A big THANK YOU to all the adults and students who have shared their little creations, either as POEMS or HAIKU, for this year’s National Science Week!

POEMS:

The smartest things are smaller than me  by Aaron

I looked down at an ant today,
I tried not to hurt her or get in her way. 
She carried crumbs five times her size 
That’s strength that wins a science prize!

I watched her walk a dirt track,
Then disappear and not come back. 
Do ants have maps inside their heads? 
Or maybe science books in their beds?

I learned they talk with smells, not words, 
(Not like us or dogs or birds). 
They sniff the ground to say “Go here!” 
Their tiny brains are pretty smart and clear!

They’re smaller than my little toe, 
They build huge cities down below! 
And now I think, just maybe, possibly, 
The smartest things are smaller than me.

Aaron is 8 and lives near Victor Harbour in SA.  He is a home-school student and mother, Emily, helped him submit this poem.

 

Small but big  by Bella & ChatGPT

Sand is smaller than my hand, 
Tiny bits all over the land. 
It’s at the beach, between my toes, 
Where water splashes and summer goes.

The beach is part of Earth so wide, 
With shells and waves and crabs that hide. 
No sand? No beach to jump and run, 
No beach? No summer, no sunny fun!

No fun means Earth feels kind-a flat, 
No giggles, games, or beachy hats 
So even though it’s small and round, 
Sand’s the biggest thing I’ve found!

Bella is a Year 1 student at Crestwood Public School in NSW.  She said that she really enjoyed the process of writing this poem with the help of ChatGPT.  She gave the AI specific instructions and edited its response.

 

Small Tiny Nano in our World  from Buttercups Northbridge Childcare & Early Learning Centre, Perth WA

Teacher Rista Chutoo-Bereba organised this delightful presentation by Adaline, Hugo, Amelia, Margot, Olivia, Ruby & Kayhan.  Their words are: SMALL LIKE A BALL BUT NOT VERY TALL; TINY LIKE A BABY THAT’S QUITE FUNNY MAYBE; NANO LIKE THE SAND TOO SMALL TO HOLD IN THE HAND.

 

Amazing Little Critters  by Toni Newell

Although very tiny 
They’re strong as can be 
Can lift many, many times 
the weight of their body. 
Classified as insects 
They live in colonies 
Are known to be social 
But have their enemies 
Ladybugs, anteaters 
Fungi, moth butterflies 
Spiders, other ants 
And humans in disguise 
Using different pesticides and 
Natural remedies 
To neutralize their presence 
Affects their colonies. 
I admire the little critters, 
Who have their roles to play 
In our planet’s biodiversity 
Which the negatives outweigh.

Toni Newell is a regular contributor to Australian Children’s Poetry.

 

Soldier Crabs  by Linda Davidson

The Soldier crabs are marching 
at the edge of the sandy low tide. 
An army of purple and orange 
surprisingly blends in to hide. 
Their ranks don’t appear to be organised 
as they crawl across muddy sand. 
Their small round bodies swarm together 
as they scramble over water and land.

Linda Davidson has poems published in Australian Children’s Poetry and Dirigible Balloon.

 

The Food Chain  by Erica Chester

Every day, out in the wild 
The animals, both fierce and mild 
Need to eat for en-er-gy 
From a big whale to a small bee

Not burgers, like you and your brother 
No, they prefer to eat each other 
It may seem quite inhumane 
But it’s just part of the food chain

Imagine a proud wedge-tailed eagle 
Eating a king brown, so regal 
King browns like to eat thornbills 
Who catch small insects with their skills

They feast upon the grass and seeds 
To meet their nutritional needs 
And when the eagle’s time is done 
He decomposes in the sun

His body feeds the soil and ground 
Where many grasses can be found 
So here we are, back at the start 
The natural world sure is smart.

Erica has poems published in Dirigible Balloon.

 

Call of the Beach  by Meryl Brown Tobin

She walks along the beach, 
white sand beside blue sea. 
It calls to her each morning, 
its beauties she must see. 
She stops to pick up shells, 
exquisite and sublime, 
each one a unique miracle
of colour, weight, design.

Tracks beyond the water 
tell of visitors overnight–– 
of dogs and birds and foxes; 
overhead a pelican in flight. 
She follows it along the beach–– 
on a mudflat stretch it lands. 
Though it stays well out of reach 
it’s as if it’s in her hands.

In time the bird flies off 
and she turns and heads for home. 
The sun is out and warm it is 
so she walks barefoot in foam. 
The squish of sand between her toes, 
she runs and splashes wide. 
The salt tang in her mouth and nose, 
she laughs as she beats the tide.

Meryl Brown Tobin is a featured author in Australian Children’s Poetry.

 

The River of Future Science  by Dr Sukarma Thareja & Celia Berrell

Silver Nanowires (AgNWs)

Tiny silver nanowires have 
got some exciting properties, 
unfurling applications for 
many advanced technologies.

Attacking bacteria and viruses, 
they’re good for making medical masks; 
enhancing sterile surfaces; 
ideal for many medical tasks.

Conducting electricity, 
absorbing, also scattering light 
will make them touch-screen wonders 
and an energy-storage delight.

With potential for synapse-like signalling 
this next trait might seem strange. 
We think networks of silver nanowires 
could hold memory like a brain.

 

HAIKU

Spider’s Web  by Amahli (Mandurah Baptist College, WA)

A gleaming moonbeam 
Like a tailor’s sewing room 
Clad in silver threads

 

Mushrooms  by Mia (Mandurah Baptist College WA)

Small, tiny, round, brown 
Infests my garden with spores 
But are beautiful

 

Hermit Crab  by Felicity (Mandurah Baptist College WA)

Tiny, brave and strong 
Watch him scurry in the sand 
Pretty little shell

 

Coral  by Katelyn (Mandurah Baptist College WA)

Life underwater 
An upside-down jellyfish 
Algae gives colour

 

Little Sea Bunny  by Angela (Mandurah Baptist College)

Little sea bunny 
Tiny, small, slimy and cute 
Microscopic pet

 

Water Bear  by Destiny (Mandurah Baptist College WA)

Tiny but mighty 
Indestructible you are 
Mighty water bear

 

Seagull  by Paige (Mandurah Baptist College WA)

Standing on a post 
Gracefully flying around 
Perfect white feathers

 

The Hungry Crab  by Evie (Mandurah Baptist College WA)

A small, hungry crab 
Scurries to grab a poor fish 
And gobble it down

 

Ants  by Jake (Mandurah Baptist College WA)

Marching through the mound 
Ants are working very hard 
Keeping the nest clean

Thanks Teacher-Librarian Clare Laverty at Mandurah Baptist College for sharing these lovely little Haiku from your students.

 

Sandra Winzar’s students at Hilder Road State School learnt about the recent Algal Blooms which have caused devastation along the South Australian coast.  Below are six very touching haikus from her class.

Ocean Algal Blooms  by Alyssa (Hilder Road SS, Brisbane QLD)

Warming oceans shift 
Algal blooms silently spread 
Death has washed ashore

 

Silent Killer  by Stacey (Hilder Road SS, Brisbane QLD)

Cream bloom litters tide 
Life and light begin to slide, 
Beneath all have died

 

Waves of Death  by Samuil (Hilder Road SS, Brisbane QLD)

Creamy clouds rain death 
Making sure to take your breath 
Bodies wash ashore

 

Toxic Foam  by Isabelle & AI (Hilder Road SS, Brisbane QLD)

Temperatures rising 
Creatures wash up on the sand 
Blooms of toxic foam

 

Grieving Shores  by Bella & AI (Hilder Road SS, Brisbane QLD)

Temperatures rising 
Toxic yellowness blooming 
Silent shores grieving

 

Whispers of Death  by Dylan, Archer & AI (Hilder Road SS, Brisbane QLD)

Poisons spread through seas 
Fish suffering and dying 
Foam whispers of death

There are concerns around how this large algal bloom will impact the Giant Australian Cuttlefish who lay their eggs in these South Australian waters each August.

 

Little Flea  by Sue Warren (Redcliffe QLD)

Tiny hopping flea 
If you please, do not bite me 
Take a flying leap!

Teacher-Librarian, Sue Warren, recently wrote a series of teacher’s notes for a forthcoming non-fiction kid’s book on parasites.  One of the exercises is to write a Haiku … so she did!

 

Schrodinger’s Cat  by Tom Middlebrook & ChatGPT (Balmoral VIC)

Cat in the closed box—
is it purring, or silent?
Both, until we look

 

Peacock Spider  by Celia Berrell

Tiny spiders dance –
Snazzy tail and jerky legs
Catch a female’s eye