Inkling: Robot Costume

Make your own robot costume.

Are you going to a fancy dress party? Why not go as a robot? It's easy, fun and inexpensive!

What you will need: 
- One large box for your body.
- One medium-sized box for your head.
- Scissors.
- Duct tape.
- Grey or silver paint or spray paint.
- Paintbrushes.
- Glue.
- Tinfoil, buttons, metal washers, egg boxes – anything you like really.

What to do:
1. Cut off the flaps that close the bottom of the large box, as well as one side to make a kind of 'backless
    shirt'.
2. Cut off one flap at the top of the box.
3. Cut a semi-circle in the left over flap to make place for you neck to fit comfortably.
3. Cut holes for your arms in the sides of the box.
4. Use the duct tape to make sure that your robot body is sturdy along the sides.
5. Cut holes for your eyes and mouth in the smaller box which will be your head.
6. Paint or spray paint both boxes silver or grey.
7. Once the paint is dry, decorate your robot with buttons, tinfoil, metal washers, cut egg boxes and anything
    else you would like. Use glue to secure your decorations.

Send us some pictures - you could be featured on To The Drawing Board in issue 5!

Inkling: Make your own paper

Recycled paper:

What you’ll need:
- A frame with glass (remove the back and any sharp edges).
- A pair of old tights.
- A rectangular bowl that’s bigger than the frame.
- A blender.
- Scrap paper of any size, type and colour.
- A bucket and spoon.
- Dry sheets of newspaper that’ll fit over your frame.
- A rolling pin.
- A sponge.

What to do:
- Tear the paper into small pieces and put them in a bucket that’s filled with warm water. Let them soak
   over night. Keep topping the mix up with warm water.
- Using the blender, add two cups of the paper mix and add a cup of water. Blend this until you have pulp. - - Then tip all of this into the rectangular bowl. Repeat with another two cups of the mix from the bucket.
   Add 4cm of water to the bowl and swirl it around a bit.
- Put the tights over the frame – don’t let the corners snag. Tie knots in the ends and cut off any extra bits
  and lower the frame over the pulp, then lift it out of the box.
- Lay some sheets of newspaper over the top. Place your hand in the middle and flip the frame over.
- Use a sponge to gently press over the whole frame. The aim is to get rid of the excess water. Slowly peel
   up the frame. Now you should have a sheet of new paper lying on top of a sheet of newspaper.
- Put some more sheets of your paper on that and use a rolling pin to help the newspaper soak up extra
  water.
- Peel away the newspaper and leave the exposed side of your new paper in the sun to dry. When the whole
  sheet is dry, the newspaper will easily peel off your new paper.

There you  go!

Inkling: Festivals of the World

Mini tomato and mozzarella salads:

Celebrate two festivals at once, La Tomatina and Cheese Rolling, with this amazing snack on a toothpick!

What you will need:
- Cherry tomatoes, halved.
- Fresh basil leaves.
- Small balls of fresh mozzarella cheese.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar.
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil.
- Toothpicks.
- Knife.
- Serving plate and small bowl.

What to do:
- Cut each cherry tomato in half.
- Place one half of a cherry tomato on a toothpick.
- Follow the half tomato with a piece of fresh basil.
- Place a small piece or ball of mozzarella after the basil.
- Finish off your toothpick with another half tomato.
- Repeat steps 1 to 5 until you have lots of mini toothpick salads.
- Place all your finished toothpicks on a serving plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Mix the vinegar and olive oil together and sprinkle over your toothpicks or serve as a dipping sauce in a small - bowl.

Et voilà! Now all you left to do is share this delicious snack with your friends! Enjoy!

Another fun trip to Sci-Bono

As always, Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Newtown lived up to our expectations during their Solar Science Holiday Program which took place between 31 March to 9 April. Sci-Bono specializes in providing children, students, educators and the general public with innovative and interactive science and technology experiments and games. 

We decided to show our faces there last week Wednesday and boy oh boy - was it a blast! We learn't how to make a solar cooker - that's too legit! Using only the sun to cook your meal is both fun and environmentally friendly. 

Here's an idea of how you can make one at home:

You'll need a box

Some Foil

A sheet of transparent paper
A black-painted piece of cardboard
A sheet of plain cardboard

A straw
Some glue and a pair of scissors

For more interesting and entertaining lessons, make sure you visit Sci-Bono during 25 June and 6 July for their Wind and Water Holiday Program!

Some interesting facts about Sci-Bono Discovery Centre:

·         Sci-Bono is South Africa's largest science centre.

·         The science centre is based in an old Electrical Workshop building. 

·         Sci-Bono is an abbreviation of 'Science' and 'Bono'. The word 'Bono' comes from the TshiVenda word for ‘vision’.

There you go - another fun day in the magnificent world of Supernova! 

P.S. Issue 4 is almost with us - make sure you get a copy!