MIKE：Hi, Sue.

SUE: Hi Mike, so what happened to you last week?

MIKE: Oh, I was sick with the flu. What’s this I hear about a big assignment we’ve got to do?

SUE: Well, basically, we’ve got to find two science experiments to do with a group of eight-year-old children at the local primary school, and we’ve got to complete it by the end of the week.

MIKE: Oh, that sounds like hard work. Where are we supposed to get the ideas for these experiments from?

SUE: Well, I managed to get hold of two books from the library.

MIKE: Oh, well done!

SUE: How about if we take a look at the experiments in this book first and see if anything looks suitable? I can make notes as we go, about equipment and the purpose of the experiments.

MIKE: OK, let’s see, um, the first experiment is called “Make your own hovercraft", which sounds very ambitious! Mind you, you only need twenty ballons and a table—you don’t need any special engines or anything like that!

SUE: What do you do with it all?

MIKE: Er, you blow up the ballons and you balance the table on them, upside down of course, and the kids get to ride around on it. You know, the other kids sort of push them around the room. The main purpose is to show how hovercrafls work, and how things hover around on just a chusion of air.

SUE: OK, that doesn't sound too bad.

MIKE: OK, ready for number two?

SUE: Uh-huh.

MIKE: Now this one is called “Unusual Measures of Lengths” , and you basically use lots of paperclips. The kids go around the class measuring things—you know, how the desk is, and that sort of thing, um, and then they all compare their answers. Er, and basically, because not all paperclips are the same lengths, they should come up with some strange answers. It's supposed to demonstrate the importance of having fixed units of measurement.