleeps through that alarm, it's loud.

Well, at least we know it works.

Can you tell me how the clock is making that sound?

You see these two bells and that little hammer?

The hammer bangs against the bells so it makes the sound.

I see. Well, I think it's quite loud.

It's not loud enough to wake up my dad.

So we have to find a sound that's louder.

Maybe we should do a competition with the rest of your family.

Who can find the loudest sound?

-Ready, Belle?

-BEEP BEEP BEEP

Oh, it's my big moment. Standing by, ready to send lots of messages.

This is the perfect place to start.

Now, what can we see around here we can use to make a sound?

-I know. Pebbles!

-Excellent idea.

Pebbles make a great noise when you crunch your feet on them.

And...we could also use them when we throw them in the water

and listen to hear what sound it makes.

So, let's find some pebbles.

There are lots of different pebbles.

I wonder if they'll all make the same noise when they hit the water?

I wonder if they will all make a big splash?

I hope we're not going to get wet.

Why don't you go first, Flo?

-SPLASH!

-Brilliant, that was a big noise.

That big pebble made a really BIG splash!

I've got a nice little one. Let's hear what sound this makes.

PLOP

The splash from the small pebble was much quieter.

So what did you notice there?

When you throw a big pebble, it makes a big sound.

And when you throw a small pebble it makes a small sound.

When you throw a small pebble, it makes small waves.

But a big pebble makes big waves.

The same thing happens with sounds. Sounds are like waves.

We hear them through the air when they get to our ears.

So, small pebble, small waves, small quiet sound.

Big pebble, big waves, big large sound.

I wonder what else we can find to make some sounds?

CHINK CHINK CHINK

SLAP SLAP SLAP

I'm loving this experiment! It's good and noisy.

Everyone is finding lots of really LOUD sounds!

Those chains make a great loud clang because they're metal.

I think you're right, Ollie.

This climbing frame's metal and it sounds loud too.

I don't know who's won our competition.

Everyone has found some loud sounds.

Until now. That's the first quiet sound we've had.

The rubbery mats under the swing are too soft to be noisy.

Depending on where you live, you'll be surrounded by different sounds.

I certainly am here.

Right, Neurons, how about a quiz? Anyone up for it?

ALL: Me! Me! Me! Me! Me!

OK, today's question is, "What makes the loudest sound?"

Is it number one - a speedboat...

WHAZZOOM!

Or is number two - a crying baby noisier?

SQUALLING

Or is it number three - a pop concert?

ROCK MUSIC BLARES

NINA LAUGHS

Or is it number four - a rocket launch? Aaaaaah!

DEEP RUMBLING

Or perhaps the sound of a scooter?

SWOOSH

What do you think, Neurons? What's the loudest?

I feel I know the answer here. Number two would be my guess.

Now listen up, I'll tell you more.

I'm sure the answer's number four.

Which answer's right, now let me see.

I'm going to go for number three.

I think I've sniffed the answer out.

It's number five without a doubt.

Number one looks tasty to me. Nina, who will the winner be?

Well, you can't all be right.

Would you like to know the answer?

It's number four - a rocket launch.

So, well done, Belle.

We measure sound in decibels.

Someone talking is about 60 decibels

but a rocket launch can be 200 decibels.

That's louder than almost anything you can think of.

And the sound is loudest at the base of the rocket

where it echoes off the ground making it even louder!

Anyway, Neurons, enough rockets.

Let's hot tail it back to Maddie and see what else she's discovered.

TAP-TAP TAP-TAP TAP-TAP

-So, you've been hitting things, haven't you, Maddie?

-Yeah.

-What did you find was the quietest?

-When I was at the swings...

-and I was hitting on the ground.

-Why do you think that was quiet?

-Because it was squashy and soft.

-Right.

What was the loudest noise?

When I was hitting the chains on the swings.

And when we were throwing the big stones in the water.

That's really interesting. I think we've nearly answered your question.

You asked, "How can I make my dad hear his alarm clock?"

And we decided we need to find something to make a louder sound.

We found the loudest sounds came from big objects like the stones,

and hard, like the chains or the metal.

The bells on the alarm are already hard but they're not very big.

If we can use something bigger for our alarm bells,

it'll make a louder sound - which will surely wake your dad.

-We should go back to your house and see what we can do.

-OK.

Perfect. Your dad's dozed off.

The alarm is due to go off!

So the hammer will hit the bells and the bells will hit the saucepans

which are made of?

-Hard metal.

-Exactly. And they're also quite big.

So the sound should be really loud.

Surely enough to wake up your dad.

ALARM BLARES OUT

Ho-ho, that works perfectly!

There's no chance your dad will ever sleep through that again.

# It's been a busy, busy day

# Questions answered Experiments done

# We've used our senses in many ways

# Tell me, Neurons What have you done today? #

I definitely worked the hardest today.

With all that clattering and clanging that was going on.

Yeah, I was pretty busy!

When everyone was looking for objects to make sounds with.

SPLASH!

I was working hard too, you know.

You need your sense of touch to feel

if what you're hitting is hard or soft.

Well, we've had a bit of an easy day, haven't we, Bud?

Yeah, but I've still had a fabby time!

Well, that was great fun.

I hope you've had a sensational time too. Bye!

ALL: Bye!