[THEME SONG BEGINS]
>> RACHEL: Welcome back! It’s time for Chompers, your morning and night toothbrushing show.
It’s Science Week, and tonight we are answering more of the Science questions that you guys sent in to us.
Start brushing on the top of your mouth on one side, and make little circles with your brush around each tooth.
>> KIDS: 3, 2, 1 brush!
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>> RACHEL: Tonight’s question comes from Anneliese, and it’s “What elements did Marie Curie discover?”
Remember, elements are the building blocks that make up almost everything in the universe.
Marie Curie is famous because she discovered TWO brand new elements: Polonium and Radium.
Not only were they new elements, they were also RADIOACTIVE.
[RADIOWAVES]
>> RACHEL: What’s radioactive? Find out after you switch to the other side of the top of your mouth…
[SWITCH BELL]
>> RACHEL: -and brush your front teeth.
When something is RADIOACTIVE, it gives off a kind of energy called RADIATION. You can’t see it with just your eyes but scientists can measure it.
In Marie Curie’s time, scientists only knew of one element that gave off radiation. Marie Curie was the first person to discover two other elements that gave off radiation: Polonium and Radium. And because Marie Curie discovered Polonium and Radium , she got to name them!
Switch to the bottom of your mouth…
[SWITCH BELL]
>> RACHEL: -and keep brushing.
She named Polonium after the country she was born in, POLAND. And Radium is named after what Marie Curie spent her life learning about: RADIOACTIVITY.
[ELECTRICITY]
>> RACHEL: Marie’s hard work led to her being the first woman to win a NOBEL PRIZE. The Nobel Prize is one of the biggest awards in the whole world. Not only was Marie the first woman to win it, she won it TWICE.
Switch to the other side of the bottom of your mouth…
[SWITCH BELL]
>> RACHEL: -and but don’t brush too hard.
Today Marie Curie’s work lives on in all the ways we use RADIOACTIVE elements. There are power plants that use radioactive elements to make the electricity. And doctors use radiation to help treat diseases.
[THEME SONG BEGINS]
>> RACHEL: That’s it for Chompers tonight, I hope we Energized (SFX) you to go out and make scientific discoveries of your own! Until next time…
>> KIDS: 3, 2, 1 spit!
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