More Science Rhymes

Do Dolphins Kiss? by Celia Berrell

The dolphins swimming in the sea
make clicks and squeaks quite frequently.
These sounds move fast through liquid’s layer
compared to noises in the air.

Their clicks and chirps we can’t translate
but that’s how they communicate.
Not all their whistles we can hear.
They’re pitched too high for human ears.

They also sent out sounds to mark
locations of the sharks at dark
by bouncing echoes in the black
and timing when they’re getting back.

Since dolphins have to hold their breath
when swimming in the ocean’s depth
their voices aren’t from air that flows.
Instead they’ve lips inside their nose!

Their happy squeaks and chatty clicks;
those chirpy whistles, pops and hiss
like sounds of children’s playground bliss
are made from just a dolphin’s kiss.

Chocolate Box Planet by Celia Berrell

Let’s hope this won’t come as a shock
but Earth’s not made of solid rock.
Instead it’s like those fancy chocs
you sometimes get inside a box.

The centre’s dense and very hot.
And hard just like a hazelnut.
It’s mostly made from iron ore.
We label it the Inner Core.

The Outer Core’s a liquid goo
like runny toffee soft to chew.
The iron’s melted here as well
but wouldn’t taste of caramel.

The Mantle is a bit bizarre.
A kind of squishy-tough nougat.
It’s sometimes liquid sometimes not.
We call it semi-solid rock.

And finally the chocolate coating. Thin
and crisp and kind of floating. Made
from rocky plates that thrust some
bumps upon our choccy’s Crust.

Although our World’s too big to eat
and wouldn’t taste much like a sweet
a nutty chocolate compares
with eating through Earth’s many layers.

Don’t Eat Concrete by Celia Berrell

I think we’ll make a concrete cake.
It doesn’t have to oven-bake.
It cooks itself and gets quite warm
when curing to its dry hard form.

We’ll need to scoop and stir and fold
ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Cement and sand and gravel make
the contents of a concrete cake.

Cement’s a powder, coloured grey
that’s made from, gypsum, lime and clay.
Just like a cake’s self raising flour
it gives our concrete sticking-power.

The sand’s a bit like sugar-grits
and gravel’s like the dried-fruit bits.
We’ll add some water to the mix
and make a sludge that slops and sticks.

When poured into a frame of wood
our concrete keeps the shape it should.
We’ll pat it flat and water it
and let it cook and dry and set.

Once cured, that slab is hard and tough
so don’t go falling on the stuff.
Our teeth and concrete shouldn’t meet.
It’s not a cake for us to eat!