Questions for discussion
Episode 6
14th March 2017
Vaccination Debate
1. Working in pairs, record the issues raised in the BTN Vaccination Debate story.
2. Finish the following sentence: Vaccinations have been used for decades to stop the spread
of…
3. What impact did the Polio vaccine have on the disease in Australia?
4. How does a vaccine work?
5. Respond to the following statement: Getting vaccinated isn’t just about protecting yourself.
6. Which diseases do most children get vaccinated for?
7. What is the `No Jab No Pay’ rule?
8. What did Pauline Hanson say recently about vaccinations?
9. Why are some health care professionals worried about people listening to the wrong
advice?
10. What do you understand more clearly about vaccinations since watching the BTN story?
Check out the Vaccination Debate resource on the Teachers page.
South Sudan Famine
1. As a class, discuss the BTN Famine story. What were the main points of the discussion?
2. Where is South Sudan? Locate using Google Maps.
3. How are aid organisations helping people affected by the famine?
4. People in South Sudan don’t have access to what?
5. What impact has the civil war had on people?
6. What percentage of the population is in desperate need of food?
7. When does the United Nations declare a famine?
8. The UN is also concerned that famine could be declared in which other countries?
9. What do aid organisations say is needed to help people affected by famine?
10. How did this story make you feel?
Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.
Platypus Census
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Briefly summarise the Platypus Census story.
Platypuses are not native to Australia. True or false?
What are some unique features of the platypus?
Why are scientists conducting a platypus census?
Where in Australia do platypuses live?
Platypuses are nocturnal. What does that mean?
Mammals that lay eggs are called _____________________.
©ABC 2017
8. What feature does the male platypus have?
9. How did Indigenous Australians describe the platypus?
10. Name three things you learnt watching the Platypus Census story.
Check out the Platypus Census resource on the Teachers page.
Why do we Sleep?
1. What does the BTN story mainly explain?
2. Why do we need sleep?
3. What do studies show about animals that are sleep deprived?
4. Why are sleeping animals at risk?
5. What happens to a dolphin’s brain when they sleep?
6. What does the prefrontal cortex do?
7. How can a lack of sleep affect a person’s learning?
8. Finish the following sentence: Research shows that while we sleep, our brains are…
9. How do you feel when you get a bad night’s sleep?
10. What did you learn watching the BTN Sleep story?
Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.
Synchronised Swimming
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
In your own words, explain what synchronised swimming is.
What does Luka like about the sport?
What skills are needed to be a synchronised swimmer?
What did the sport used to be called?
How long has synchronised swimming been around?
Synchronised swimming is one of ______ Olympic sports that only allows women to
compete.
7. What is a potential problem with mixed competitors in synchronised swimming?
8. Why do James and Zoe make a great synchronised combination?
9. James and Luka’s coach is hoping that they will compete at the ________ Olympic Games.
10. What did you like about the BTN story?
Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.
©ABC 2017
Episode 6
14th March 2017
Teacher Resource
Vaccinations
1. Working in pairs, record the issues raised in the BTN Vaccination
Debate story.
2. Finish the following sentence: Vaccinations have been used for
decades to stop the spread of…
3. What impact did the Polio vaccine have on the disease in Australia?
4. How does a vaccine work?
5. Respond to the following statement: Getting vaccinated isn’t just
about protecting yourself.
6. Which diseases do most children get vaccinated for?
7. What is the `No Jab No Pay’ rule?
8. What did Pauline Hanson say recently about vaccinations?
9. Why are some health care professionals worried about people
listening to the wrong advice?
10. What do you understand more clearly about vaccinations since
watching the BTN story?
Discuss the BTN Vaccination Debate story as a class. What questions were
raised in the discussion (what are the gaps in their knowledge)? The
following KWLH organiser provides students with a framework to explore
their knowledge on this topic and consider what they would like to know and
learn.
What do I
know?
What do I want to
know?
What have I
learnt?
How will I find
out?
Ask students to find out what the following key words about vaccines mean:
 Vaccine
 Immunity
 Virus
 Disease
 Bacteria
©ABC 2017
Students will develop a deeper
understanding of what vaccines are
and their role in reducing the spread
of disease.
Science – Years 5 & 6
Scientific knowledge is used to solve
problems and inform personal and
community decisions
(ACSHE083) (ACSHE100)
Communicate ideas, explanations
and processes using scientific
representations in a variety of ways,
including multi-modal texts
(ACSIS093) (ACSIS110)
Science – Year 7
Solutions to contemporary issues
that are found using science
and technology, may impact on other
areas of society and may involve
ethical considerations (ACSHE120)
Students will investigate in more depth some questions they have about the vaccines.
Define: What do I want to know?
Key questions to research
Students can choose one or more of the following questions or come up with their own:






What is a vaccine?
How do vaccines work?
What impact have vaccines had on controlling disease?
Why are most vaccinations given in the early years of a person’s life?
Why is it important to vaccinate against rare disease?
What is the future of vaccinations? Predict what vaccines may be available during your lifetime.
Locate: Where do I find the information?
What resources will help answer my questions? (Internet, people, resource centre, organisations,
print). Discuss with students what a reliable source is.
Select: What information is important for the investigation?
Students may need support to sort through and select relevant information.
Organise: How do I make sense of the information?
Students can organise their research by creating main headings from their questions. Write each
heading on a separate piece of paper. Record the information found for each question.
Present: How do we let others know about this information?
Students decide on the best way to present the information. Possibilities could include:
 A `Did You Know’ Fact sheet
 Create an Infographic
 Design a poster
 Prezi presentation
Evaluate: What have we learnt?
Students reflect on what they have learnt about the vaccines during their investigation. Students will
reflect on their learning and respond to the following.
 What I learned...
 What I found surprising...
There are weblinks at the end of this activity to help students with their research.
©ABC 2017
Research a Vaccine
Students will investigate the impact a particular vaccine has had on controlling disease. Choose from one of
the following:
Polio, MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, Hepatitis B or Chicken Pox.



Describe the disease. What are the symptoms? Is the disease caused by a virus or bacteria?
Who is most at risk of getting the disease?
What impact did the disease have?



How does the vaccine work? How often should a person be vaccinated?
What impact has the vaccine had on controlling the disease worldwide?
What are some interesting facts about the vaccine?
History of Vaccines
Students match the scientist to the disease
they helped prevent by playing the Pioneer
Breakthroughs matching game The History of
Vaccines website also has an interactive
timeline which highlights significant events in
the history of diseases and vaccines.
Watch the BTN Vaccinations story then answer the following questions:
1. Which vaccination did Sarah get in the
BTN story?
2. What is a vaccine?
3. Who do vaccinations protect?
4. Name some diseases that vaccinations
protect you from.
5. Getting vaccinated is compulsory. True
or false?
6. Why do some people decide not to
vaccinate their children?
©ABC 2017
Watch the BTN Polio Return story then answer the following questions
1. What are some symptoms of polio?
2. Polio is not contagious. True or
false?
3. How many people in Australia were
diagnosed with polio between the
1930s and the1980s?
a. 20 000
b. 40 000
c.
60 000
4. In which decade was a polio
vaccine developed?
BTN – Vaccination Row
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3765668.htm
BTN – Vaccinations
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3512683.htm
History of Vaccines – Activities
http://www.historyofvaccines.org/activities
ABC News – Health groups demand Pauline Hanson retract `fringe’ vaccination comments
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-06/health-groups-appalled-by-hanson-vaccination-remarks/8328714
©ABC 2017
Teacher Resource
Episode 6
14th March 2017
Platypus Census
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Briefly summarise the Platypus Census story.
Platypuses are not native to Australia. True or false?
What are some unique features of the platypus?
Why are scientists conducting a platypus census?
Where in Australia do platypuses live?
Platypuses are nocturnal. What does that mean?
Mammals that lay eggs are called _____________________.
What feature does the male platypus have?
How did Indigenous Australians describe the platypus?
Name three things you learnt watching the Platypus Census story.
Students will research and create
an information report about
platypuses.
Science – Year 4
Living things have life
cycles (ACSSU072)
Living things depend on each other
and the environment to
survive (ACSSU073)
After watching the BTN story, respond to the following questions:






What did you SEE in this video?
What do you THINK about what you saw in this video?
What does this video make your WONDER?
What did you LEARN from this story?
How did this story make you FEEL?
What was SURPRISING about this story?
Science – Year 5
Living things have structural
features and adaptations that help
them to survive in
their environment (ACSSU043)
Science – Year 6
The growth and survival of living
things are affected by physical
conditions of
their environment (ACSSU094)
Class Discussion
Geography – Year 4
Hold a class discussion to find out what students know about platypuses.
Using sticky notes, students write down a piece of information about
platypuses. Collect and place all the notes on a wall in the classroom. The
following questions may help generate discussion:
The importance of environments,
including natural vegetation, to
animals and
people (ACHASSK088)





Are platypuses a native or introduced species?
What are monotremes?
The platypus is said to have features of which animals?
What feature does the male platypus have?
Why is the platypus well adapted to a semi-aquatic lifestyle?
©ABC 2017
Key Words
Students develop a glossary of words and terms that relate to the platypuses. Below are some words to get
them started.
monotreme
burrow
venomous
species
habitat
mammal
nocturnal
native
Information report
Students will create an information report about platypuses. The following may help guide students’
research:
 Description of a platypus
 Diet, habitat
 The life cycle of a platypus
 Adaptations
 Threats to platypuses
 Interesting facts about platypuses
Structure and features of an information report
Information reports are factual texts written to inform and provide detailed facts about a topic. Discuss with
students what they already know about the purpose, structure and features of an information report. Use the
following as a guide to use with students.



Purpose – An information report provides information to the reader by stating facts.
Structure – see table below.
Language features – write in the present tense, use technical or scientific words and write in the
third person.
Students can then use the following plan to help write their report. They can present their reports using
publishing software or as a brochure.
Information report – structure
Title
States a topic
Introduction
The opening statement explains the subject of the
report, and includes a definition or short description.
Body
Facts grouped into paragraphs. Starts with a topic
sentence. Include subject specific language.
Text features such as sub-headings, labelled
diagrams, charts and captioned photographs may be
included.
Conclusion
A summary of what the topic is about and end with an
interesting fact.
©ABC 2017
Students create a labelled diagram of a platypus.
Include:
 A title
 An accurate drawing
 A scale to show the size
 Labels to show the main features
Body parts to include: Webbed feet, venomous
spur (males only), flat tail, bill
Source: National Geographic
Watch the ABC Splash videos Platypus: The young
male leaves the burrow and Platypus at Play to get an
insight into platypuses behaviour and adaptations. Ask
students to respond to the following questions:






How do you think `Big Foot’ knows how to find
food?
Why will he have to leave the pool?
What makes a platypus `custom made for the
water’?
How does a platypus find its food?
What interesting facts did you learn watching
the videos?
What was surprising?
Create a Quiz
Use Kahoot! to test students’ knowledge about
platypuses. Quizzes can be created to recap learning
or test personal knowledge. There is also the option to
connect with classrooms around the world and play
kahoot in real time.
©ABC 2017
Live Science – Platypus
http://www.livescience.com/27572-platypus.html
National Geographic - Platypus
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/p/platypus/
Australian Museum – Animal Species: Platypus
https://australianmuseum.net.au/platypus
Office of Environment and Heritage - Platypus
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/animals/ThePlatypus.htm
ABC Splash – Platypus at Play
http://splash.abc.net.au/home#!/media/1436230/platypus-at-play
ABC Splash – Platypus: The young male leaves the burrow
http://splash.abc.net.au/home#!/media/1771908/platypus-the-young-male-leaves-the-burrow
ABC News – Scouring river beds and history books to discover if the platypus is under threat
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-05/is-the-future-of-the-platypus-under-threat/8314602
©ABC 2017
BtN: Episode 06 Transcript 14/03/17
Hi I'm Nathan Bazley and this is BTN!
Coming up today

South Sudan declared a famine area. We find out what's caused this disaster.

Why these scientists will be hunting platypuses for the next 3 years.

And Amelia investigates why we sleep.
Heaps of stuff like that coming up. But first to vaccinations.
Vaccination
Reporter: Amelia Moseley
INTRO: The Prime Minister has announced tough new rules on kids whose parents
choose not to vaccinate them. They will be banned from childcare centres and preschools
under the proposal in an effort to encourage parents to protect their kids from potentially
dangerous illnesses. Here's more on how vaccinations work and why they're important.
It's a sight that makes most people feel a bit uncomfortable, including me!
AMELIA: Is this gonna hurt?
DOCTOR: No it won’t hurt Amelia.
But it's also something most of us have been through before as babies, kids and later as
adults.
Vaccinations have been used for decades to stop the spread of many of the world's most
dangerous diseases. For instance, way before you were born there was a really bad
illness that affected tens of thousands of kids, called polio. It caused a lot of pain, lifelong
deformities and sometimes death! But in Australia today, polio doesn't exist thanks to
vaccinations. So how does this little jab actually work?
AMELIA: So the vaccine I'm about to have is for three illnesses - it's for Whooping Cough,
Diphtheria and Tetanus. So what the needle contains is a teensy little bit of each of the
bacterias that cause those illnesses. Now, they've been changed in some way, so they
won't actually make me sick. What they will do is help me to fight off those bacterias if I
happen to come across them in the future.
DR. WILLIAMS It's all over.
AMELIA: Ok, good. That wasn't too bad!
©ABC 2017
Not all of those infections would've been dangerous for me if I had got them; Some
would've just made me sick for a while. But for babies, getting an illness like Whooping
Cough, for example, can be fatal. That's why getting a vaccination isn't just about
protecting yourself, it's about protecting others that can't always be vaccinated like
newborn babies, really old or really sick people, or people with allergies.
These days, nearly every kid in Australia gets vaccinated for a bunch of illnesses,
including the ones I was just vaccinated for, and others you might recognise like measles
and chickenpox. The government reckons vaccinating kids is so important that it now has
a rule called 'no jab, no pay'. It means parents who don't vaccinate their kids don't get
welfare payments from the government like child care and family benefits. The government
also wants kids to be banned from childcare and pre-school if their parents choose not to
vaccinate them.
But not everyone agrees with that. Last week, Senator Pauline Hanson said that even
though she vaccinated her kids, she thinks parents should have a choice not to and should
do some research.
SENATOR PAULINE HANSON: Parents should take the responsibility to actually
investigate the whole situation. People come to me constantly all the time, they're very
concerned about it and I've heard it for years.
The problem is that if you look on the internet, it's not hard to find people who disagree
with vaccinations. They say it causes side effects and that people have died or been left
with disabilities after being vaccinated, but nearly all doctors and scientists say that's just
not true!
DR. WILLIAMS: The possibility of a reaction is very minimal and if something happens
we're prepared to treat it, but again I must reiterate it is quite rare.
At the moment, only a very small number of Australian parents - about two per cent refuse to vaccinate their kids, but health care professionals say they're worried others will
start listening to the wrong advice. They say vaccinations have been so successful that
everyone's forgotten how devastating diseases like polio were. They say it's important to
remember how much this little jab is doing to keep you, and others, safe and healthy!
This Week in News
Western Australia has a new Premier! Mark McGowan will lead the state after the Labor
party won this weekend's election.
MCGOWAN: I came here 27 year ago in my Corolla across the Nullarbor and today the
people of Western Australia have made me Premier. Thank you.
He'll take over from Liberal Leader Colin Barnett who's been premier since 2008.
----
There's been some more bad news about the Great Barrier Reef. Aerial surveys have
confirmed it's suffered its second coral bleaching event in 12 months.
Bleaching happens when the water gets too warm and the algae that lives in coral leaves.
©ABC 2017
And if it goes on too long the coral can die. That's what happened last year. Scientists say
22 percent of the reef's coral was lost in one of the biggest coral die-offs ever recorded.
In better news Scientists say they're close to finding a cure for the facial tumour disease
that's been plaguing Tassie Devils.
They've been treating infected animals with live cancer cells which they say can help their
bodies fight the disease.
SCIENTIST: We treated this cancer with cancer, which sounds a bit odd but what we did
was we use the cancer cells, cultured them in a laboratory and made them express genes
which made them become visible to the devil's immune system.
They say the next step is to develop a vaccine.
A scientist in the UK has called for plain packaging on junk food, a bit like the type used on
cigarette packets in Australia.
His research has shown that brightly coloured packaging on food causes our brains to
release a chemical called dopamine that makes us feel good. He reckons it could help to
fight obesity by making unhealthy stuff a little less appetising.
And archaeologists in Egypt have made a massive discovery. This is part of a statue that
they found in the ruins of a three-thousand-year-old temple buried under modern-day
Cairo.
They think it dates back to Pharaoh Ramses the second who was one of Ancient Egypt's
most famous rulers.
Famine
Reporter: Matt Holbrook
INTRO: Now last week we told you about South Sudan which has been officially declared
a country in famine. It's the first official famine in the past 6 years. Here's more about why
South Sudan is in trouble and what you can do about it.
This is a food drop.
They're helping some of the millions of people in South Sudan suffering from starvation.
The UN's recently declared South Sudan the site of the world's first famine in six years, but
there have been big problems here for a while.
GEORGE FORMINYEN, WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: We have got conflict that has been
ongoing in this country since 2013. That conflict has made people move, has made people
leave their normal places. They do not grow their food as they would do. They have lost
their livestock on which they survive. They don't have money, no markets which are
©ABC 2017
functioning, they cannot find any other way of surviving, and so at the end of the day, they
only rely on humanitarian assistance.
That’s George and he works for the UN's World Food Program. He says many people
have been forced to flee their homes to escape the fighting in South Sudan, and massive
food shortages have been made worse by drought.
That's left more than forty per cent of the population in desperate need of food. Some are
really sick, and every day people are dying. But unfortunately, it's not always safe for aid
workers to help them.
GEORGE FORMINYEN, WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: Because there is fighting, there are
impediments to access. What happens is that people drop even further, and they get into
situations of catastrophe, and here is why we have famine like or famine conditions.
The UN only declares a famine like this in really serious circumstances, when at least 20
per cent of a population faces extreme food shortages, 30 per cent are badly
malnourished, and more than two people per 10,000 die every day. That's double the
normal amount. Unfortunately, kids are the ones most at risk during a famine because
without proper nutrition, they're more likely to die from preventable diseases like
pneumonia or malaria.
While the situation is worst in South Sudan, the UN's also worried famine could soon be
declared in Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen. It says more than 5 billion dollars is needed by
the end of the month to help those at risk.
Tom works with Save the Children. He's working in Somalia, where nearly five million
people are going hungry.
TOM ARUP, SAVE THE CHILDREN: Somalia's on the brink of famine. Urgent
humanitarian assistance is needed here to prevent that famine. In 2011 there was a
famine in Somalia and a quarter of a million people died. We can prevent that this time, but
urgent assistance is needed.
Recently, the Australian government announced it was giving 20 million dollars on top of
its normal aid spending to support people in South Sudan and Somalia. But aid groups say
they need more, they say donations can supply food and medical supplies to kids like
these, and prevent many more from getting sick. And with enough support it can go a long
way towards turning things around.
Did you know?
Did you know the worst famine of the past 100 years started in China in 1958?
Within four years, between 10 and 30 million people are thought to have died.
Ask a Reporter
Have you got a question about famine? Ask me live on Friday during Ask a Reporter!
Head to our website for all the details.
©ABC 2017
Platypus Research
Reporter: Carl Smith
INTRO: Next, researchers are trying to track and count one of Australia's most mysterious
creatures. They're spending 3 years scouring riverbeds in New South Wales for
Platypuses. Here's more.
CARL: An Australian native with soft dense fur. Is that it!?
CARL: Oh, nope. That's just a rat.
CARL: A duck-shaped bill, there's one!
CARL: Ah, nope. That's just a duck.
CARL: Webbed feet! This has to be it.
CARL: Oh! You'd think given the platypus has so many unusual traits they'd be easier to
find!
CARL: Hang on, why are you wearing flippers in the middle of a park Matt?
CARL: Well, I guess there's always one way to find a platypus in Australia, no matter
where you are. By digging around for some loose change!
Even though it's easy enough to find pictures of this Aussie native, tracking down the real
thing in the wild is actually really difficult. But that's exactly what these guys are trying to
do. Their goal is to put together the most accurate count of platypuses in the wild ever!
Basically, a platypus census!
There could be anywhere between 10-thousand and a 100-thousand platypuses living
along the east coast between Tassie and Queensland. But no one really knows exactly
how many! That's partly because these cute little critters are nocturnal - meaning they
mostly come out at night - and partly because they spend a lot of time underwater or in
their burrows.
That combo means these scientists from the University of New South Wales will have to
wait very patiently through lots of cold nights for the next three years to try to tally them all
up!
PLATYPUS COUNTER: So that's a female, so no spurs.
The platypus is a really, really unusual animal. It belongs to a tiny group of mammals
called 'monotremes', which only includes platypuses and echidnas!
While most mammals give birth to live young, monotremes lay eggs! They also have a few
other odd traits, like the male platypus's venomous barb!
In dreamtime stories, Indigenous Australians describe the platypus as a cross between a
duck and a rat. And because they're so unusual, when the first platypus was sent to
©ABC 2017
scientists in England they thought it was a hoax - believing someone had stitched different
animals together!
We've learned a lot about the platypus since then. But figuring out exactly how many are
out there has proved tricky. And knowing how many are hiding in the wild is important.
Some are worried things like foxes, riverbank erosion, and even dams are threatening
platypuses. So, by tallying up how many are out there, and where they're living, we could
figure out better ways to protect them.
CARL: Ah! Eggs! I must be close!
AMELIA: Carl, stop.
CARL: Oh.
Well I guess we'll just leave the platypus count to the experts.
Quiz
If you were paying attention through that story you'll know this one. Which gender of
platypuses has poisonous barbs?

Males

Females

Both
Answer: Males
Kind Classrooms
Now, around this time last year we asked you to help us show Australia how kind kids can
be with Kind Classrooms. The whole aim is to get together with your class and plan
something nice you can do for someone else in your community.
Just like these kids did in 2016. We'd love to see even more Kind Classrooms get involved
this year.
So get thinking, film your work and send it in to BTN before the end of March and you
might see your good deeds featured on the show.
For all the details, please head to our website.
Sleep
Reporter: Amelia Moseley
Hi BTN, I'm Mitchell and I'm Troy! I would like to know why we sleep? Hope you can help!
AMELIA: Matt, I was asleep. You know you're supposed to knock?
©ABC 2017
MATT: What are you doing?
AMELIA: BTN Investigates! I'm the investigator. Mitchell and Troy would like to know why
we sleep.
MATT: Where did you get that magnifying glass from?
AMELIA: Nowhere.
MATT: I like that jacket.
AMELIA: I haven't got time for this! I have investigating to do!
MATT: Have we done this before?
Sleeping! We spend about one third of our lives doing it! But besides the odd memory of a
dream here or there, most of us are in the dark about what actually happens after we close
our eyes. One thing you might already know is that we need sleep like we need food and
water.
CARL: Sorry, Amelia, I just can't sleep with you watching me. It's just really weird.
AMELIA: But, Carl if you don’t sleep you might die.
Studies show that animals which are deprived of sleep for a long time can have seizures
and can actually die from exhaustion. In theory, the same goes for humans. In fact, sleep
is so important that humans and other animals actually risk danger to do it. When we're
asleep, we're almost completely unaware of our surroundings. That isn't such a problem
now, but a long, long time ago, we could've been attacked by wild animals! Even now,
sleeping animals are more likely to be attacked by predators. That's why some animals,
like dolphins, have found clever ways to do it. They only sleep with one half of their brain
at a time. That means they can still come up for air and swim along using only the half of
their brain that's still awake!
But we can't all be dolphins, so I've decided to see if a real sleep investigator can shed
some light on the mysteries of human sleep.
AMELIA: So Charlotte, why do we sleep?
CHARLOTTE GUPTA, PHD STUDENT Well, there's not really a clear, simple answer I
can give you on that, sorry.
AMELIA: Really? Well, sorry Mitchell and Troy, I guess there are some questions you just
can't be answered.
CHARLOTTE GUPTA, PHD STUDENT: Hang on, hang on, there’s some things that we do
know about sleep. A lot of people thought that sleep was something where our bodies
aren't doing anything, almost like we were unconscious during the night, but now we know
that there's a lot that our brain does when we're asleep and it’s really busy working through
a lot of things so that we're prepared for the next day.
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One idea is that our brain uses a bit of shut eye to recharge parts of it that are constantly
working, like this area called the prefrontal cortex. It helps us plan and make decisions. But
even when we're super relaxed, it doesn't stop. Like have you ever tried thinking about
nothing? You end up thinking about thinking about nothing, right? So some experts reckon
sleep is the only time this part can restart. Our brains are also busy cleaning out old stuff,
making space for new stuff, and sorting through memories as we sleep.
CHARLOTTE GUPTA, PHD STUDENT: So there's a lot that we take in during the day
when we're at school we're learning different things, we're seeing different things so during
the night one theory is that our brain is sorting through all of that information and going
through and working out what's important and then it stores that information as memories
and when we wake up we can remember what we've learnt the day before.
It is proven that people who don't get enough sleep struggle to learn new information,
whereas a good night's sleep can help us be more creative and solve problems. So even
though scientists don't know exactly why we sleep yet, it's a good bet that it has a lot to do
with stuff going on inside our heads!
AMELIA: Matt, you're still here.
MATT: Yeah. Since when did you have an office?
Quiz
Staying with sleep. What is the stage of sleep called when we dream?

REM

IBM

MBM
It's REM or rapid eye movement sleep.
Sport
The Brisbane Lions will host the first ever Women's AFL Grand Final thanks to a win over
the Western Bulldogs on Saturday.
Hosting honours go to the team that finishes the season on top of the table and after
winning every game of the season so far even a loss next week won't knock them off.
The other spot in the Grand Final is still up for grabs and will go to the second-placed
team. Currently that's the Crows but the Demons are in with a shot going into the final
round.
The Sydney Uni Flames are just one win away from the W-NBL title. Over the weekend
they beat the Dandenong Rangers 91 to 82 in game 1 of the Grand Final series.
Dandenong will host the next game of the best-of-three series on Friday.
¶
©ABC 2017
And it was that time again on the weekend when budding inventors get together to send
their creative, wacky and mostly useless flying contraptions off the end of a jetty.
It's the Birdman Competition!
PTERODACTYL GIRL: I'm so confident because I'm going to Dino-Soar in actual fact.
¶
Instead she Dino-Fell as did pretty much everyone else.
FACEPLANT GUY: Classic face-plant. I got told it would hurt and it did but it was a good
pain you know.
BIRDMAN GUY: The Yarra has a certain flavour that's not good.
Thankfully the Birdman Competition's more about giving money to charity than flying
dodgy aircraft and by the end of the day competitors had raised 80 thousand bucks.
Synchro Swim
Reporter: Carl Smith
INTRO: It's a sport that combines dancing and gymnastics - all while underwater and often
upside down. It's synchronised swimming. And to finish up today we're going to meet
some of the first boys to pick up the nose plugs in Australia. Take a look.
Meet James and Luka: two boys not afraid to try something new.
LUKA: I'm 9 years old, and I'm the first boy in Australia to do synchro.
LUKA: I like all the moves and how it's really creative, because yeah I'm a creative person.
Synchronised swimming is a sport that's been around for over a century and actually used
to be called 'water ballet'!
JAMES, SYNCHRONISED SWIMMER: I get to keep fit, and I made a lot of friends with the
girls.
James' sister Zoe had been practicing with the Gold Coast Mermaids - a synchronised
swimming squad in Queensland. And he'd always liked gymnastics and swimming.
JAMES, SYNCHRONISED SWIMMER: I saw Zoe doing it in the pool and I thought I might
have a go.
Having James and Luka on the squad means the Mermaids now have their own mer-men!
JAMES: It's kind of weird not having any other boys around except one, but I do get along
with all the girls and it's really fun
And each week, they train alongside their female team mates.
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LUCA, SYNCHRONISED SWIMMER: They just treat me like another person doing
synchro. Like everyone else.
There are big synchronised swimming competitions around the world and you might have
even seen it in the Olympics! But at the moment it's one of two Olympic sports that only
allows women to compete.
Just a couple of years ago, mixed pairs were allowed to enter the World Championships of
synchronised swimming for the first time. But these guys would like to make a splash at
the Olympics, so they're campaigning for the rules to change there too.
Their coach says having boys and girls performing together could be good for the sport
because it could inspire new types of routines.
James and Luka are hoping that by the 2024 Olympic games they'll be allowed to
compete. Until then they're going to keep practising their tumbles, turns, kicks, and of
course their timing.
JAMES: Yeah I'd do a duet with my sister. She'd probably kick my butt.
Closer
And that's it for today! But there is heaps more for you on our website. Including resources
and class activities for this ep and instructions for how you can make a difference with Kind
Classrooms. Thanks for joining me, and I'll see you next week for more BTN.
©ABC 2017