Tag Archives: Celia Berrell

“Snoopy Spiders” by Celia Berrell

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Snoopy Spiders

 

Spiders don’t have any ears.

They don’t have any ear-drums.

And so we thought they couldn’t hear

and only felt their webs strum.

But scientists who’ve scanned their brains

noticed they responded

when squeaky chairs and music strains

from far away were sounded.

Special hairs that wobble when

a soundwave moves the air

means jumping spiders hear quite well

through nerves attached to hairs.

These snoopy spiders listen-in

for buzzing enemies

like deadly wasps that sting and sing

some scary melodies!

Inspired by:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/10/13/surprising-spidey-sense-arachnids-can-eavesdrop-quite-well-without-any-ears/?wpisrc=nl_science&wpmm=1

 

“Fussy Rainbow-Eaters” by Celia Berrell

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Fussy Rainbow-Eaters

 

Leaves choose mostly orange-red

then bands of blue

to violet.

 

Using light to make a meal

of carbohydrate’s

sweet appeal

 

their chloroplasts feed on the Sun.

But only parts of

light’s spectrum.

 

Leaves don’t use all sunshine’s beams.

It seems they rarely

eat their greens!

 

Celia Berrell

First published in Double Helix(October 2015)
Reproduced with permission of CSIRO
www.doublehelix.csiro.au

 

 

 

 

“Pet Rex” by Celia Berrel

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Pet Rex

 

Some animals

don’t make good pets.

And one of them

would be T rex.

A dinosaur

so tall and wide

there’s no way

he could live inside.

 

Tyrannosaurus rex

is large.

His head would fill-up

your garage.

Twelve metre driveways

would be great

to fit his tail

inside the gate.

 

With stinky breath

from eating meat

you’d want to clean

his big strong teeth.

He’s got bad manners

when he’s fed.

His tiny arms

can’t reach his head!

 

first published in CSIRO’s Scientriffic magazine issue #77 March 2012
with illustration by Science Writer Mike McRae

“Europa’s” Secrets by Celia Berrell

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Europa’s Secrets by Celia Berrell

 

There’s hope Europa has a sea

where living things could really be

because this moon of Jupiter

has lots of solid ice water.

 

The pictures of Europa show

a crusty surface white as snow

with many lines and ridges mixed

like ice sheets that have cracked and fixed.

 

As Jupiter’s great gravity

distorts Europa’s cavity

that energy and friction heats

and melts some water underneath.

 

We think this frozen water layer

could make a sea that’s hiding there.

So just below that crusty shell

it’s possible some microbes dwell.

 

Or what if it turns out to hold

some animals both weird and bold

that roam Europa’s chilly sea.

True aliens to you and me!

 

First published in Scientriffic (March 2011)

Reproduced with permission of CSIRO

www.doublehelix.csiro.au 

Discovering life exists in places beyond Earth – like Jupiter’s icy moon Europa – could be a reality in our lifetime.  Thinking about it makes my imagination run wild!  What will these creatures be like?

Teacher Notes by Jeanie Axton

Heres an interesting article from the NASA website

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/jupiter-moons/europa/in-depth

As far as poetry goes this topic stimulates the creative imagination of us all. Ask students to brain storm possibilities and then come up with a list of describing words that could be used to match their ideas. An acrostic could be an easy form of poetry to start with on this topic and then move on to other ways of presenting ideas in poetry. Have Fun.

”Muse on the Moon” by Celia Berrell

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Muse on the Moon

The Moon reveals so many things
for humankind to ponder on.

An anchor in celestial seas
or lunar clock to gaze upon.

Ambassador for gravity,
this Queen of Tides is mighty strong.

A temptress for astrology’s
imagined magic – right or wrong.

Love’s locket hung in silent song
reflecting what the Sun once shone.

Ellipse, eclipsed and wandered on,
our lunar quests go on and on.

The Moon reveals so many things
for humankind to wonder on.

 

“Skyglow” by Celia Berrell

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Light pollution

in the night

creates an orange

skyglow sight.

 

Nocturnal creatures

want to find

a place unlit by

humankind.

 

Please make our

streetlights only flow

with downward-pointing

lights aglow.

 

Or better still

have times of black

so night-time creatures

could come back.

Celia Berrell

“Space Dust SiO2” by Celia Berrell

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A man-made material

Silica aerogel

recently travelled in outer space

collecting the particles

shed by a comet’s tail

bringing them back to a NASA base.


A frothy glass matrix

of mostly air – sandy mix

lighter than feathers and stronger than steel

is brittle-snap crazy

and seems smoky-hazy.

When rubbed on a surface it gives out a squeal!


This stiff-sponge sensation

has great insulation

preventing the passage of heat through its layer.

Like a piece of blue sky

that is crisp, light and dry

its edges look fuzzy, like snap-frozen air.



Space Duster SiO2 by Celia Berrell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfUIc6efV3w
Lawrence Livermore Quest Lab video

“Cosmic Glitter”  by Celia Berrell

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Cosmic Glitter

 

Twinkle twinkle, cloudless night.

The stars are sparkling clear and bright.

Those pin-prick suns send rays of light

that blink and wink to our delight.

 

Most stars don’t twinkle at their source,

it’s just some rays get knocked off-course.

Their glittering images appear

because of Earth’s own atmosphere.

 

The layers of air around our world

like flimsy see-through curtains swirl,

and dapple starlight passing through.

So, does the moonlight twinkle too?

 

first published in CSIRO’s Scientriffic magazine issue #78 March 2012

“Who Nose the Way?” by Celia Berrell

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Who Nose the Way?

 

Scientists find

a good sense of smell

goes hand-in-hand

with direction as well.

 

If spatial awareness

is one of your gifts,

it’s likely your nose has

superior sniff!

 

Discerning more scents

in the air we have crossed

may help with our sense

of NOT getting lost.

 

So “follow your nose”

as we like to say,

and “smell the roses”

along the way.

 

https://www.the-scientist.com/notebook/a-keen-sense-of-smell-appears-to-go-hand-in-hand-with-spatial-memory-65352?utm_campaign=TS_DAILY%20NEWSLETTER_2019&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69866511&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–PjJOhf66RFiR_I0QB-_oiLgt_bfPbAi2kRRprNugMdZi9s5dz9-ZFi6H8zWikHxpIC5jV_XHT3O8yakJC-t1y-45q0XkGH4JOL9Cws5Lj4SDy74k&_hsmi=69866511

“True bugs are suckers” by Celia Berrell

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A true bug’s an insect

but insects aren’t bugs

if they eat by chomp-chomp

instead of glug-glug.

 

Ants are not bugs.

They’ve got mandible jaws.

While a bug’s beaky tube

will get used like a straw.

 

Bugs feed on liquids

like plant-juice or blood

by piercing the skin

and then sucking, glug-glug.

 

Cicadas and bed-bugs

are glug-sucking guys.

But ladybird beetles

aren’t bugs – so get wise!

First published in Double Helix(September 2016)
Reproduced with permission of CSIRO
www.doublehelix.csiro.au

 True bugs are suckers by Celia Berrell