Sparkle Buds January 2025

“What is that?” “It looks like a fossil.” “It looks part-human.” “It can't be…” The archeologists all started talking at once. I listened to snippets from each of their conversations. The words “animal” and “human” were argued about, with half of us thinking it looked like one while the other half was thinking it looked like the other. As the chatter started to dwindle, I spoke. “What if it's neither human nor animal? What if it's something we haven't discovered yet? Maybe even something from out of our world…” There was silence as my colleagues digested what I was saying. Frank said, “I think you might be right. It's not a dinosaur or any other animal we've encountered. It's not a human. What else could it be?” The other scientists…

Ms. Sofia Hirani Canada 2022 Sofia is a brain cancer survivor who has fought exceptionally hard in her recovery. Despite the enormity of these challenges, she tackled them with a positive attitude and determination. Sofia is committed to seeing the spaces around her improved for others too. Sofia has lived experience with mobility, hearing and speech challenges and she uses her understanding to raise awareness and inspire others to advocate for change. Sofia reminds others of how to improve accessibility and equitable opportunities for others both within and outside the school. She also leads cancer awareness campaigns like Kid's Cancer Care to support educating others about this disease and the impact it can have on a person's life. Sofia's gentle courageous spirit is an inspiration to many, and has led…

One of the most famous and notable dinosaurs, the Tyrannosaurus Rex is a type of theropod dinosaur. Many fossils of the Tyrannosaurus have been found allowing scientists to learn more and more about how big it was, how it hunted, and how it lived. The Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the largest land predator dinosaurs. The T-rex measured up to 43 feet long and weighed as much as 7.5 tons. The dinosaur is often used in movies such as Jurassic Park due to its size and overall fearsome image. The Tyrannosaurus rex was a bipedal dinosaur. This means that it walked and ran on two legs. These two legs were large and strong to carry the immense weight of the dinosaur. In contrast, the arms of the T-rex were relatively…

John Rex Whinfield & James Tennant Dickson, Whinfield investigated polyesters and produced and patented the first polyester fibre in 1941, which they named Terylene (also known as Dacron) equal to or surpassing nylon in toughness and resilience. Terylene is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in fibres for clothing, containers for liquids and foods, and thermoforming for manufacturing, and in combination with glass fibre for engineering resins. Terylene was invented during the hunt for new synthetic fibres to rival Wallace H. Carothers’ nylon.…

Project Supplies: • Heart-shaped wooden plaque – you can use paper, craft foam or chipboard too. • Craft paint in red and pink, or make pink by mixing red and white. • Markers. If you are using a chipboard or paper for this project, cut out a heart shape slightly larger than your little one's hands. Now, you can paint the heart-shaped plaque or chipboard if you want. Then, paint your little one's hands. Next, carefully place one painted hand on the plaque. Then, lift it straight up. Repeat with the other hand, or other's person's hand to make heart shape. Be sure to write your little one's name and the year on the heart handprint craft plaque too. That's it! This is such a fun craft to make.…

Microscopic Creatures in Water Water can be home to a lot of interesting creatures and microorganisms, especially if it's dirty water found in ponds or near plants. Take some samples, view them under a microscope and see what you can find. How clean is the water from your tap compared to the water found in a pond? Experiment and see what kind of microscopic creatures you can find! What you'll need: • A concave slide • A dropper • A microscope • Different samples of water (tap water, pond water, muddy water etc). Near plants or in the mud are good places to take samples as they usually contain more microorganisms. INSTRUCTIONS: 1.Set up you microscope, preferably using its highest setting. 2.Use the dropper to take some water from one…