Issue 3 December 2012Boom!No Girls Allowed!

Inside this month!Festive Fun!

Check out the top movies to

watch this Christmas and find out how to make Santa’s

favourite ginverbread

biscuits!

Meet the Guardians!

BOOM! goes inside the latest animated

blockbuster!

Let theBAttleCommenceThe Boys Vs Girls Issue

Girls!

Get your ‘Experiments’

badge inside!

Since BOOM! launched earlier this year the boys have had it to themselves! But now the girls want in on the BOOM! fun! So this issue will see the very first ‘BOOM! Battle’ and the

only people that can decide the outcome are you!

The Battle

Here come the girls! And be careful boys...they have their sights set on BOOM!

How

the

battle

will

work?

Read this issue of boom ! and enjoy all of the exciting things you find on each page !

Find the BOOM ! Quiz on the website . use this issue to answer the 10 questions .

write your answers down (they are all inside BOOM ! ) and hand them into school .

all of the boys entries will be counted . All of the girls entries will be counted .

the group who have the most entries will be entered to the prize draw and 1 winner will

be picked .So Remember , you are in this together .

Encourage your fellow boys or girls to enter too ! That way you have more chance

of winning !

Boom!For

Super-fast 310mph maglev trains planned in JapanSuper fast 'floating' trains that can go at speeds up to 310mph are being planned by a Japanese rail company. Central Japan Railway Co previewed last week an ultra-speedy 'maglev' train that's been built for test runs. 'Maglev' (short for magnetically levitated) trains don't have wheels - they use magnetic power to lift them and propel them along the tracks.The trains are due to be tested from next year, but won't start taking passengers until the year 2027. It's due to link Japan's capital Tokyo with the city of Nagoya - and cut the time for the 200-mile journey by half, to around 40 minutes. The world record speed for a maglev train is actually 361mph. That was achieved in December 2003 on a test line in Japan.

Clues to alien life discovered in Antarctic lakeTiny microbes have been discovered living in sub-zero temperatures in a salty Antarctic lake, which may give clues to how life could exist in other parts of space.Scientists found a wide range of bugs living at temperatures of -13C, in a slushy liquid six times saltier than seawater. They think it's been cut off from the outside world for 2,800 years.Studying how they survive could give clues as to how life could be found elsewhere in space, such as on Jupiter's icy moon, Europa. Getting to the centre of the frozen lake has taken years. The scientists had to use massive drills to cut through the ice.

More children are being burned by hair straightenersMore children are being burned by hair straighteners according to a hospital in Wales.The number of cases has risen from four to 26 at the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery at Swansea's Morriston Hospital since 2004.Some straighteners aimed at children can reach up to 235C.If not used properly they can cause serious burns. Doctors at the hospital say they shouldn't be given to children to use on their own. Dr Dai Nguyen who works at Morriston Hospital said: "I'm quite horrified.""You wouldn't dream of giving a child an iron to iron their hair straight and that's essentially what you're doing."

Should prisoners be allowed to vote?MPs will be asked to decide whether criminals should be allowed to vote, in plans announced today.Currently no prisoners are allowed to vote, except those on remand - that's those being held while they wait for the case against them to be finished.The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that stopping people in prison from voting is against the law.So the government has until Friday to decide what it'll do in response, which may include watering down the ban.

Time to get excited - it's just four weeks until the Doctor Who Christmas special and the poster has been unveiled! The Snowmen sees The Doctor on a mission to save Christmas from the evil Doctor Simeon (played

by Richard E Grant) and his army of icy snowmen.

Entertainment NewsBBC's Merlin with Colin Morgan to end at ChristmasBad news, Merlin fans - the young wizard is casting his final spell as TV bosses

announce the current series will be the last! The fantasy drama will end this Christmas with a two-part finale.Merlin bosses Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy said: "We always felt the story of the legend was best told across five series, leading to a spectacular finale." The show first hit our screens in 2008.Little Mix want to follow in One Directions' footsteps

It's been a pretty amazing year for the Little Mix girls.Less than 12 months after winning the X Factor they're already set to release their first album.The girl group told Ricky they want to crack America and follow in One Directions' foot steps.

And Finally...

In some special places under the Earth's crust, there is red-hot molten rock, called magma. Volcanoes happen when magma rises to the surface of the earth, which causes bubbles of gas

to appear in it. This gas can cause pressure to build up in the mountain, and it eventually explodes. When the magma bursts out of the earth, it is called lava.

The type of magma in the earth can create different volcanoes. If the magma is quite thin, the gas can escape easily and there will not be an explosion. The magma just comes out of the mountain and flows down the sides, like Volcanoes in Hawaii and Mount Etna. But, if the magma is thick and sticky, the gas cannot escape, so it builds up and up until it explodes. This can cause landslides and sends out huge clouds of burning rock and gas, which devastate everything around them, like the famous eruptions at Mount St Helens and Montserrat.

Volcanoes can change the weather. They can cause rain, thunder and lightning. Volcanoes can also have long-term effects on the climate, making the world cooler.Fast-moving lava can kill people and falling ash can make it hard for them to breathe. They can also die from famine, fires and earthquakes which can be related to volcanoes. People can lose their possessions as volcanoes can destroy houses, roads and fields.Lava can kill plants and animals too. The Mount St Helens volcano in 1980 killed an estimated 24,000 animals including 11,000 hares, 6,000 deer, 300 bobcats, 200 black bears and 15 mountain lions.

The volcano eruption in Tambora, Indonesia, in 1815, killed around 92,000 people.The eruption sent fiery ash into the stratosphere, which cooled the world climate for more than a year. In some parts of the world, that year is called 'the year without a summer' because it was so cool. Tambora also destroyed crops, and led to disease and water contamination.

Girls!Make your own: Baking Soda

& Vinegar Volcano

Use baking soda and vinegar to create an awesome chemical reaction!

Watch as it rapidly fizzes over the container and make sure you've got some towels ready to

clean up. What you'll need:

• Baking Soda (make sure it's not baking powder)• Vinegar• A container to hold everything and avoid a big

mess!• Paper towels or a cloth (just in case)

Instructions:1. Place some of the baking soda into your

container.2. Pour in some of the vinegar3. Watch as the reaction takes place!

What's happening?The baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is

a base while the vinegar (acetic acid) is an acid. When they react together they

form carbonic acid which is very unstable, it instantly breaks apart into water and

carbon dioxide, which creates all the fizzing as it escapes the solution.

For extra effect you can make a realistic looking volcano. It takes some craft

skills but it will make your vinegar and baking soda eruptions will look even more impressive!

and

T’was theNight before

ChristmasChristmas is quickly approaching so here at BOOM! we wondered what better time to think about the top Christmas movies for those yuletide nights with all the family! Here are some you might like to check out!This is the story of a young hero boy on Christmas Eve who boards on a powerful magical train that's headed to the North Pole and Santa Claus' home. What unfolds is an an adventure which follows a doubting boy, who takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole.A little girl discovers dreams do come true if you really believe. Six-year-old Susan has doubts about childhood's most enduring miracle - Santa Claus. But after meeting a special department store Santa who's convinced he's the real thing, Susan isn’t so sure anymore!Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and the entire cast of the Muppet universe come together to re-tell Charles Dicken's immortal classic "A Christmas Carol" Michael Caine gives a magnificent performance as Ebenezer Scrooge in a world full of muppet comedy and almost scary performances from the "Ghosts of Christmas past, present, and yet to come"The Grinch is a nasty creature that hates Christmas, and plots to steal it away from the ‘Whos’, who he equally hates. Yet a small child, Cindy Lou Who, decides to try befriend the Grinch.Jack Skellington, Pumpkin King, ruler of Halloweentown, happens upon Christmastown, and decides to kidnaps Santa Claus, then takes it upon himself to deliver some alternative gifts to unsuspecting children..

ChristmasCooking

WithSantaI work really hard at this time of year and one of the things I look forward to the most is all of the special snacks and treats I find in the homes I visit on Christmas Eve! This is a recipe for one of my favourite cookies! Why not make a batch for Christmas, and if there is an extra one, I’d love to eat it this Christmas Eve! Remember to ask permission and get an adult to help you!

Ingredients

Makes: 30350g (12 oz) treacle225g (8 oz) dark brown soft sugar150ml (5 fl oz) cold water50g (2 oz) butter900g (2 lb) plain flour1 dessertspoon bicarbonate of soda1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon ground allspice1 dessertspoon ground ginger1 teaspoon ground cloves1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation method

Prep: 45 mins | Cook: 10 mins1.Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas mark 4. Lightly grease baking tray.2.Mix together the treacle, brown sugar, water and butter.3.Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices. Add to sugar mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.4.Roll dough .5cm (1/4 in) thick on a floured surface. Cut with floured gingerbread man pastry cutter. Place about 5cm (2 in) apart on baking tray. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool and decorate with icing of your choice.

Tip:After icing the men, you can decorate them using Smarties for eyes and hundreds & thousands for the hair.

Cities streets are busyplaces. But what goes onbelow these streets? A lot,actually. Let’s get the dirton what lies beneath.

catch basin

Those metal gratesnext to the curb oncity streets are called catch

basins. Rainwater runs throughthe catch basins underground into a huge system of pipes andtunnels. Eventually, the waterflows into a river or drains intothe ocean. Without theseunderground systems, city streetswould turn into rivers in the rain.

8

COOL FACT: The city of Los

Angeles has

more than

1,500 miles of

pipes and

tunnels in its

storm drain

system!

by J.D. Stottlemireillustrated by Jada Fitch

Oh rats! The brown rat isone of the most commonanimals in the world. They are very common in sewers, storm drains,and other openings undercities. They are social and live in large colonies.

There’s notmuch room forpoles to carry telephonewires above ground inthe city. So guess wherethey go? You got it —underground. Actually,the poles don’t gounderground, but thewires do.

Subway trains run under city streets. Go down the stairs, into the station, payyour fare, hop on the subway, and you canspeed to another part of the city. It’s muchfaster than traveling by bus or car —there’s no street traffic underground.

Rainwater goes OUT of the city, but drinking water comes IN.Long ago, hollow logs were used to carry drinking water intothe city. Today, underground pipes create a man-made riversystem carrying clean water into the city. These huge pipes can be buried more than 300 hundred feet underground.(Some are so big that you could drive a car through them!)

Thousands of peoplework underground incities, maintaining sewersystems, running subwaycars, digging tunnels, anddoing many other jobs.Some workers use robotsto inspect hard-to-reachpipes. How would you liketo work “down under”?

9

COOL FACT: The largest subwayin the world isunder the city ofLondon. It has 244miles of tracks.

APP0911_WhatsDownThere 5/12/10 1:29 PM Page c4

Rise of the Guardians, a movie inspired by the books of William Joyce, unites legendary characters you already know

Meet the Guardians: Sandman, Easter Bunny, Jack Frost, Santa Claus and Tooth Fairy. Each has powers to protect kids' dreams and imaginations. In DreamWorks Animation's 3-D movie Rise of the Guardians (Rated PG), these legendary characters unite to protect children from Pitch the Bogeyman (voiced by Jude Law).

Alec Baldwin voices Santa Claus, nicknamed “North,” who is the Guardians’ fierce leader. Baldwin says he was drawn to the movie because of its creative qualities. “I think the artwork in this film is very beautiful, and I think the tone of [the script] is just spot on,” Baldwin told reporters at a New York press conference for the movie. “It’s an excellent children’s film.” Actress Isla Fisher, who voices half-human, half-hummingbird Tooth Fairy, agreed. “It just felt different from anything that I’ve seen in the animated world,” she said.

MeetGuardians

the

Writing Heroically Silly StoriesThe backstories of the Guardians are based on characters from books by author and illustrator William Joyce, who was an executive producer of Rise of the Guardians. Several years ago, Joyce came up with the idea for the Guardians series when his six-year-old daughter Mary Katherine asked him if Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny were friends. Joyce decided they were—and that he would explore their backstories. Recently, BOOM! spoke with Joyce about the project and about writing his “heroically silly” stories.

BOOM!:The movie introduces us to a new Guardian, Jack Frost (voiced by Chris Pine). What inspired his youthful personality?

JOYCE:We wanted him to be like the Guardian that comes into the club, basically. He starts out not a Guardian but becomes one in the course of the story. He’s sort of mischievous, a little bit of a rascal—but a good-hearted one. He just wants to know who he is and why he’s here. Jack had been [a teenager for hundreds of years], so he’s not gangly and clumsy. He’s extremely comfortable in his physicality and balance, so he can walk around telephone wires like he does in the movie without really any problem at all.

Guardians Jack Frost (voiced by Chris Pine), Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin) and Sandman help Tooth Fairy (not pictured) collect teeth in DreamWorks Animation's new 3-D adventure.

BOOM:If you could be any guardian yourself, who would you want to be?JOYCE:I think I’d like to be Jack. He has room to grow. He’s young, and I’m 50. I’d like to be young again. [Laughs] And I think he has more fun than any of the other ones do.BOOM:He has underestimated powers, as well.JOYCE:Exactly. He isn’t even aware of how powerful he is.BOOM:North talks to Jack Frost about finding your “center.” What is your center?JOYCE:I think it might be a heroic pursuit of fun and silliness and telling good stories.BOOM:What’s one word you would use to describe each of your Guardians?JOYCE:For Tooth Fairy, it would be busy. For North, it would be stupendous. For Sandman, it would be snooze-tastic. For Jack, it would be fun. For Easter Bunny [voiced by Hugh Jackman]—he’s really heroic but every now and then he’s kind of scared, so I’ll make up a phony Latin word—hero scardius.

Rise of the Guardians Executive Producer William Joyce also wrote the books that give the backstories for the Guardians.

BOOM:What do you enjoy most about writing for kids?JOYCE:I don’t ever think of them as stories for kids. I just try to tell stories that move me and make me happy. Often, my stories are about dealing with things that I don’t like in my life or things that I don’t like about the world and how I would make them better, oftentimes in heroically silly ways.BOOM:What’s next for the Guardians series?JOYCE:The Tooth Fairy novel called Toothiana, Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies [came out on October 2], and you’ll find out how she became who she is. Also, there is a [new] picture book called The Sandman.BOOM:Why should kids go see this movie?JOYCE:It’s so big and so exciting and so fantastic and so crazy. The 3-D will make your eyeballs explode, and the story will make you so happy, you won’t even know what

Rise of the Guardians © 2012 DreamWorks Animation L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Find the Elves

FIND THE ELVES! - There are 17 elves hiding in here. Can you fins them all?

The

The Comic Strip Bit is the place to come for a selection of hilarious comic strips. check back in each issue for old favourites and new gems!

Bit

World in Photos

GRIBBLES CAN DIGEST

WOOD DUE TO CERTAIN ENZYMES IN THEIR BODIES WHICH

COULD LEAD TO THEIR MAKING OF

BIOFUELS.

THIS AMAZING

PICTURE SHOWS A CASTLE MADE

ENTIRELY OUT OF ORANGES AND LEMONS FOR LA FÊTE DU CITRON

(LEMON FESTIVAL) IN MENTON ON THE

FRENCH RIVIERA.

COFFINS IN THE SHAPE

OF A LION AND A CAR ARE DISPLAYED AT

THE SOUTH BANK CENTRE ON JANUARY 20,

2012 IN LONDON TO CELEBRATE THE

VENUE'S FESTIVAL OF LIFE AND

DEATH.

A MAN

ADJUSTS A SCULPTURE 'GIANT MERMAID' ON THE

ALSTER LAKE IN THE NORTHERN GERMAN

CITY OF HAMBURG.

A SEAHORSE INSPECTS A

DIVER'S WATCH. AFTER MUCH DEBATE

OVER THE YEARS, SCIENTISTS FINALLY

AGREED THAT SEAHORSES ARE

FISH.

MEDITATING MONKS AT

PONGOUR FALLS IN DALAT, VIETNAM