Lesson plan; 71 of the best random fun facts from BBC; Science Focus

With random facts about everything from animals, space, geography, science, health, biology and much more, welcome to our odyssey of oddities. Source: BBC Science Focus

1. Wind turbines kill between 10,000 and 100,000 birds each year in the UK. Interestingly, painting one of the blades of a wind turbine black can reduce bird deaths by 70 per cent.
2. The world’s oldest dog lived to 29.5 years old. While the median age a dog reaches tends to be about 10-15 years, one Australian cattle dog, ‘Bluey’, survived to the ripe old age of 29.5.
3. The world’s oldest cat lived to 38 years and three days old. Creme Puff was the oldest cat to ever live.
4. Giraffes are 30 times more likely to get hit by lightning than people. True, there are only five well-documented fatal lightning strikes on giraffes between 1996 and 2010. But due to the population of the species being just 140,000 during this time, it makes for about 0.003 lightning deaths per thousand giraffes each year. This is 30 times the equivalent fatality rate for humans.
5. Identical twins don’t have the same fingerprints. You can’t blame your crimes on your twin, after all. This is because environmental factors during development in the womb (umbilical cord length, position in the womb, and the rate of finger growth) impact your fingerprint.

Objectives:

• Students will learn about a variety of interesting science facts.
• Students will be able to communicate their understanding of the science facts in a creative way.

1. Introduction

• Begin by telling students that they are going to learn about some amazing science facts that will blow their minds.
• Show students the website “71 fun facts that will blow your mind | BBC Science Focus”.
• Ask students to browse the website and find a few facts that they find interesting.

2. Fact-Finding

• Have students work in small groups to choose one of the facts that they found interesting and research it further.
• Ask students to find out as much as they can about the fact, including how it works and why it is interesting.
• Encourage students to use the internet, books, or other resources to find their information.

3. Presentation

• Have each group present their fact to the class.
• Encourage students to be creative and use visuals to help explain their facts.
• After each presentation, ask the class if they have any questions.

4. Discussion

• Discuss the facts that the students presented.
• Ask students what they found most interesting about the facts.
• Encourage students to share their own knowledge and experiences about the facts.

5. Conclusion

• Summarize the key takeaways from the lesson.
• Remind students that there is always more to learn about the world around us.
• Encourage students to continue exploring science and learning new things.

Extension Activities:

• Have students write a short essay about one of the facts that they found most interesting.
• Have students create a poster or infographic about one of the facts.
• Have students research and present a more complex science topic related to one of the facts.