

Takes: 20 mins to prepare and 12 mins to cook, 20 mins to cool
Serves: 12
Ingredients

350g plain flour

1tsp bicarbonate soda

2tsp ground ginger

100g butter

175g brown sugar

4tbsp golden syrup

1 beaten egg

coloured boiled sweets
Method
Heat the oven to Fan180ºC/Gas Mark 5. Line two baking sheets with non-stick
baking paper. Sift the plain flour, mix in the bicarbonate of soda and ground ginger.
Rub in butter with your fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Then add the
brown sugar, golden syrup and beaten egg. Mix with your hand to form a ball.
Allow to rest for five minutes while you lightly crush the boiled sweets with the
rolling pin.
Flour your work surface and the rolling pin, and roll out the dough to the thickness
of a pound coin. Using star cutters cut out your biscuits. With a smaller cutter or
just with a knife, cut a small round hole in the centre of the biscuit. Place on the
lined baking sheet. Put a boiled sweet in each little hole. If you want to hang the
biscuits, use a straw to make a little hole near the top.
Bake for 10-12 mins until golden. Leave to cool and harden on the baking sheets
because they will be soft to begin with, and the melted sweets very hot.
When cold and solid, thread ribbon through the little holes and tie.
Starquesters Quiz
1. This phrase starts with an "S." It is the name of the group that consists of our
Sun and the many objects that orbit it. What is it? _______________
2. This word starts with an "S." It is the name of the large, hot, gaseous object that
gives us much of our heat and energy. What is it? _______________
3. This word starts with a "P." It is the name of the many large objects that orbit
around the Sun. _______________
4. This word starts with an "M." It is the name of the planet that is the closest to
the Sun. What is it? _______________
5. This word starts with a "V." It is the name of the planet that is second-closest to
the Sun. It is the hottest planet. What is it? _______________
6. This word starts with an "E." It is the name of the planet that is third from the
Sun. We live on this planet. What is it called? _______________
7. This word starts with an "M." It is the name of the large object that orbits the
Earth. What is it? _______________
8. This word starts with an "M." It is the name of the red planet that is fourth from
the Sun. It is the planet that comes closest to the Earth. What is it? __________
9. This phrase starts with an "A." It is the name of the large group of objects that
orbit the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. What is it called? _______________
10. This word starts with a "J." It is the name of the biggest planet in the Solar
System. What is it? _______________
11. This word starts with an "S." It is the name of the planet with the largest rings.
What is this planet called? _______________
12. This word starts with a "U." It is the name of the seventh planet form the Sun.
It looks bluish and is covered with clouds. What is it? _______________
13. This word starts with an "N." It is the name of the eighth planet from the Sun.
What is it? _______________
14. This word starts with a "P." It is the name of the former planet that is usually
the farthest from the Sun. It was also considered the smallest planet in our Solar
System. What is it? ___________
15. This word starts with a "C." It is what we call the small, icy objects that orbit
the Sun. They have a long tail that always points away from the Sun. _________
Answers:
1 Solar System
2 Sun
3 Planet
4 Mercury
5 Venus
6 Earth
7 Moon
8 Mars
9 Asteroids
10 Jupiter
11 Saturn
12 Uranus
13 Neptune
14 Pluto
15 Comet
Starquester Wordsearch
A
G
A
D
F
P
N
B
S
S
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F
P
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F
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ANDROMEDA
ASTEROID
COMET
GALAXY
GEMINI
MARS
MOON
NEBULA
ORION
PLANET
V
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R
R
A
G
R
J
R
A
W
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S
K
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B
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D
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D
E
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P
P
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A
D
E
S
A
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B
K
N
N
O
PLEIADES
PLUTO
POLARIS
SATURN
SIRIUS
STAR
TAURUS
VENUS
M
T
E
M
O
C
N
W
O
P
N
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C
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T
Pleiades -The Greek Mythology
According to the ancient Greeks, the Pleiades were seven sisters. In
Greek, the word "Pleiades" means "doves." Their parents were Pleione
and Atlas who was condemned by Zeus to support the Heavens on his
shoulders. One day, the Pleiades were travelling with their mother and
met the hunter Orion.
Orion fell in love with Pleione and her charming daughters. He spent a
great deal of time chasing after them, trying to win their affection.
After several years, Zeus intervened and transformed the women into
doves to help them escape. They flew into the sky to become the cluster
of stars that today has their name.
However, only six stars are visible in the sky without a telescope. The
ancient Greeks explained the absence of a seventh star with several
different stories. According to one story, one of the Pleiades, Merope
deserted her sisters because she was ashamed of having a mortal
husband, who also happened to be a criminal.
The Children Who Danced Into the Sky
(an American folk tale about how the Pleiades got into the sky)
This is a story told by the elders
of the Onondaga Nation of
upstate New York. The story is
about the Pleiades cluster of
stars in Taurus the bull.
The Onondaga had just reached
one of their favourite hunting
areas and had decided to build
their lodges by the lake and
gather fish and game for the
coming winter. By the time that
Autumn came, most of the work
was done and a group of children
decided to celebrate by dancing
along the side of the lake.
The children enjoyed dancing so
much that it turned into an every day occasion for them. One day as
they were dancing a strange old white-haired man adorned with white
feathers appeared among them. He warned the children that they
should not be dancing every day. The children laughed at the old man,
refusing to take his warning seriously. In fact, they decided that the
next day they should have a picnic as well when they danced.
The next day the children asked their parents for food so that they
might enjoy themselves further at their dance. Their parents did not
approve of this behaviour however, and refused to allow the children
any food.
So much did the children love their dancing that they decided to go
anyway, even if they had no food and were hungry. They returned to
their spot by the lake and began dancing. Soon the children felt
strange and light-headed. They felt so light that they started to rise
up into the air. One of the children warned the others that they must
not look back at the ground lest something bad happen.
Suddenly, a woman spotted the children rising into the air. She called
them to come back but they continued to rise. The woman ran back to
the camp and told the others what was happening. The children's
parents gathered food and came running, calling their children to
come back. The children started to cry, but could not come back to
the ground.
One of the children was so upset that he looked back down towards
his parents. Immediately he was turned into a meteor, or "falling
star." The other children rose until they found a place in the sky and
were turned into the stars we know as the seven Pleiades. One child
sang all the way up into the sky and his singing made him more and
more faint. By the time he reached his new home in the sky he could
scarcely be seen.
POP Bottle Rockets
SAFETY: This rocket uses air pressure to fling a bottle at high speed 20–50 metres. It can take off
very dramatically so do make everyone stand well back from the launch area and especially warn
younger children about what will happen. Using a smaller bottle limits the power of the rocket but
you might like to get experimental and see what is the optimum size and amount of water needed.
You can buy this kit online or follow the instructions below to create
your rocket.
The bottle must be made entirely of plastic, it must have no sharp points and it must be for a fizzy
drink, so that the plastic is designed to hold pressure inside it.
Making a hole through the cork using a drill, punch or awl is a job for an adult.
The rocket launches with little or no warning and can fly in a random direction. Never fire it
towards or over anyone.
Before you start pumping, make sure the area you are firing into is empty of people, animals and
breakable objects.
You need

One 2 litre plastic fizzy drink bottle

A wine cork that fits snugly in the bottle spout

A valve from a bicycle inner tube, the longer the valve the better. Cycle shops will often give away
old punctured ones

A pump that fits the valve. Hand pumps or foot pumps are fine

Something that can hold the bottle, neck down, at an angle to the ground – the handle of a garden
fork works well but branches, bits of wood or plant pots will all work as a launch pad

A few litres of tap water
Alternative: see the Football pump method below
What you do
If the valve is too short, cut the cork. Wrap tape around the cork if it doesn't fit snugly in the bottle.
Check the cork will be a good tight fit in the bottle. You can wrap tape around it to make it a bit
bigger.
Check the valve is long enough to poke through the cork and still let you attach the pump. You can
shorten the cork by slicing it through if you need to.
Safety: Adult help required for the next step.
Make a hole through the length of the cork so that the valve can let air in. Use a drill, or a punch
and a small screwdriver. The hole needs to be as small as it can be while still letting the valve go
through.
Safety: Choose your launch area carefully so you there's no hazard to you or to anyone else.
The handle of a garden fork makes a good launch holder.
Make a launch pad that holds the bottle with the neck downwards, lets you attach the pump and
stand behind the bottle. One good method is to plant a spade or garden fork in the ground at a low
angle and poke the bottle through its handle.
Into the bottle put roughly 500ml of water (a quarter of its capacity). Seal the bottle with the cork
and valve. Open the valve and attach the pump.
Safety: Check the launch area is clear before you start pumping. Get anyone watching to stand at
least 3 metres back.
Start pumping gently and steadily, keeping the bottle lined up as best you can.
Keep pumping until the cork pops and the bottle flies away.
Football pump method
Here's a simpler design using a pump that has a needle for inflating things like rugby or soccer
balls. You don't need the bicycle inner tube valve and you don't need to make a hole in the cork.
Instead carefully drive the pump's needle through the cork so you can add air. You will probably
get even wetter using this technique.
What should happen
As you pump, you can see air bubbling into the bottle. When the pressure is too great for the cork
to contain, the cork is pushed out.
The bottle flies off, leaving a trail of water behind it and probably soaking the person pumping too.
Once the bottle is empty of water, its flight starts to slow.
If it doesn't work for you
If the rocket doesn't fly at all, check two things:

Is water escaping from the bottle? Look around the cork to check if it's sealing reasonably well.

Is air getting into the bottle? Look for air bubbles in the water when you pump. If no, make sure the
valve can open to let air through from the pump. It may be damaged or screwed shut.
If the rocket does fly but not very well, there are things you can adjust.

The amount of water makes a big difference. Start with the bottle one quarter full (500ml water in a
2l bottle) and adjust it up or down for best flying distance.

Check that your launch pad allows the bottle to fly cleanly away. You may need to try a few
methods depending on your pump and the shape of your bottle.
Flying further
This design is a basic one to show how the principle works. Using just the friction of a cork to hold
in the air and water means the pressure can't get very high. And most bottles aren't a great shape
for smooth flight.
There are many other, more advanced, rocket designs. Some people compete in national
competitions.

Explore the Internet for inspiration and see how you can improve your rocket. There are a few
suggested links top right on this page.

Bear in mind that if you change the design, you also need to consider extra safety precautions.
Have fun!