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Questions for discussion Funding Schools 1. Discuss the issues raised in the BTN story as a class. 2. Where do public and private schools get their funding from so they can run? 3. Who gets more funding from the Federal government, private or public schools? 4. When did the Federal government start helping private catholic schools out with more funding? a. After World War I b. After World War II c. In the year 2017 5. Explain why the Government needed to help private catholic schools with more funding. 6. What percent of Aussie kids attend private schools? 7. The Government recently announced they are giving less funding to schools. True or false? 8. Why are some people campaigning against the new plan? 9. Do you think the system is fair? Why or why not? 10. What do you understand more clearly since watching the BTN story? Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page. Social Media Negativity 1. Discuss the BTN Social Media Negativity story in pairs. What points were raised in the discussion? 2. Why are some experts worried about the impact social media is having on young people? 3. What did a recent survey in the UK ask young people to rate? 4. Which social media app came out with the most negative score? 5. YouTube rated badly for impact on… 6. What positive impact was YouTube found to have? ©ABC 2017 Episode 15 6 th June 2017

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Page 1: €¦ · Web view2017/06/06  · Austin and Griffin reckon the app is a great way to get outdoors and learn more about nature and they'd love to see more kids getting involved. Austin:

Questions for discussion

Funding Schools1. Discuss the issues raised in the BTN story as a class.2. Where do public and private schools get their funding from so they can run? 3. Who gets more funding from the Federal government, private or public schools?4. When did the Federal government start helping private catholic schools out with more

funding?a. After World War Ib. After World War IIc. In the year 2017

5. Explain why the Government needed to help private catholic schools with more funding.6. What percent of Aussie kids attend private schools?7. The Government recently announced they are giving less funding to schools. True or false?8. Why are some people campaigning against the new plan?9. Do you think the system is fair? Why or why not?10. What do you understand more clearly since watching the BTN story?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

Social Media Negativity1. Discuss the BTN Social Media Negativity story in pairs. What points were raised in the

discussion?2. Why are some experts worried about the impact social media is having on young people?3. What did a recent survey in the UK ask young people to rate?4. Which social media app came out with the most negative score?5. YouTube rated badly for impact on…6. What positive impact was YouTube found to have?7. What suggestions did experts have about how to make social media a more positive

experience?8. Do you use social media? If so, which ones?9. What did you learn watching the BTN story?10. What was surprising about the BTN story?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

Citizen Science Kids1. Explain what the kids in the BTN story are doing.2. What is citizen science?3. How old is Griffin?4. Explain how Griffin does his research.

©ABC 2017

Episode 156th June 2017

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5. What is the name of the app Griffin is using?6. How long has Austin been playing the citizen science game?7. Currently, Austin is the number _____ bird spotter in Australia.8. Which competition did he win?9. How is the information collected by citizen scientists used?10. How does participating in citizen science help kids?

Check out the Citizen Science Kids resource on the Teachers page

Antarctic Icebreaker1. Where is Antarctica, in the North or South Pole?2. Antarctica is not a continent. True or false?3. What century did Australians start adventuring in Antarctica?4. Describe the environment of Antarctica.5. What is the name of the icebreaker ship that Aussie’s currently use to travel to Antarctica?6. What is an icebreaker?7. What is the prize for the Name our Icebreaker competition?8. What would you name the new icebreaker? Why?9. Design your own icebreaker ship. Explain its features.10. What did you like about this story?

Check out the Antarctic Icebreaker resource on the Teachers page.

Young Solo Pilot1. Where is Oliver O’Halloran from?2. How many days did Oliver fly solo and unassisted around Australia?3. How many kilometres did Oliver travel? Plot his trip on a map of Australia.4. What was the main idea behind Oliver’s flight?5. What did Oliver do along the way on his flight?6. Who is Oliver’s hero?7. What preparation did Oliver need to do before his flight?8. What skills or character traits do you think a young adventurer would need?9. Do you have a question you would like to ask Oliver? Go to the BTN Young Solo Pilot story

and leave a comment. 10. What did you find interesting about this story?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page. Do the quiz on the BTN website

Registrations are now open for BTN’s Aussie Classroom Connection. Head to our website to find out how you can get involved.

©ABC 2017

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Teacher Resource

Citizen Science Kids

1. Explain what the kids in the BTN story are doing.2. What is citizen science?3. How old is Griffin?4. Explain how Griffin does his research.5. What is the name of the app Griffin is using?6. How long has Austin been playing the citizen science game?7. Currently, Austin is the number _____ bird spotter in Australia.8. Which competition did he win?9. How is the information collected by citizen scientists used?10. How does participating in citizen science help kids?

Class Discussion Discuss the BTN Citizen Science Kids story as a class. Record what students know about citizen science on a mind map. What questions do they have about citizen science? Use the following questions to help guide discussion:

What is citizen science? What sort of information does citizen

science collect? Why is citizen science important? How has it helped science? Can you think of any examples of citizen science? Who can be a citizen scientist and what sort of skills do they need? Have you been involved in any citizen science projects? If so, which

ones? Would you like to be a citizen scientist? Why or why not?

©ABC 2017

Episode 156th June 2017

Students will learn more about citizen science, conduct research into a native Australian animal and participate in citizen science projects.

Science – Year 4Living things, including plants and animals, depend on each other and the environment to survive (ACSSU073)

Science – Year 5Living things have structural features and adaptations that help them to survive in their environment (ACSSU043)

Compare data with predictions and use as evidence in developing explanations (ACSIS218)

Science – Year 6The growth and survival of living things are affected by the physical conditions of their environment (ACSSU094)

Science – Year 7Interactions between organisms, including the effects of human activities can be represented by food chains and food webs (ACSSU112)

Collaboratively and individually plan and conduct a range of investigation types, including fieldwork and experiments, ensuring safety and ethical guidelines are followed (ACSIS125)

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Key WordsStudents develop a glossary of words and terms that relate to citizen science. Below are some words to get them started. Add words and meanings to your glossary as you come across unfamiliar words throughout your research. Consider using pictures and diagrams to illustrate meanings.

species conservation classify habitat

scientific name threatened diversity preservation

BTN Citizen Science stories Ask students to watch the BTN Citizen Science story and BTN Backyard Bird Count story and answer the following questions:

1. Describe the scientific study featured in the BTN story.

2. Why is it important to find out more about South Australia’s koalas?

3. What has happened to koala populations in the eastern states of Australia?

4. Describe how school kids helped with the koala count project.

5. How was the data recorded?6. What is citizen science?7. What other sorts of citizen science research

can people get involved in?

1. Describe the Backyard Bird Count.2. How are the students recording their

findings?3. How long did they look for birds?4. Why is it important to know about native

birds?5. The survey is a citizen _____________

project. 6. About how many of Australia’s bird

species are under threat?7. What can cause a species to die out?8. What are the kids in the BTN story doing

to help look after native birds in their area?9. Name something you could do to help native birds in your area.

©ABC 2017

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Native Animal Research Students will conduct research into a native Australian animal. Display the student’s research around the classroom or in a public space in the school.

What are its special features? What do they eat? What is its habitat (where does it live)? Describe and illustrate. How do they survive in their environment? Is this bird threatened or endangered? If so, what are its threats? What is your favourite thing about this bird? What surprised you about your research?

Research project – Native Australian Animal

Scientific and common name

Appearance

Habitat – Where do they live?Locate where they can be found using Google Maps

Life Cycle

Conservation Status

Interesting facts

Photograph or illustration

©ABC 2017

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QuestaGameThe kids in the BTN story were submitting their animal sightings through QuestaGame. Download the app then discover and help preserve species by taking photos and submitting them. They’ll score gold for every sighting and extra gold if they can find something rare or interesting. The information is shared with CSIRO’s Atlas of Living Australia and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility which helps researchers understand how we can protect biodiversity.

Citizen Science Projects Here are some more citizen science projects for students to get involved in. When taking part in a citizen science project ensure that your class is familiar with the health and safety guidelines associated with the project.

Wildlife SpotterHelp save threatened species and preserve Australia’s wildlife. Become a citizen scientist and assist researchers by looking for animals in wilderness photos taken around Australia. Go to the Wildlife Spotter website to register and start classifying!

Explore the SeafloorVolunteer as a citizen scientist on two important marine research projects. You don’t need to go anywhere – simply look at seafloor photos online and tag what you see. We’ll help with tutorials and information. You’ll be assisting in important scientific research, and you could also win an underwater camera. Go to the website to volunteer as a citizen scientist.

ClimateWatch ClimateWatch is the best way to record the seasonal behaviour you see in plants and animals, and help scientists understand how Australia’s environment is responding to climate change. Go to the ClimateWatch website for all the details.

©ABC 2017

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ABC News – Kids sign up as citizen scientists with new app that feeds Australian species databasehttp://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-28/kids-citizen-scientists-new-app-feed-aust-species-database/8557814

BTN – Citizen Sciencehttp://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3814896.htm

Atlas of Living Australian – Get Involvedhttp://www.ala.org.au/get-involved/

QuestaGame – The Gamehttps://questagame.com/the-game/

©ABC 2017

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Teacher Resource

Antarctic Icebreaker

1. Where is Antarctica, in the North or South Pole?2. Antarctica is not a continent. True or false?3. What century did Australians start adventuring in Antarctica?4. Describe the environment of Antarctica.5. What is the name of the icebreaker ship that Aussie’s currently use to

travel to Antarctica?6. What is an icebreaker?7. What is the prize for the Name our Icebreaker competition?8. What would you name the new icebreaker? Why?9. Design your own icebreaker ship. Explain its features.10. What did you like about this story?

Name our Icebreaker competitionThe Australian Government is delivering a new world-class Antarctic icebreaker, and they want Australian students to help name it! Students in years 5 to 8 can enter a competition to Name our Icebreaker until Friday 9 June 2017 - find out how to enter at https://classroom.antarctica.gov.au/icebreaker

Watch this YouTube video to learn more about the new icebreaker’s designhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgNKNSgkdFg

Breaking Ice: Australian Antarctic ProgramThe Australian Antarctic Division is building a new ice-breaking ship, to be delivered in 2020-21. The next-generation successor to the

Aurora Australis will provide a step-change in Australia’s Antarctic capabilities and is uniquely tailored to meet the Australian Antarctic program’s needs. After watching the BTN Antarctic Icebreaker story and the YouTube Breaking Ice video students will respond to the following:

©ABC 2017

Episode 15 6th June 2017

Students will learn more about Antarctica, its environment, climate and history.

Science – Years 5 & 6Scientific knowledge is used to solve problems and inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE083)

Science – Year 6The growth and survival of living things are affected by physical conditions of their environment (ACSSU094)

Science – Year 7Science knowledge can develop through collaboration across the disciplines of science and the contributions of people from a range of cultures (ACSHE223)

HASS – Year 4Record, sort and represent data and the location of places and their characteristics in different formats, including simple graphs, tables and maps, using discipline-appropriate conventions (ACHASSI075)

HASS – Year 7Apply a methodology to locate and collect relevant information and data from a range of primary sources and secondary sources (ACHASSI153)

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Brainstorm 10 words that best describe the new icebreaker. Make a class list.

Think of a name for the new icebreaker. Before deciding on a name learn more about Antarctica, its environment, climate, history and Australia’s role there.

Write 2-3 paragraphs explaining why you chose the name and what it means.

Create a poster which would be used if your name was chosen for the new Antarctica icebreaker.

Topic for inquiry – Antarctica’s EnvironmentStudents will determine a focus for their inquiry into Antarctica’s environment and develop a key question to guide their inquiry (below are some example key questions). Students will collect and record information from a wide variety of sources (internet, books, newspaper and magazines). Alternatively, students may choose one of the topics for inquiry below:

Describe the landscape and weather conditions you would expect to see and experience on an expedition to Antarctica. Students will imagine they are an adventurer visiting Antarctica for the first time. What will you need to understand about Antarctica’s environment before embarking on your trip? What equipment and clothing will you need? What transport will you use? Plan an itinerary for your adventure. What challenges do you think you will face on your adventure? Watch BTN’s Young Explorer story to hear about her polar adventure.

What do you think an Antarctic winter would be like? Think about sunlight, temperature and landscape. What changes do you think you would see as the seasons change from autumn to winter and winter to spring? Watch this ABC Splash video to learn about the changes of seasons in Antarctica.

Explain some of the ways animals and people are affected by the extreme weather conditions in Antarctica. What equipment, behaviours and/or adaptations do they have for coping with such extreme conditions? For example, explain how emperor penguins' huddling behaviour helps to keep them warm, and effectively makes sure that no individual penguin is left to freeze on the outside of the huddle. Watch this video to learn more about the emperor penguins. ABC Splash – Penguin wave better than a group hug.

Watch BTN’s Antarctic Marine Park to learn more about how countries around the world have teamed up to protect 1.5 million square kilometres of the Ross Sea near Antarctica.

Do you know who owns Antarctica? Find out who governs Antarctica and why the Antarctic Treaty is so important.

©ABC 2017

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History

The Aurora at Sydney, Australia 1914Source: Cool Antarctica

Explore the history of the Aurora, Australia’s first Antarctic exploration vessel. Visit these websites as a starting point for your research about the Aurora and then respond to the following.

State Library of Victoria - AuroraCool Antarctica - Aurora

Describe the Aurora. Find out when it was built and what materials were used

to build the ship. Imagine and describe what the conditions were like

aboard the Aurora on the first Australian led expedition to Antarctica.

Describe the challenges that Douglas Mawson and his crew would have faced aboard the Aurora.

Postcard writingStudents will imagine they are one of the crew of the Aurora Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-14. Choose from this list of Aurora crew members and then write a postcard to a family member explaining your experiences (including what you are doing, the living conditions aboard the ship and how you feel). Students will use their research findings to support their writing. Include photographs, drawings and or maps to decorate the front of the postcard.

Students can download this Write a Postcard template to assist them with their design.

Group on S.Y. Aurora after leaving the western base, 1913Source: Cool Antarctica

©ABC 2017

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Compare and contrastStudents will create a table highlighting the similarities and differences between the Aurora and the new icebreaker being built by the Australian Government.

Compare features like the: length and weight materials used to build the ship colour passenger capacity maximum speed uses other than Antarctic travel special features for travelling through ice.

Classroom Antarctica – Name our Icebreakerhttps://classroom.antarctica.gov.au/icebreaker

Australian Antarctic Division – Australia’s new icebreakerhttp://www.antarctica.gov.au/icebreaker

Cool Antarctica – Icebreakers and Ice strengthened shipshttp://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/ships/icebreaker.php

ABC Science – Icebreaker Aurora Australishttp://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2015/03/25/4204494.htm

©ABC 2017

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BtN: Episode 15 Transcript 6/06/17

Hi, I'm Nathan Bazley and this is BTN!

Coming up today:

We find out which social media sites are most likely to bring you down.

Meet the kids leading the country in citizen science.

And we catch up with the young guy who's just flown around Australia all by himself.

But first:

This Week In News

We are unfortunately starting our show once again with news of a terror attack in the UK. Here's more on what happened and a look at some of the other big stories of the week too.

People in the UK and right around the world have been showing their support for London.

MALCOLM TURNBULL, AUSTRALIAN PM: Again, we send our heartfelt sympathy and love to the victims and their families and to the people of Britain.

On Saturday night terrorists attacked people on London Bridge and at the nearby Borough Market.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack which killed at least 7 people and injured 48 more.

Emergency services have been praised for responding incredibly quickly and saving lives.

TERESA MAY, BRITISH PM: We must come together, we must pull together and united we will take on and defeat our enemies.

If you're feeling worried or upset about that news make sure you talk to someone about it. You can also go to the BTN website to check out our tips for dealing with upsetting news.

Meanwhile, in a show of support after the last UK terror attack, Ariana Grande returned to Manchester for the One Love concert.

It was organised to raise money for people affected by last month's deadly bombing outside one of her shows.

©ABC 2017

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Some massive names joined Grande for the concert like Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Pharrell.

She also invited a local school choir to join her on the stage.

Before the show, Grande met with some of the people who'd been hurt in the bombing and shared a few cuddles.

The US President has announced that his country is going to pull out of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

It's a massive deal that nearly 200 countries signed up to in 2015.

The main target was to keep average global temperatures from rising by more than two degrees.

But President Trump says it would punish American businesses and lead to workers losing their jobs.

Many world leaders have criticized the move.

And a 12-year-old from California has won a national Spelling Bee in the US.

Ananya Vinay took home 40 thousand dollars in prize money after 12 hours of spelling words most of us have never heard of.

But the winning word was Marocain. In case you were wondering marocain is a type of dress fabric made of silk or wool.

Funding SchoolsReporter: Jack Evans

INTRO: Now, since being announced in the lead up to the budget the federal government's new plan for funding schools has been a hot topic of conversation. Some schools support the changes, others particularly those run by the Catholic Church, are against it. So, we thought it would be a good time to explain how schools are funded now and why some think that should change.You might not have thought about it before but schools are pretty expensive to run. You've got buildings, equipment, and teachers, all there to make sure you get a great education. But who should pay for all that stuff? Well that question can be difficult to answer. You see in Australia we have all sorts of schools. But they're usually grouped into two main types - public schools and private schools.

You probably know already that private schools generally charge parents more for kids to go there. But you might not realise that both types of schools get funding from the government. Public schools receive most of their funding from the State and Territory governments. While private schools actually receive more money from the federal

©ABC 2017

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government. Overall public schools get more funding because they can't charge parents much in fees. Whereas private schools get a lot less from the government because they usually charge parents more and can sometimes get money from other places too like donations.

But some people reckon this system isn't working very well. Because some schools don't get enough funding while others seem to get more than they need. So recently the government announced changes. It has promised $18.6 billion in new funding for schools. But the money will now be divided differently. Most schools will get extra to spend. But some, like one huge group of private schools run by the Catholic church, are worried they'll get less.

DAN WHITE, SYDNEY CATHOLIC SCHOOLS: Our estimate, if we can't work as a system, is that on average school fees in the middle to the upper areas would double. So, for a primary school family that's currently paying about $2,000-$2,500 per child, it's likely on average to be $5,000 over time.

That's why some people and schools are now campaigning against this new plan. Some say schools actually need even more funding than is being offered. Others say the changes are not fair on Catholic schools. But the Government says this is the most fair system that the country can afford.

SIMON BIRMINGHAM, EDUCATION MINISTER: There's no reason for fee increases when you're seeing hundreds of millions of dollars extra going into the schooling system there.

The debate around how schools are funded will continue for a while yet. But while not everyone supports this plan most agree that making sure all Aussie kids get a great education is worth the effort.

Ask A Reporter

Have you got a question about school funding? Ask me live on Friday during Ask A Reporter! Head to our website for all the details.

Social Media NegativityReporter: Amelia Moseley

INTRO: Next, we're looking at social media. Recently a study in the UK asked more than a thousand young people about their social media activity. It found four of the five most popular social media sites were actually having a negative effect on their wellbeing. But which sites were found to be the most negative and, more importantly, why?

Social media - it's been taking over our screens one 'like' at a time.

FIN: I sometimes use Facebook, but more often I use Instagram and Snapchat.

ROSE: I follow all my friends, mainly, but sometimes I'm looking at celebrity's accounts.

©ABC 2017

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TAMSIN: Ahh, I go on it daily ‘cause I have streaks. If you don't know what streaks are it’s on Snapchat where you speak to someone every day and you start a streak and it counts the days.

LILY: If I'm not doing homework, I'm probably spending like half an hour on it at the least! I use it quite a bit, I should probably cut back on it quite a bit.

Stats show around 7 out of 10 Australians use Facebook, 1 in 2 watch YouTube, 1 in 5 are on Instagram and 1 in 6 are Snapchatting, and when it comes to younger people those last two are even more popular. It’s got some experts are worried about the impact all this social media screen time could be having on users, especially young people first joining up at 12 or 13.

LILY: I think cyber bullying happens quite a bit on social networking.

WILL: Young people sorta want to better themselves so they can look like celebrities and people that these photos of them aren't actually real.

ROSE: Social media can often make people feel left out if they're not at an event or tagged in a photo and they can feel really upset about themselves and left out.

A recent survey asked nearly 1,500 14 to 24 year olds in the UK to rate the impact of the top five forms of social media on their health and wellbeing. It included stuff like their sleep, feelings of sadness or anxiety, their ability to express themselves, bullying, body image and fear of missing out. Instagram came out with the most negative score, especially when it came to things like impact on sleep, body image and FOMO, although many also said it helped them express themselves. YouTube rated really badly for impact on sleep, but it was the only site that had a positive impact in most categories, including helping to support young people if they were feeling sad or lonely.

The experts who carried out the survey suggested ways to make social media a more positive experience. They include making pop-ups to warn when someone's been using social media for a long time and putting an alert on photos of people that've been digitally altered to help with body image issues. Some social media sites are already trying to encourage users to make more positive content, while others have brought in ways to try to tackle bullying, harmful content and negative comments.

But some reckon it's also important for young people to be taught how to tackle the good and bad of social media, because - let's face it - it isn't going away anytime soon!

TAMSIN: I think you should just be natural and honest and truthful throughout all of social media.

ROSE: I think social media should be used for expressing yourself and not worry about how many people are following you or other things like that.

WILL: Just be nice to everyone on there. Don't post anything that you don't want your parents to see.

©ABC 2017

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Poll

And we'd like to know if you think social media has a negative effect on you overall.

Let us know in our online poll.

Meanwhile, here's how you voted in our last poll.

Quiz

And still on the subject, how many users does the world's largest social media site, Facebook, have now?

23 million

230 million

or 1.23 billion

The answer is: 1.23 billion

Citizen Science Kids

Reporter: Jack Evans

INTRO: Next, we're looking at citizen science. That's what it's called when ordinary people help scientists make amazing breakthroughs in research. But did you know some of Australia's top citizen scientists are actually kids? Take a look.

JACK: The Anas superciliosa is the most recognisable duck in Australia. It's plumage features shades of light brown with an unmistakable glossy green near the wings.

AMELIA: Hey, what's an Anas superciliosa?

JACK: It's the scientific name for a pacific black duck. The female lighter in colour.

AMELIA: Why are you talking like that?

JACK: I'm rehearsing to be a citizen scientist!

AMELIA: Rehearsing? I don’t think that's how it works.

JACK: The female lighter in colour.

Ok, so there might be a bit more to being a citizen scientist than a silly accent. It's when ordinary people do experiments or research to help scientists learn more about the world around us and pretty much anyone can be one including kids.

GRIFFIN: That is Gallinula Tenebrosa a Dusky Moorhen.

©ABC 2017

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Meet Griffin, he's only eight but he's already one of Australia's top citizen scientists!

GRIFFIN: See that yellow tip on the beak, that is a dead giveaway.

He spends most of his free time looking for unusual plants and animal species and if he spots something he snaps a pic and uploads it to a special science app. The app then classifies the find, tells him the scientific name of the species and gives him points for each new find.

GRIFFIN: So, take pictures of an animal or plant or organism that isn't domestic and then you put the species name in, and experts sort of like identify it and you can earn gold.

Well not real gold. The app is called QuestaGame and Griffin’s not the only kid into it.

AUSTIN: I've been playing QuestaGame for about one and a half years.

Meet Austin, he's 10, and is currently the number one bird spotter in the country. AUSTIN: When I started playing QuestaGame I started finding new species of different animals and I wanted to make my species on the QuestaGame being first or second on the leader board.

In fact, recently Austin beat thousands of other citizen scientists mostly adults to win the first ever world BioQuest competition. But it's not just a game, the info that these guys and the thousands of users collect is used by scientists to work out where some species can be found and can even lead to new discoveries.

DAVID HAYNES, QUESTAGAME: A young player discovered a black-faced monarch bird that was not in a region at all where it was expected to be and it's a sighting like that which gives us new knowledge about the distribution of species.

DR BRYAN LESSARD, CSIRO: I've recently discovered a new species just by looking at the data uploaded online.

Austin and Griffin reckon the app is a great way to get outdoors and learn more about nature and they'd love to see more kids getting involved.

AUSTIN: It would be good to have more people interested in animals.

GRIFFIN: So, if you want to be a scientist you can get a head start on learning.

So who knows what ground breaking discoveries young citizen scientists could make in the future.

Aussie Classroom Connection

Have you registered for the BTN Aussie Classroom Connection yet? Hundreds of classes from all over the country already have but we need more! Especially country classrooms which are currently 8% behind their city cousins. For all the details on how you can register your class please visit our website.

©ABC 2017

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Antarctic Icebreaker

Reporter: Sowaibah Hanifie

INTRO: Next up today, twelve children will soon get the chance to visit Antarctica for free. But there's a catch. To win this competition, you have to come up with a name for Australia's new icebreaker ship. Take a look.

It's the coldest, driest place on earth. A frozen land where life as we know it, is impossible.

This is Antarctica the icy continent that surrounds the South Pole.

Australians actually began adventuring here in 18th century. And since then we have returned over and over again. Eventually building research stations to learn more about the plants, animals and climate of this unique region.

But getting here isn't easy. That's why we have this. A special icebreaker ship called Aurora Australis.

Icebreakers aren’t like other ships. They have strong, rounded hulls to help break through icy waters. Without them, getting to Antarctica by sea would be almost impossible.

But Aurora is getting pretty old now and has had some bad luck lately. Last year it was caught in a blizzard and its passengers were left stranded. So, the Australian government has decided to build a stronger, faster and bigger ship to replace it. It'll cost half a billion dollars and be 156 metres long, 116 passengers will fit on board along with 96 large shipping containers that can be filled with equipment and supplies. Inside the new icebreaker there'll even be some labs to help scientists with their research.

The new ship set to be built by 2020 but there's just one problem it needs a name. So, they're asking kids to give it one.

What would you call the new Icebreaker?

KID 1: Slushy maker because it has to crush the ice and that’s how you make a slushy.

KID 2: The SIC, which stands for Science Investigation Cruiser, because it’s built to go to Antarctica and investigate the research and help us learn more.

KID 3: Frosty because it goes to Antarctica and I suppose it removes snow and is like frosty the snow man.

KID 4: Iceberg crusher, because it has to break iceberg, that's its job, so I think that is a good name.

KID 5: The ice slicer 101 because the boat basically slices through the ice to get through and crushes it and I added the 101 to make it sound cooler.

Kids in years 5 to 8 can nominate what they think the new icebreaker's name should be and there's a big reward on offer for the lucky winner. They'll get to take five friends on a one-day excursion to Antarctica!

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On the five-hour plane ride the class can watch incredible icebergs from above.

Once there, they'll meet some of the people who live and work at the Casey research station and take part in some research.

It’s a pretty fun way to be part of Australia's Antarctic research team for years to come.

Quiz

To our second quiz now. Which of these animals wouldn’t you find in Antarctica?

Penguins

Polar Bears

Or Walruses

The answer is: Polar Bears

Sport

Australian tennis player Samantha Stosur has crashed out of the French Open putting an end to her 452-week reign as Australia's top-ranked woman.

Stosur lost in three sets to Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko on the weekend.

She needed a medical time-out after dropping the second set and later revealed she'd been suffering from a hand injury for several days in the lead up to the match.

Real Madrid has become the first side to win the Champion's League two times in a row after beating Juventus 4-1 in the final on the weekend.

Christiano Ronaldo was again the star of the show scoring his first 20 minutes in and then another mid-way through the second half.

And what do you get when you cross dragons, boats, and racing? Well quite obviously, you get dragon boat racing!

This is the annual dragon boat festival in China.

It's a lot like rowing but there's a drummer on board to keep the paddlers in time.

And the paddles aren't attached to the boat.

The festival is a really big deal with races all around the country.

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Young Solo Pilot

Reporter: Amelia Moseley

INTRO: Finally today, a teenager from Hobart has just become the youngest person to fly solo around Australia. We caught up with him during the record attempt to find out why he decided to do it.

Three weeks ago, teen pilot Oliver O'Halloran was getting ready to take-off on an epic journey to become the youngest person ever to fly around Australia solo and unassisted!

OLIVER: Yeah, I'm pretty excited! Quite excited, the trip's gonna be a pretty good trip.

It's quite the dream for a schoolkid who's only just turned 17 only just got their full pilot's licence and can't actually drive a car yet!

OLIVER: It's quite interesting, when it comes to the driver's licence, I haven't got my Ps yet, I'm on my Ls. A lot of people are surprised when I tell them about it!

Ollie's plan was to set off from Hobart and fly nearly 15,000 kays over 20 days following the whole coastline, with stops along the way to rest, re-fuel and visit schools.

OLIVER: I just speak to them about achieving their dreams, so it's the main idea behind the flight, I think the record's just a bonus.

Ollie was inspired after meeting his own teenage hero Ryan Campbell who was once the youngest person ever to fly around the world solo! This trip's been three years in the making and before he set off there were lots of cuddles from the fam and well-wishes.

OLIVER'S LITTLE BROTHER: I hope he don't crash!

By the end of May, Ollie had travelled just over two weeks with a few hiccups along the way like some bad weather over the Gold Coast and Perth. But when he made this stop he was in high spirits! Get it? Anyway.

OLIVER: It's been really good, it's been very busy. I've been trying to average around six hours. The longest day we had was from Darwin down to Port Headland which was nine hours of flying, so that was quite a busy day. Most of the time, I'm keeping myself on track - so I've got a map in front of me as I showed you before, so I tend to use the map and listen to music and just sort of relax and enjoy the flight, yeah!

Ollie was also greeted by some fellow aviation enthusiasts who got a chance to learn more about flying!

MOSSIMO: He's only 17 and he's already flying by himself around Australia, so yeah it's pretty cool!REUBEN: I learnt many things like the gears of the plane and GPS and how tricky it was to fly in weather conditions.

JOSH: It's amazing how he's done this at a very young age by himself with no one else, so I find that really inspiring, yeah.

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AMELIA: It's cosy in here!

I even got to ask a few very important aviation questions of my own.

AMELIA: So what about when you just want something to eat or dare I ask, want to go to the toilet when you're flying for nine hours, what do you do?

OLIVER: So there's a sneaky snack bag back there, but I haven't actually touched it yet! But when it comes to the toilet, you just have to prepare pretty well, just go before you go! If it comes to the worst, there's always a water bottle somewhere.

AMELIA: Ha ha I won't ask where.

On the weekend, Ollie landed safely home in Hobart with a warm welcome and a world record!

OLIVER: Obviously, the whole flight gives you a bit of a buzz, but to see that much support and to see all the people that gave me support from the start has been pretty amazing.

And despite all the schoolwork he'll have to catch up on, it's unlikely this high-flyer's gonna stay grounded for long!

Closer

And that's it for today! But there is heaps more for you on our website including all of our class activities for this ep and the registration page for Aussie Classroom Connection.

Thanks for joining me and I'll see you on Friday for #AskaReporter then next week for more BTN.

©ABC 2017