It's FUNGI FRIDAY tomorrow ... bring your fungi and WOW and LEARN. Add to this wee collection ... Fungi are fascinating :-)

So you are stranded on an Island !!! How would you make fresh water from the salty seawater, using a few items salvaged from your capsized boat? ... Here are some of the group's first ideas. Hey ... think about the experiments we have been doing :-)

What is the difference between physical and chemical changes? A year 7 group check it out.

Brainstorming, sharing ideas, testing and measuring.

Pumpkin Judging is on the 10th April :-) .. A few horror / disappointment stories are coming in ... we will all enjoy the humour!!!! Bring them in anytime before the 10th ... maybe you have a story, poem, video etc instead / or as well. All welcome.

"My pumpkin plant is like a triffid !! AND it has taken over the back yard !!

The leaves are HUGE !"

"It's gone rotten!!!  The babies keep falling off !!"  and this poem came in:

"I'm a BIG, FAT pumpkin,
Been growing fast and swell.
The rain did come
And drenched my fun.

Now I've rotted !! Oh Well ! (sigh)"  

No worries kids ... the weather has challenged us all this season: drought and rain ... stories, photos and pumpkins are all very welcome.  It is the process not always the outcome that matters and we can all have a few laughs.  Wait 'til you see my pumpkins!!!

Hey ... the Monach caterpillars are enjoying pumpkin along with their diet of swanplant.

The Butterflies are FREE

Come check out these little fellas in the lepidopterarium in the sci tech room. Metamorphosis in action.

Year 7 study the science in a candle.

Ring of Fire Eclipse .... watch live on Sunday 26th Feb :-)

http://www.sciencealert.com/a-ring-of-fire-eclipse-is-happening-this-sunday-here-s-how-to-watch

Hey Kids ... a piece out of a 'food web' ... can you relate this to one of our themes this year ? ' Energy cannot be created or destroyed ? ' ... Thought you could :-)

Testing our air-pressure rockets ... the day was far too windy for good science but plenty of ideas were forthcoming for .... factors which affected the rocket's flight ... and for modifications.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_7uQezg-lc

How are your Pumpkins Growing? Giant Pumpkins will be judged at the end of term one .... they will be loving this rain !!!

Here are some beauties from 2016.  Their happy growers enjoying a relax after lifting them into the garden!  Some were 100kgs+!!  although size was not the only category :-)

Scientist ... Nanogirl visited HNI .... check out this video of her show ... https://youtu.be/FkInHz4UoFc

Scientist ... Nanogirl ... presented to HNI

was exciting 'explosive' learning for all attending.
Nanogirl = Dr Michelle Dickinson, a well known scientist and presenter of science shows touring NZ was a great role model for our students. A true promoter of making science accessible, understandable and the learning fun for everyone..  She is up-to-date with the latest in the science world and is an inspirational presenter.
She visited us on 12 December, 2016 and we look forward to seeing her again.

Her 2016 Tour Show for YOU to view ...  (about an hour long.)

Family fun .. enjoy it :-)

https://youtu.be/FkInHz4UoFc

CONGRATULATIONS to our HB PROJECT WNNERS for 2016 ..... And to all students who prepared a project for our class and school competitions ... You are all awesome!

CONGRATULATIONS to HNI students for  gaining ....... 2nd place in the HB Science Quiz

AND 2nd and 3rd placings in the HB Technology Challenge.

Thank-you to the Hawkes Bay Science and technology Committee, and all the sponsors, for their generosity in donating time, expertise and resources. This does such a lot to foster student learning and excitement in many aspects of science.

Hypothesising and Testing ... Students learning from one another.

Reflected Light and Holograms

SCIENCE FAIRS are over the next MONTH .... Projects due 12th August

There are still display boards available, for $8, from the science room.   Red, Blue, Green and White.

HAPPY investigating and presenting everyone.   We look forward to reading your projects.   

The tech challenge teams and the quiz teams will be selected soon.   Keep an eye on the school notices.

Understanding the Magic of Light

Electromagnetic Radiation ... Investigating UV and looking afterourselves in the SUN.

Time to plan your science fair project , if you are not already onto it. Science and class teachers have all the information to support you. Make sure you have a chat if you are not sure and collect some helpful ideas.

WOW. Static Energy is Everywhere!

Attract OR Repel ? Check it out ! How do we use static energy In oureveryday lives?

Dissection Fish ... Good team work guys

A few photos from 2 of the science camp workshops this week.

A few of our pumpkin growers having some fun setting up the display

Dr Siouxsie Wiles' visit .... Captivating ... The science : real lifeconnection.

47 of our lucky students got to spend an exciting afternoon with Siouxsie learning about the world of a passionate scientist researching for new antibiotics which are not resistant to superbugs.  The experiments Siouxsie performed were in a darkroom and  tested a range of substances on glowing bacteria .

Siouxsie Wiles did a public 

presentation in Napier last year, which you can watch here if you are interested..

http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/events/ten-by-ten/ten-by-ten-luminaries/illuminating-the-search-for-new-medicines/

GIANT PUMPKINS INVITED IN ...

The GIANT pumpkins can come in anytime next week ... Miss Hawtin is setting up a display in the library over Easter and you can add yours to it.  There will be name labels for you to attach to the stem.  They will be weighed, if they are not too heavy for the scales, and their circumferences measured in cms.   This is going to be sooo much fun.

If it is not practical for you to bring your monster in to school, a photo or video emailed to Miss Hawtin ....  hawtinj@hni.school.nz   ....would be great.

We are looking forward to Siouxsie Wiles' visit tomorrow ... EXCITING !!!

Siouxsie is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, and head of the Bioluminescent Superbugs Lab, where she combines her twin passions for glowing creatures and nasty microbes, aiming to produce new antibiotics for the future. 

Siouxsie is passionate about demystifying science for the general public, and raising awareness of the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. She is a blogger and podcaster, as well as being a regular science commentator for Radio New Zealand’s Nine to Noon programme. Siouxsie has also teamed up with Australian graphic artist Luke Harris, to make short animations describing nature’s amazing glowing creatures and the many uses of bioluminescence in science:

We love our space-time simulator ... Taking turns .... Working together ... So many possibilities to try out

Feel the FORCE ?

March the 8th .... Jupiter is close to the Earth .... It's moons andmaybe it's red spot will be visible, especially with a telescope.

Everyone loves marbles !

What might Spacetime and Gravity be like?

Playing with Newton's Cradle ... Never ceases to fascinate. Watch out Santa ... There may be a few letters coming your way from VERY GOOD children ... I can vouch for that !

May the FORCE be with You !

PUMPKINS ! ! ! How is yours growing? .... REMEMBER that size really doesn't matter ... There will be prizes for all sorts of imaginative categories ! KEEP UP the GREAT GROWING effort. :-)

UPDATE ... HERE's  a PHOTO !!!!    WHEW .. Mine is starting to grow at last (BUT it is still the wee one in the photo)!!!!

5 WEEKS of incredible growth TO GO (Judging is at the END of MARCH) .... Your PUMPKIN will grow very rapidly from now on.

WATER WATER WATER and FEED  .... GIVE it whatever you can ... COMPOST ... HORSE / CHICKEN. MANURE ... SEAWEED ... Whatever Mum or Dad might suggest .... 

Remember to remove the growing tips so that all the plants energy now goes into the BIG PUMPKIN ... Have FUN :-)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE ... Aurora Australis light-show heralds in 2016

Dr Ian Griffin, a professional astronomer, captured the aurora in a series of photographs taken from Hoopers Inlet on the Otago Peninsula.

The Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, is caused when the Earth's magnetic field interacts with a flow of highly charged particles from the sun.

The different colours come from the various elements in the earth's atmosphere - the green is from oxygen and the red from nitrogen. The display lasted until dawn.

The HNIS Periodic Table Competition .... that is ... who can recite the most elements of the Periodic Table in order .... Our 2015 school champs ARE: Joe Robertshaw ....who can recite well beyond 94elements in order Paige Bloor ... up to 71 Matthew Apperley ... up to61 Will Tidswell ... up to 57 Madeline Kitchener and Connie Wilson ...up to 49 .... WELL DONE TO EVERYONE WHO TURNED UP TO TRY OUT ... YOU ARE ALL AMAZING :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsWTkCBvYzk

Photograph, "Canterbury's Castle Hill" illuminated by an arch- shaped Milky Way, by Paul Wilson ... A long exposure time required.

This picture is among dozens of dazzling images captured, others celebrate the kaleidoscope of colours from the Southern Lights or the reflection of stars on a waterway.

Christmas Cheer Everyone and have Wonderful Holidays .... THANKS forbeing such great budding scientists this year. What a lot of fun andlearning we have enjoyed.

Science In A Christmas Tree, Electric-Buzzer Trees, Crystal tree decorations, Air - Powered Sleigh Races and Why does tinsel Sparkle?

A     F U N    Last lesson in ScI tech for 2015

Time to collect your GIANT PUMPKIN plant ... Plus a handy hints page to help you grow something impressive. Can you beat the two 30 kg monsters in 2015? Perhaps you are good at videoing, or writing a humorous diary, or poetry or ..... Maybe you have a secret strategy !?!?!? Whatever your talent, have heaps of FUN!

Celebrating 100 Years of Einstein's Theory of Relativity.

Ideas That Can Change the World

Testing ! testing ! testing ! Could do this all day ..... SOOOO much FUN !

Questions GALORE ! 

  "Can we neutralise citric acid with quickees?

Could I cure my brothers arthritis  by finding out more about acids and bases?

What is the best pH for my fish to live in?

NOW I know how electrolytes work in the body:-). .. That is helpful because I ' into sports.

You can see quickees work on indicator paper as it neutralises an acid.

I am going to make my own indicator paper to use at home.

If you get sick a lot / or feel unwell , it could be something to do with the acid and base balance in your body 'cos it should be about pH 7.4 .... "

Satisfying our CURIOSITIES about ACIDS and BASES through research, sharing and careful taste testing.

Did you know that the logarithmic scale applies to the pH scale as well as the Richter scale?  

We had such fun calculating how much stronger or weaker different substances are, based on their pH .... It is all about the potential of hydrogen.

The "What is it?" 10 minute challenge. .....

We learned all about the incredible world of parasitic worms !!!!!!
Parasites that take over the minds/behaviour of their hosts  turning them into vulnerable ZOMBIES !
SOOOOO gruesome,   SOOOO incredible,   SOOOO  fascinating and, some of them,  SOOO gross !
Hope your lesson was memorable guys !!!! :-)

Studying Air Pressure and Density, Testing Rockets and Some of the Variables that influence Flight.

Room 16 testing household substances with cabbage juice indicator , then, universal indicator paper. ... Acid or Base ?

Super Blood Moon Eclipse Sequence (Northern Hemisphere photo) ... September 27-28th 2015.

HNIS students visiting the Science Roadshow ... lots of exciting interactive (hands-on) challenges and 2 demonstration sessions.

The Squishy Circuits table on Open Night .... THANK- YOU to the great group of little scientists who demonstrated various activities for our incoming year 6 students.

Room 16 Explore Lichen and Chromatography

Squishy Robot Designs by Jack Graham ... check out this amazing science project. !

Click here to view

Having a go at the periodic table song during 'free choice' science time.

Science Fair Projects 2015 ... The top 15 will be announced next week. Well done to everyone and what interesting science. Our guest judges were very impressed !