Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2022 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

DUCKLING PHYSICS Have you ever seen a row of fuzzy baby ducks or geese swimming behind their parent? They look like a cute little parade. But scientists say there’s another reason they swim this way. When the mom or dad paddles, it makes a small wave behind it. If a baby duck or goose is in the right place, it can ride that wave. This makes it easier for the baby to swim. The baby’s own wave makes swimming easier for the baby behind it—and so on down the line. Extreme Silk Spiders never need to visit the craft store. They make their own silk for building their webs. The silk comes out of special organs called spinnerets. Some spiders don’t build webs, but use silk in other ways. For…

Insects are land animals and breathe air. So how can they live in ponds? When humans explore the deep, they take air with them in tanks. And many water-dwelling insects and spiders do the same. Insects don’t have lungs. They breathe air through many tiny holes on their sides called spiracles. For underwater breathing, some insects trap a layer of air against their bodies with short, bristly hairs, encasing themselves in an air skin. Others store air bubbles under their wings or between their legs. Some, like the diving bell spider, make an air-filled underwater room.…

Jason Hackenwerth makes art from balloons, but his sculptures have as much in common with birthday balloons as finger paintings have with the Mona Lisa. These giant, airy sculptures make people gasp with surprise and smile with delight. As every kid knows, balloons don’t last forever. When it’s time to take down an installation, Hackenwerth sometimes wraps it in plastic to take back to his studio. The balloons slowly shrivel and become an entirely new work of art. “The impermanence of the sculptures has been a lesson about life,” he says. It teaches him “Not to take things too seriously.”…

The people were terrified. They threw rocks at it and attacked it with pitchforks. When they had killed it, they used a horse to drag its carcass away into a field. You probably wouldn’t do any of those things if you saw a hot-air balloon landing near your home. But back in 1783, very few people had ever seen such a thing. The villagers didn’t know what it was. The unmanned balloon seemed like something out of a monster tale, or the moon fallen to Earth. They soon learned their mistake, but to keep this from happening in another village, the French government issued a proclamation telling people not to be afraid of balloons. In 1783, if you wanted to go somewhere, you could walk, ride a horse, or sail…

If you look at an X-ray of a goldfish, you might think it had swallowed a balloon. And in a way, it has! In fact, that balloon is a part of the fish, and it’s a solution to a fishy problem. What problem? Sinking! Fish are made of muscle, bone, and guts, plus some scales. All of which are heavy—too heavy to float in water. To float and move around in the water, fish need an extra trick. That trick is a swim bladder, a special organ like a long balloon filled with air. With a swim bladder inside, a fish can control its buoyancy, how much it floats or sinks. This allows it to rise, sink, or hover at any depth. Under Pressure Do your ears ever hurt when…

On a small street in Philadelphia in the 1920s, there was a factory owned by the Fleer family. Inside the factory, lots of gum and candy were made. Working upstairs was a young accountant named Walter Diemer. His job was to add numbers and balance budgets. He knew lots about math but not much about gum. There wasn’t enough space in the building, so a new experimental laboratory was moved into the office next to Walter’s. In came lots of beakers and pots and tubes. What could be going on? The big secret was that the company was trying to make a new kind of gum. Chewing gum had already been around for centuries. The ancient Greeks chewed the sap of the mastic tree. American Indians introduced early settlers to…

Maracatar Leila J., age 8, Virginia The maracatar is a combination of a maraca and a guitar. On one side is a bowl with beads that rattle. On the other side is an open bowl with some rubber bands stretched across. If you hit them, they vibrate, making music. If these are played together, they make a beautiful variety of sounds. Dear Marvin, How old are you? I am nine. What is your favorite color? Mine is black. Sorry I keep asking questions but I have two more. What breed of dog do you like the best? What is your coolest skateboard trick? Your pal Eme D., Georgia Dear Eme, I am young enough not to know any better. I like orange, though black is better for hiding. My favorite…

On a summer’s day in 1654, a crowd of curious scientists, farmers, and Emperor Ferdinand III of Germany gathered in a field. They were there to watch the mayor of Magdeburg, an ex-alchemist named Otto von Guericke, try to pull apart two metal bowls held together by a whole lot of nothing. With the crowd assembled, he brought out two large, heavy copper half-spheres, which looked like a pair of big mixing bowls. He held the halves together and pulled them apart several times, showing the crowd that they separated easily and that there were no hidden latches inside. One bowl had a valve on the side. Guericke hooked this up to a new invention: a vacuum pump. He held the bowls together, with an open ring of leather between…

Cherry, grape, licorice, mint—there are many flavors of gum to choose from. But are any the Exactly Perfect Flavor? For this month’s contest, dream up a new flavor of bubble gum you think would be delicious. Draw an ad or a packet of it that shows everyone how tasty it is. We’ll share the most scrumptious and surprising in an upcoming issue of Ask. Contest Rules: 1. Your contest entry must be your very own work. Ideas and words should not be copied. 2. Be sure to include your name, age, and address on your entry. 3. Only one entry per person, please. 4. If you want your work returned, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. 5. Your entry must be signed or emailed by a parent or legal guardian, saying…

This is a fun trick to play at birthday parties. Tell your friends that with your magic word you can command a balloon not to pop. Then ask for a sharp pin, and prepare to amaze them! What you’ll need A blown-up balloon (that you don’t mind popping) Clear tape A sharp pin A moment alone with the balloon What to do 1. While no one is looking (or before the party) stick a piece of tape somewhere on the balloon. Press it on so the tape is not easy to see. Make sure you remember which balloon it is and where the tape is! 2. When it’s showtime, pick your pre-taped balloon and dramatically say, “I command you not to pop!” Then poke the pin through the place where…