Get your science ‘naked’
If science holds a fascination for you, particularly its quirkier aspects, do yourself a favour and head straight to The Naked Scientists Web site.
The Naked Scientists are a group of physicians (as in experts in physics, not medical physicians) and researchers from Cambridge University.
Using radio, live lectures, and the Internet, they strip science down to its bare essentials, and promote it to the general public. In fact, the show’s Dr Chris Smith is in Australia at the moment for National Science Week (see his itinerary here).
You’ll find loads of fascinating articles, experiments, forums and podcasts on the site — I particularly love the Kitchen Science section, which has lots of experiments using common household ingredients to demonstrate scientific principles. You’ll find plenty of activities here that you can have fun doing with the kids.
Got a burning science question you need answered? Well, you can ask it in the forums. And if you think that your question might be a bit out there or embarrassing, it’s probably going to look a bit tame next to one question asked there: how much bodily gases would you have to expel to lift yourself off the ground? Top that!
This site could keep you enthralled for hours.
Gail Lipscombe has worked for some of Australia's hottest tech magazines for over 10 years. In her blog, she focuses on demystifying technology, gadgets and the web for average consumers.