PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Have you ever heard of Gak? Take this hands-on activity to the next level and make your own bouncy balls so you can learn a little something about polymers.

ABOUT THE SCIENCE
In response to the July 22, 2016 Health Canada advisory, the bouncy ball experiment was recently updated.

Balls have been around for thousands of years and, believe it or not, the earliest balls were made of stone and wood! Not much bounce to those first ones!Bouncing balls were first made with natural rubber, but now, they can also be made of plastics and other polymers.
Polymers are molecules made up of repeating chemical units, and they can be either natural or synthetic. Natural polymers are wool, silk, and natural rubber, whereas synthetic polymers can be made of nylon, silicone, or synthetic rubber.
Bouncy balls (as a toy), were invented by a chemist who was experimenting with rubber. He found when he compressed rubber together under about 3500 pounds per square inch (psi) the result was a really durable sphere capable of extremely high bounce. Other factors that affect a ball’s ability to bounce are: temperature, outside coverings, different surfaces for bouncing and whether or not the ball is solid or inflated with air

PHYSICAL SCIENCE, STEM CAREERS
In this video, learn from chemical engineers Laura and Wade about what it takes to become a chemical engineer and why it's a great career. Find out how chemical engineers do things like save the environment, take waste and make it useful, and solve real-world problems every day.

ABOUT THE SCIENCE
What do disposable diapers, soda, hydrogen fuel cells, aluminum, penicillin and snowboards have in common? They were all invented or further processed by a chemical engineer!
Are you someone who likes to solve problems? Do you like making something new? Do you care about the environment? If so, being a chemical engineer might just be for you!
As an engineer in this field, you get to apply chemistry to the industrial process to make things. It takes technology, innovation, and ideas to help generate an end result.
An example of this is through making textiles out of weeds! As a chemical engineer, first you would put the weeds through a processing system, have them pulped, put through an extruder to create a fiber, and then voila! You can use that to create textiles. To ensure chemical engineers are being friendly to the environment, their decision making always considers renewable resources.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Have you ever wondered why there are so many kinds of chocolate? This experiment explores the history behind chocolate and involves some yummy tasting as you develop a deeper understanding behind the different types of this sweet treat.

ABOUT THE SCIENCE
In 2011, the world's largest chocolate bar weighed 5792 kg. (12,770 lbs.), which would have taken over five million average sized cacao beans to make. Your regular chocolate bar would need about 46 of the same sized beans.
The main ingredient of cocoa (chocolate) is roasted cacao beans. Yes, these are spelled differently! The cacao is the name of the bean that produces cocoa. The beans come from the cacao trees that grow in tropical climates. There are three main varieties of the tree:
• The Forestero tree is the one most often used for chocolate production around the world. In fact, over 90% of the world’s chocolate comes from this kind of tree.
• The Criollo tree produces a milder, fancy chocolate and is considered a delicacy. The fact that it does not produce as much as the Forestero and is more inclined to disease, make it less popular for production.
• The Trinitario tree is a hybrid between Forestero and Criollo. That means they have the best characteristics of both plants, making it higher quality than the Forestero, but more resilient than the Criollo.
At the plantations, the cacao beans are fermented and dried and then packaged for shipping around the world. Now, on to the chocolate making!
Roasting is the done to bring out the aroma and flavor. Then the cacao beans are cracked and emptied, leaving only the pulp and the seeds or nibs. The nibs are then taken and crushed into a thick paste called chocolate liquor. Sugar and other ingredients are added to the paste to sweeten it up and then it is run through a series of rollers to get the texture right. After being rolled out, the mixture goes into another machine that mixes, mashes, swirls and adds air to the chocolate. This machine is called a conch and the mixing done at this stage can last anywhere from a few hours to days depending on the quality of chocolate being produced. The next step is tempering the chocolate, making the color and texture shiny and consistent. After being tempered it is poured into a mold and allowed to set. It is then packaged and eventually makes its way into your tummy.

Join Proton the cat as he tests out the professor's newest invention - goggles that allow a person to see sound in addition to hearing it. As you take a tour of the lab, you'll learn all about the science of sound, from how our ears allow us to hear sound, to the differences between louder and softer sounds.

Ever wonder why you can’t hear a dog’s whistle, yet when you use one, all the neighborhood dogs come running? Dogs are able to hear at higher ranges than that of humans.
Sound is a type of energy created by a rapid back-and-forth movement or vibration. When an object vibrates in the air, the air particles move around and cause other particles to move and bump into other particles, which carry the vibration through the air. This sound wave will keep going until it runs out of energy. When your ear is in range of the sound wave (before it loses all its energy) you hear a sound.
Sounds differ from one another because they vibrate at different speeds. This means, how often a sound wave will occur over time, or its frequency. When the vibrations are fast, you will hear a high note, and when the vibration frequency slows, the note will lower. Your ears collect and process the sounds, and then send signals to your brain in response

PHYSICAL SCIENCE, STEM CAREERS
We join Jay, a medical emergency helicopter pilot, as he tells about what he does in his job on the day to day, and the physics and math involved in piloting a helicopter. It’s an exciting job that has the added benefit of saving lives and doing good in the world.

ABOUT THE SCIENCE
If you are deciding between getting your own plane or helicopter, you should keep in mind that a helicopter has two main advantages over a fixed-wing aircraft. Helicopters can take off and land vertically, which means you could land it in your backyard, and they can change direction easily.The helicopter is the most versatile flying machine in existence.
A helicopter is an engine driven rotorcraft using rotating blades to create the forces needed for flight and steering. Its ability to hover, fly backwards and sideways sets it apart from any other aircraft. A very important physics principle that applies to the flight of a helicopter is lift.
Lift is the force needed to keep the helicopter in the air. The rotors create the lift force, as the uniquely shaped rotor blades spin they push the air and the air pushes back with the same amount of force or more, but in the opposite direction causing it to move upwards.
Due to the main rotor spinning, the body of the helicopter also wants to rotate, but in the opposite direction. To control this you need a tail rotor. The tail rotor provides a force parallel to the helicopter, which stops it from spinning in circles.
Getting a grasp for the physics and math needed for flying is the first step to becoming a Medical Emergency Helicopter Pilot. You can expect to log many hours as a pilot and attend a post-secondary school. It is considered quite elite as far as careers go and hard work and dedication are a must. Responding to an accident because the ambulance is just too far away, even if the weather is terrible and the area was remote, is a very demanding career, but a very satisfying one.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Build your very own trebuchet and catapult yourself to victory! You'll learn more about levers, simple machines, and the principles behind force and gravity as you experiment with projectiles and counterweights to make the perfect launch.

ABOUT THE SCIENCE
The trebuchet (pronounced tray-boo-shay) was a large counter-weighted weapon used in the Middle Ages during warfare to break down the walls of castles. The first ones invented used between 15 and 40 men to pull down the lever arm in order to launch it. It soon developed into a simple machine called a traction trebuchet that used gravity instead of manpower. These machines were generally larger and more difficult to reload, but could catapult much bigger objects.
Here is how it worked! It had a lever that transferred gravitational energy into kinetic energy, taking the force of gravity and using it to fling an object. Soldiers relied on this weapon so much, that they even named them! One very large trebuchet used during the Crusades in Scotland was named “Warwolf”.
No matter the size, the main components of a trebuchet are the lever and the sling. The pivot point (or fulcrum) is located between the load and the effort and works like a see saw. On one end there is the object that is to be fired and on the other is the counterweight. Raising the counterweight above the ground causes a buildup of potential energy. When the counterweight is released and falls, the lever arm pivots on its fulcrum and the other end of the projectile receives the energy.
Can you believe they used these on ships as well as land? You can probably throw a ball on land with pretty good aim. Next time you are floating in a pool or lake, try throwing a ball to the shore and see what these ship-bound trebuchets were up against.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Erlen needs your help to get some trucks out of the mine! Using your knowledge of hydraulic systems, sort the pistons to solve Erlen’s challenge all while developing your knowledge about mechanical advantage.

ABOUT THE SCIENCE
Hydraulic systems are used everywhere: mechanic's shops, elevators, and even in brakes in a car. Where else do hydraulic systems appear?
Large machinery, such as that used in construction, uses a mechanical system called hydraulics to be able to lift and carry large and heavy things. The hydraulic systems create force using cylindrical parts, called pistons that are connected by a hose or pipe and filled with a fluid.
When the force used to move an object over a distance (effort force) is applied to the input piston, the force is transmitted to the output piston as the oil is pushing through the closed system of pipes. When the size of a cylinder is changed, you can add force to the system in order to move a heavy load. In a closed system, the pressure in the hydraulic lift remains constant so the surface area of the pistons determines how the force of that pressure is transferred between them. This works well if the pump is designed to rest when oil is not required; like in a tractor.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION, EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
Mission: Maple Leaf takes you on a journey across time and space! Save the Planet Tontar by helping Ed the Robot complete a series of puzzles by taking a trip through some of Canada’s greatest scientific and technological achievements. Given Canada’s vast and varied landscape, natural resources and diverse population, what can we teach the rest of the universe… and beyond?

ABOUT THE SCIENCE
What do computerised braille, the egg carton, pacemakers, AM radio, and snowmobiles have in common? They were all invented in Canada!
Thousands of years ago, Canada’s Indigenous community overcame the challenges of how to farm in Canada's climate and how to communicate and trade without a commonly spoken language. They created ways to travel across the landscape, medicines to keep healthy and even games, like the forerunner to lacrosse. As early European settlers came to Canada, they learned from the indigenous People and built upon their ingenuity across the fields of health/medicine, transportation, communications, and agriculture. Back in the Steam Age (1830-1880), Canadians helped to automate the harvesting of crops, and even invented the lightbulb. The Electric Age from 1880-1920 saw a number of world-changing innovations coming from Canadian soil such as the creation of early sonar and radio. The snowmobile, walkie-talkie and electric wheelchair were just some of the inventions of the Automobile Age (1920-1950). The Television Age in 1950-1980 saw Canada making strides in the fields of space exploration and in medicine. During and since the PC Age (1980-2000), computer programming, nanotechnology, high-tech agriculture and virtual reality have benefited from Canada’s expertise. Canadians young and old are still having an amazing and long lasting impact on the world. What’s next?

STEM CAREERS, TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
What can you do with the nanoscale? This video shows us all the possibilities of how operating at the nanoscale can open up a whole new world in the advancement of science and technology.

ABOUT THE SCIENCE
The word nano is from the Greek word “Nanos”, which means dwarf. Nanoscience works on a scale 1000 times smaller than anything that can be seen with an optical microscope, which is the microscope you most likely use in your science classroom.
Nanoscience is an fascinating study using physical science, chemistry, physics, biology, environmental science and engineering. The career opportunities are equally diverse. Nano is all about the very small things in life, the stuff beyond what your eyes can see. How small is small? One hair on your head is between 50,000 and 100,000 in diameter.
The nanoscale is based on the nanometre, which is one billion times smaller than a meter. In fact, because nano is a prefix, it always means one billionth of the unit connected. A nanosecond is one billionth of a second, a nanogram is; you guessed it! One billionth of a gram.
When working on the small scale of nano, new materials and devices are developed by manipulating individual atoms and molecules. By manipulating these small structures you can change the properties of the material creating new materials with many applications. Although nano is small it has the potential to make big impacts. By working with nanomaterial you could conquer global issues such as cleaning unsafe drinking water, detecting cancer, and building faster technologies.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Erlen needs your help to unlock his buried treasure! Using your knowledge of magnetism, help Erlen recover three keys buried in the ground to open his treasure chest.

ABOUT THE SCIENCE
Did you know that magnets aren’t just found on your fridge? One natural mineral that acts as a magnet is magnetite, which is also known as lodestone. When suspended and dangled from a string, pieces of lodestone created the first magnetic compass. The stone would turn on the string and point to magnetic north.
Magnetic objects can not resist the pull of a magnet because they have metals that contain iron, nickel or cobalt. These objects are pulled or rejected by magnets because of an invisible magnetic force produced by a magnet, which causes magnetic materials to either be attracted or repelled.
The magnetic field that surrounds magnets is created by the North and South poles on magnets. Like the North and South poles on Earth, these are the opposite ends on a magnet, which will either attract opposite poles (i.e. North and South) or repel like poles (e.g. North and North).
A compass is not the only use for a magnet in everyday life. Your refrigerator door uses a magnet to make sure the door closes and they are uses for recycling drink bottles to separate out the caps from the containers.
On a larger scale, they are used in Japan on the Maglev (magnetic levitation) trains on the tracks where the train floats. These super conductive magnets are working on the repulsion of the magnets to keep the trains up from the rails, free of friction.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE, EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
The world's energy supplies are in crisis, and it's up to you to save the world! This game will teach you all about different power sources, alternative energy, and how we generate electricity to power our lives.

ABOUT THE SCIENCE
So far, most of the world’s energy comes from non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels, oil and natural gas, but alternatives that can be replenished are constantly being developed and harnessed. These alternative energies use renewable resources like sunlight, wind, rain, tides and heat from the Earth to produce energy.
Developing alternative energy sources is critical for sustaining the world’s energy consumption in the future. Wind, tidal, geothermal and hydropower are used to run turbines converting mechanical energy into electrical energy through a generator.
Wind is the bulk air movement created by the variable heating of the Earth’s surface by the Sun. A wind turbine has three very large blades that are shaped like airplane wings to capture the mechanical energy from the movement of the air and convert it into a rotational force. A generator then takes the rotational force and transforms it into electrical energy.
Tidal turbines function under the same principles as a wind turbine, but instead of capturing air movement, it captures water currents. Water currents are produced by a number of factors that include tides, variable temperature, winds across the ocean’s surface, and the Earth’s rotational movement.
Geothermal energy uses energy in the Earth’s crust to heat water and produce steam that then drives a turbine. With the current consumption of energy the non-renewable resources like coal, oil and natural gas will eventually be depleted and alternative energy is needed in order to take their place and ensure lights can still turn on and houses are still heated.
Hydroelectric generators convert the kinetic energy of moving water into electrical energy.
Solar energy uses the Sun and material capable of absorbing light to create electricity from light in solar cells (photovoltaic cells), which can be connected in a series to create solar panels. The energy harnessed is then converted directly to electricity

PHYSICAL SCIENCE, EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
Use what you learn about solar energy to save the school dance from vampires in this super cool solar energy game. Collect energy during the day using solar panels to ward off the vampires at night. Consider sun angle, tilt, shadows and time of year to maximize your energy collection - good luck!

ABOUT THE SCIENCE
Did you know only absorbed light can be converted to electricity? What ways can you use the electricity that is converted from solar panels?
Using solar energy in your home or business has a lot of benefits: it is free, clean, and infinitely renewable. It also reduces utility costs, increases energy self-reliance, and is extremely reliable. So, how does it work?
Solar energy uses the direct conversion of light into electricity at the atomic level (photovoltaic cells) to generate electricity from solar energy and this process is called the photoelectric effect. Materials absorb photons of light and release electrons. When electrons are captured, an electric current results that can be used as electricity in our homes.
Before we get the electricity in our homes, there are a variety of factors that need to be considered with solar energy: solar altitude or height of the sun and the angle throughout the day, and keeping solar panels shadow free are just a few.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
Do you have what it takes to be a Waste Avenger? This game will teach you how organic, plastic and paper waste can be recycled or composted as you try your hand at being an environmental superhero.

ABOUT THE SCIENCE
Reuse. Reduce. Recycle. These are now everyday household words for us all and every little bit we do, helps our environment. Every year, countries around the world are increasing the amount they recycle and even one person can decrease the waste footprint by reusing, reducing and recycling.
Nature, unlike humans, produces waste that is biodegradable. That is, the waste product has the ability to naturally break down. Biodegradation is nature’s way of recycling waste, and is often carried out by bacteria and microorganisms. Compost is a good example.
Unfortunately, humans produce waste at a much faster rate than what natural biodegradation can keep up with. As a result, landfills fill up quickly, and pollution of the air, water and soil can occur. On top of that, humans produce a significant amount of non biodegradable waste that continues to add to the waste problem.
Reduce, reuse and recycle are three great ways you can protect your environment and help control waste. The whole idea is to reduce the production of non-biodegradable materials, reuse the existing products and recycle products once they have served their purpose.
If your school does not yet recycle, set up a school program to recycle everyday items that would otherwise go into the trash. Paper, cardboard and even plastics are simple to sort out and a great place to start. Every little bit helps, so do your part in waste management because it is important for the health of the ecosystem.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
The challenge is simple: turn a type of waste into something useful. That's where biochar comes in! In this video, join Nicole as she learns all about the history of biochar, how to make it, and the many uses of biochar.

ABOUT THE SCIENCE
Soils throughout the world contain biochar: a charcoal produced from plant matter deposited and stored in the soil through natural events, such as forest and grassland fires. Biochar dates back at least 2000 years in the Amazon basin! Its purpose? To remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
For better plant growth, plants need better soil fertility – this is where biochar comes in! Biochar can improve almost any soil with its fertilizer qualities, due to the mineral content it contains. It increases water, fertilizer and nutrient retention. It also increases soil carbon, and improves soil fertility and soil tilth or health, as well as reducing the nutrient runoff or leaching.
As well, biochar creates niches for microbes to thrive, which leads to healthy crops! Microbes and plants work together and help keep away harmful bacteria. Did you know that biochar works great for water filters, growing plants in water without soil (like in hydroponics), and storing carbon, too?

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
This short animated video is the first part of a two part series on carbon dioxide and carbon capture and storage. Part one explores where carbon dioxide comes from, the role it plays in the atmosphere, and the efforts that humans are making to control, reduce and mange carbon dioxide emissions. For Part 2, check out "Do you know what carbon capture and storage is?".

ABOUT THE SCIENCE
There are many ways that plants benefit both humans and animals. Humans and animals breathe in the oxygen that is created by plants and in return they exhale, or breathe out, carbon dioxide. Plants then take in the carbon dioxide and release more oxygen.
Carbon dioxide, also known as CO2, is a naturally occurring substance that is made up of carbon (C) and oxygen (O2). Both humans and animals exhale carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but it can also come from decomposing bio-matter.
Carbon dioxide is considered a greenhouse gas, which is to say it helps to control the Earth’s temperature by keeping thermal energy from the Sun in the atmosphere. Many of the things we do every day produce greenhouse gasses and it is important for us to control, manage and reduce the amount we put into the atmosphere. Too much or too little cause an imbalance in the Earth's temperature. Some things you can do to help reduce the greenhouse effect are practical and easy to put into use:
• Reduce, reuse, recycle can help reduce the CO2 .
• Take up walking and biking instead of using the car.
• Use less hot water in the shower or the laundry.
• Save on electricity. Use that “Off” switch.
• Plant a tree every year you are in school or celebrate a special annual event by planting a new tree! Earth Day is April 22nd!