©ABC 2018

Questions for discussion

APEC Summit 2018

1. Briefly summarise the BTN APEC Summit 2018 story.

2. What does APEC stand for?

3. How many countries are a part of APEC?

4. Who started APEC?

5. Complete this sentence. APEC was started to bring together nations along the __________

rim.

6. What issues do they talk about at APEC meetings?

a. Economy

b. Free trade

c. Investment

d. All of the above

7. Which country hosted this year’s meeting? Find using Google Maps.

8. Why don’t some people like APEC?

9. What are some long-term benefits for the host of this year’s APEC meeting?

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.

Shark Cull Debate

1. In pairs, discuss the Shark Cull Debate story and record the main points of the discussion.

2. Where in Australia was there three shark attacks in the past two months? Locate using

Google Maps.

3. How many shark attacks have there been across Australia this year?

4. Experts say that shark attacks aren’t random. True or false?

5. Which three sharks are the most dangerous to people?

6. What is a drumline?

7. Why was swimming banned at Cid Harbour?

8. Complete this sentence. The QLD Government recently spent 250 thousand dollars to

research shark _____________.

9. What do you think about the issue of controlling sharks in our oceans? Discuss as a class.

10. Create a T-chart showing the pros and cons of controlling sharks in our oceans.

Check out the Shark Cull Debate resource on the Teachers page.

Stan Lee

1. Discuss the Stan Lee story with another student.

2. Name one character that comic-book writer Stan Lee created.

3. What year did Stan Lee start his career as an assistant with a comic book publisher?

4. What decade were Marvel characters animated in movies?

a. 1920s

Episode 33

20th November 2018

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b. 1960s

c. 1990s

5. Who owns Marvel?

6. How old was Stan Lee when he died?

7. What did fans like about Stan Lee?

8. Stan Lee’s characters were always perfect without any flaws. True or false?

9. What did you like about the Stan Lee story?

10. What’s your favourite character created by Stan Lee?

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

Egyptian Cat Mummies

1. Retell the BTN Egyptian Cat Mummies story using your own words.

2. Why was mummification important to ancient Egyptians?

3. What did embalmers use to treat the bodies ready for mummification?

4. Which internal organ wasn’t removed during the process? Why?

5. What is a sarcophagus?

6. Why were cats mummified during ancient Egyptian times?

7. What was the name of the goddess of cats?

8. What animals other than cats have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs?

9. Illustrate and aspect of the Egyptian Cat Mummies story.

10. What did you learn watching the BTN story?

Check out the Egyptian Cat Mummies resource on the Teachers page. Do the quiz on the BTN

website.

Get your class involved in BTN’s Ask A Reporter! This week’s topic is the

Egyptian Cat Mummies.

Video Game Coding Champs

1. Discuss the Video Game Coding Champs story with another student.

2. What competition is Anastasia, Ava, Paige and Lucy entering their video game in?

3. What grade are the kids in at school?

4. What theme is their video game based on?

5. What is the game ‘Unknown Dimensions’ about?

6. What was challenging about working in a group?

7. How many kids entered the video game competition?

a. 30

b. 300

c. 3000

8. What did the girls do at the gaming expo?

9. What advice do the kids give about getting into coding?

10. Illustrate an aspect of the Video Game Coding Champs story.

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

©ABC 2018

Teacher Resource

Shark Cull Debate

1. In pairs, discuss the Shark Cull Debate story and record the main

points of the discussion.

2. Where in Australia was there three shark attacks in the past two

months? Locate using Google Maps.

3. How many shark attacks have there been across Australia this year?

4. Experts say that shark attacks aren’t random. True or false?

5. Which three sharks are the most dangerous to people?

6. What is a drumline?

7. Why was swimming banned at Cid Harbour?

8. Complete this sentence. The QLD Government recently spent 250

thousand dollars to research shark _____________.

9. What do you think about the issue of controlling sharks in our

oceans? Discuss as a class.

10. Create a T-chart showing the pros and cons of controlling sharks in

our oceans.

Class Discussion

Hold a class discussion about the information raised in the Shark Cull

Debate story. Create a class mind map with SHARKS in the middle. Use the

following questions to guide discussion:

• What do you know about

sharks?

• What words would you use to

describe sharks?

• Why are sharks important?

• What are some different

methods of controlling sharks?

• What does it mean to ‘cull’?

• What do environmentalists say

about the issue of shark culling?

• Why are some people against

the idea of culling?

Students can research answers to questions they have about sharks and

present the information to a small group or the class.

Episode 33

20th November 2018

Students will explore the issues

around controlling sharks and

develop and argument for or against

culling sharks.

Science – Year 6

Scientific knowledge is used to

solve problems and inform personal

and community decisions.

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.

Interactions between organisms,

including the effects of human

activities can be represented by

food chains and food webs.

English – Year 5

Plan, draft and publish imaginative,

informative and persuasive print and

multimodal texts, choosing text

structures, language features,

images and sound appropriate to

purpose and audience.

English – Year 6

Plan, draft and publish imaginative,

informative and persuasive texts,

choosing and experimenting

with text structures, language

features, images and digital

resources appropriate to purpose

and audience.

©ABC 2018

Profile

Students will imagine they are marine biologists and

study the world of sharks. Students will choose one

shark species to explore in detail, create a profile and

then share their findings with the class.

Shark Species

• Hammerhead

• Great white shark

• Whale shark

• Tiger shark

• Bull shark

• Nurse shark

Students will research the following for their project

using a range of sources to find their information,

including the internet, newspapers and books. Students

can use the Creature Feature worksheet to organise

and present their information.

• Common and scientific name

• Appearance - what are some of their physical

characteristics?

• Describe their habitat.

• Conservation status

• Threats - what are some of the threats to their survival?

• Interesting features.

Further investigation

Students will respond to one or more of the following questions.

• Research some specific adaptations sharks have made to survive in particular habitats, for example,

body shape, colour, tails and fins. Give an oral presentation explaining the adaptations.

• How does each of the shark’s five senses help them search for prey? Draw a diagram to show your

learning.

• Why are sharks an important part of the marine ecosystem?

• Why are sharks important predators?

• What threats exist to shark populations?

• Create a poster that explains the shark’s role as predator and threats to their existence.

• Predict what might happen if sharks are removed from the food chain.

• Why do we need to look after sharks?

Students will then create a poster to persuade people to help protect sharks and their environment.

©ABC 2018

Who am I?

Students will make their own Who Am I? game to learn

more about shark species.

• Students will research and write 6 clues to

correspond with each animal in the Who Am I?

template, with the first clue being the hardest

and the last clue being the easiest.

• Include clues about the animal’s special

features, its predators and how it adapts to its

environment.

• Students will test their game on a partner.

Survey

Students will create and conduct a survey to find out how people feel about sharks and what they think about

controlling sharks. Students will develop their own questions and record people’s attitudes about sharks.

Below are some survey questions to get your started:

• Are all sharks dangerous?

• Why do you think people are afraid of sharks?

• Should a shark be killed if it attacks a human? Why or why not?

Students will collect and record their survey results. Students will analyse their results and highlight any

surprising results. Students will compare their attitudes to that of their classmates and discuss their findings.

Fact or opinion

What are some common myths about sharks? How do you think these myths are made? Students will

research some common misconceptions/myths about sharks and shark attacks and create a myth busting

quiz to share with students.

Opinion poll

Students will conduct their own opinion poll on the issue of controlling sharks in our oceans. Working in

groups, students will need to decide who their sample group will be and how many people will be polled.

What method will they use to conduct the poll? (Face to face interviews or written responses).

• Ask students to graph the opinion poll results and display in the classroom. Students can reflect on how

reliable they think the results were. What would they do differently next time?

• Students may want to film their interviews and then create a movie to present to other students.

©ABC 2018

Persuasive text

Students will investigate the issue of whether sharks should be controlled in our oceans and develop a

persuasive text.

Students will explore the issue and develop a persuasive text for or against the following statement: `Sharks

should be controlled in our oceans’. Students can use the information collected during the class discussion

and their own research to help develop their argument. Encourage students to use a range of sources.

Provide students with the following structure to follow when completing this activity.

ABC News – Shark management: Can anything be done to keep people safe in the water?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-06/shark-management:-can-anything-keep-us-safe-in-the-

water/10469666

BTN - Shark Cull

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3934596.htm

BTN – Shark Nets

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4563683.htm

BTN – Shark Safety

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4278849.htm

Tips for writing persuasive texts

• Who is your audience? For example,

are you directing your argument at kids,

teachers or politicians?

• Explore how language choices can

have a big impact on persuading your

audience.

• Which language devices give the report

credibility and authority?

• Which are designed to create an

emotional response in the listener?

• Provide facts and evidence to support

your argument.

• Write in the present tense.

• Check your spelling and punctuation.

Use this Read Write Think persuasion map to

plan your exposition text.

Structure of a persuasive text Introduction

• What is the point you are trying to argue?

Construct an introductory paragraph

which states the issue or topic.

• Introduce the arguments that will be

developed in the body of the text.

Body

• Construct arguments that support your

point of view.

• Each paragraph starts with a topic

sentence which introduces each point.

• The rest of the paragraph gives more

reasons.

• Arguments can be ordered from

strongest to weakest.

Conclusion

• Restate your position on the argument.

• Construct a concluding paragraph that

provides a summary of your arguments

and a call to action.

©ABC 2018

National Geo Kids – Quiz Whiz: Sharks

https://www.natgeokids.com/au/play-and-win/games/quiz-whiz-sharks/

WWF – Sharks: Restoring the balance

https://sharks.panda.org/

National Geographic – Sharks

https://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/sharks/

©ABC 2018

Teacher Resource

Ancient Egypt

1. Retell the BTN Egyptian Cat Mummies story using your own words.

2. Why was mummification important to ancient Egyptians?

3. What did embalmers use to treat the bodies ready for mummification?

4. Which internal organ wasn’t removed during the process? Why?

5. What is a sarcophagus?

6. Why were cats mummified during ancient Egyptian times?

7. What was the name of the goddess of cats?

8. What animals other than cats have been found in ancient Egyptian

tombs?

9. Illustrate and aspect of the Egyptian Cat Mummies story.

10. What did you learn watching the BTN story?

Class Discussion

Hold a class duscussion asking the following:

• What do you THINK about what you saw in the story? What does this

video make you WONDER?

• Think of three questions you have about the BTN story.

• What did you learn watching the BTN story?

Glossary of key terms

Students will develop a glossary of historical terms and concepts that relate to ancient Egypt. Below are

some key terms and concepts to get you started:

.

Pharaoh Tomb Mummified

Afterlife Archaeology Sarcophagus

Episode 33

20th November 2018

Students will develop a deeper

understanding about how and why

ancient Egyptians mummified

people and animals.

HASS – Year 7

How historians and archaeologists

investigate history, including

excavation and archival research.

Significant beliefs, values and

practices of the ancient Egyptians,

with a particular emphasis on ONE

of the following areas: everyday life,

warfare, or death and funerary

customs.

The importance of conserving the

remains of the ancient past,

including the heritage of Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

©ABC 2018

Ancient Egypt Research

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:

• How do we know about the ancient past?

• What are some characteristics of Egypt’s ancient societies?

• Why is it important to conserve the remains of the ancient past in Egypt?

• What were the roles of key people in ancient Egyptian society (such as the nobility,

bureaucracy, women and slaves)

• Why were the pyramids built? Consider the significant beliefs, values and practices of the

ancient Egyptians.

• Why were some people in ancient Egypt mummified?

• What did ancient Egyptians believe about death and the afterlife?

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?

Each group needs to discuss then decide on the best way to present the information. Possibilities

could include:

• A ‘Did You Know’ Facts sheet

• Infographic

• Oral presentation

• Prezi presentation

• Create an infographic using Canva

• Create a website using Wix

Evaluate: What have we learnt?

Each group reflects on what they have learnt about ancient Egypt during their investigation. Students

will reflect on their learning and respond to the following.

• What I learned...

• What I found surprising...

• What I would do differently next time…

©ABC 2018

Mummification

Students will investigate the influence in ancient Egypt of religious ideas and beliefs about an afterlife. They

will explore the significance of the afterlife to ancient Egyptians by investigating mummification.

Here are some possible questions for students to research:

• Who was mummified in ancient Egypt?

• Why were they mummified?

• Why is the mummification process important?

• What was the embalming process?

• What did the dead person take to the afterlife and why?

• Why were mummies and sarcophagi’s important to ancient Egyptians?

Students can find out more about the embalming, wrapping and burial of the body here

The Clickable Mummy interactive gives students a peak under the wrapping of a mummy.

Egyptian Goddess Bastet

Students will learn more about the Egyptian goddess Bastet who took the form

of a cat. Ask them to research the answers to the following questions:

• Who was Bastet?

• Who was Bastet’s father?

• In ancient Egyptian mythology, what powers did Bastet have?

• Why were cats important in ancient Egypt?

• What characteristics do you think a cat goddess would have?

• What was Bastet’s name in Hieroglyphics?

©ABC 2018

The following videos will help students to learn more about ancient Egypt.

Egypt Exploration video

Tutankhamun Exhibition video

Mummies video

How were Mummies made in Ancient Egypt?

ABC News – Egyptian archaeologist uncover ‘unique’ beetle, cat mummies, sealed Fifth Dynasty tomb

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-11/egyptian-archaeologists-uncover-cat-mummies-in-newly-

discovered/10485974

BTN – Mummies

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s2661729.htm

BTN – Tutankhamun Exhibition

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4856436.htm

BTN – Egypt Exploration

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4345716.htm

Akhet – Interactive mummy

http://www.akhet.co.uk/clikmumm.htm

ABC Education – Wonders of Ancient Egypt

http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/digibook/1505264/the-wonders-of-ancient-egypt

©ABC 2018

BTN: Episode 33 Transcript 20/11/18

Hey. I'm Amelia Moseley and you're watching BTN. Here's what's coming up.

• Should we attack sharks for attacking us? We'll look at both sides.

• Honour the man responsible for superheroes like this, this and this.

• And meet the girls who designed a game that won them a trip to a massive game conference.

APEC Summit 2018

Reporter: Amelia Moseley

INTRO: All that and more soon. But first. We're taking you to Papua New Guinea where a big meeting just happened between some very important people. It's called APEC. Let's find out what it was all about.

A bunch of world leaders, a lot of serious discussions, and at least a few slightly awkward family photos. It's all part of APEC. That stands for Asia, Pacific, Economic, Cooperation. It's a bit like a club, made up of 21 developed and developing countries, including Australia. And together they account for more than 2.7 billion people and more than half of the world's money. APEC was started by this man, former Australian PM Bob Hawke, back in 1989. He wanted to bring together nations along the Pacific Rim - that means they're around the Pacific Ocean, or islands within it - so they could talk about their economies, free trade and investment. While that might not sound super exciting; it is super important. Most countries rely on each other to trade sometimes billions of dollars worth of goods and services and the idea of a regular meeting was to work out better ways of doing that. At first, APEC meetings were pretty cas. There weren't as many member countries and no world leaders. But in 1993, then US President Bill Clinton was like "hey gang, why don't all of us prime ministers and presidents go and hang out and talk about trade and stuff too?" And that's how the APEC Leader's Meeting started. Every year, the world leaders get together, always in a different member country (which explains all the traditional outfits). This year, it was Papua New Guinea's turn. Australia's leader, Scott Morrison, was there along with New Zealand's PM Jacinda Ardern. Canada's Justin Trudeau, China's President Xi Jinping, and many others. But, no Trump and no Russian President Vadimir Putin this year. Instead, they sent their seconds in charge. But some people aren't a big fan of just how much these meetings about money actually cost. Others say APEC is more about helping rich countries get richer when it should be doing more to help poor countries, like host PNG. PNG has spent a lot of money getting ready to host the VIPs and 15,000 delegates. It built new buildings, renovated its airport and got some very fancy transport. It has had help from China and Australia. We provided security, including a massive assault ship, armored vehicles, helicopters,

©ABC 2018

fighter jets and special forces soldiers. But PNG also got some long-term benefits out of this meeting. Australia, the US, Japan and New Zealand announced they'll be helping the developing country to provide internet and electricity to way more people. Australia and the US are also set to buddy up to build a military base on Manus Island. Most experts say the aim of this development is to try to make sure that China doesn't gain too much power in the strategically important region. And it seems that power struggle between China and the US in particular, caused a lot of tension this year. The leaders usually release a joint statement at the end of the meeting. But for the first time in APEC history they couldn't all agree on anything. So, while the idea for these meetings is for everyone to get together as one big happy family; with a group this big, and so many competing interests, maybe it's easier said than done.

This Week in News

US Firefighters have spent much of the past week battling deadly fires in California. The biggest

one is now being called the most destructive fire in the state's history.

It all-but wiped out the town of Paradise north of San Francisco and killed at least 60 people. But

hundreds more are still missing.

Another deadly fire, around Malibu in Southern California, destroyed many homes including

mansions belonging to well-known celebrities.

Some good news now for mountain gorillas. After years of conservation efforts, their population is

finally increasing.

There are now more than 1000 in the wild meaning their status has been changed from 'critically

endangered' to ‘endangered'.

This might be a good Chrissie pressie for that incredible special someone. The Pink Legacy

diamond was sold at an auction in Switzerland.

AUCTIONEER: 44-million-5 hundred thousand.

That's over 69 million Australian dollars. The auction house in charge of the sale said it was a

record price per carat for a pink diamond. The winning bidder was a famous American jeweller.

©ABC 2018

And finally, to a story that really stinks. This is the Amorphophallus titanum but due to its rather unfortunate scent its known as the corpse flower. STUDENT: Almost like fish, rotten fish, slowly it built and now it smells like rotten cabbage and an old diaper. Recently the International Union for Conservation of Nature added the corpse flower to the list of endangered species. That's why botanical gardens, like this one in Adelaide, have been working to conserve and grow their own corpse flowers. In 2006 they received 3 seeds and now they've grown their collection to more than 100 plants. Meaning your kids won't have to miss out on getting a whiff of this impressive, yet smelly flower.

Shark Cull Debate

Reporter: Ben Nielsen

INTRO: Next up. What seems like a spike in shark attacks has some people worried about going for a swim in the sea. Some reckon a cull could help. But is that the right answer? Here's both sides.

These beaches might look like a great place for a dip, but swimmers have been told to keep out of the water. The reason? Sharks. Here at the Whitsundays, there have been three attacks in the past two months. WA and NSW have both seen attacks recently, too. All up this year, there've been 36 attacks across Australia and one person has died. Experts say shark attacks happen randomly and aren't as common as people might fear. PROFESSOR COLIN SIMPFENDORFER: While shark bites are very rare, we quite often see these clusters possibly because conditions are conducive in areas at time to time. Part of the reason is that only a handful of sharks are actually dangerous to people. Mostly white, tiger and bull sharks. There used to be more shark attacks in Queensland before a big shark control program began in 1962. That involved installing nets in some areas and drumlines, which are a sort of anchored fishing lines that bait sharks. The Whitsundays don't have drumlines or nets because experts say the area isn't particularly suitable for them. But locals want something done quickly. LOCAL: It is very odd, some ecological has happened there to attract all the sharks. An emergency meeting was called and it was agreed that swimming should be banned at Cid Harbour, the site of the attacks. The Queensland Government also decided to spend 250 thousand dollars researching shark behaviour and to raise awareness about how people can minimise the risk of being attacked. But some say the measures aren't strong enough. One suggestion was for some sharks to be culled. KEITH PITT, MP: We also cull kangaroos and in the southern states they cull wombats. So why shouldn't we control shark numbers? The argument is human lives should be protected above all else. And fewer sharks might means fewer attacks. But, the QLD Government doesn't think that's a good idea and most experts say culling sharks won't save lives. TONY FONTES, TOURISM OPERATOR: Culling sharks has never been proven to be an effective way of making swimmers safe that is antiquated technology, there are better ways of keeping

©ABC 2018

swimmers safe. Instead, they suggest focusing on long-term solutions like better nets or technology that might repel sharks. And education programs to make sure swimmers know when to swim and when not to. But what do you reckon? BOY 1: I don't think we should be killing sharks at the moment because there are a lot of other methods that can be tested and tried out.

GIRL 1: Stay in the flags, always have someone else out there with you. And when you're swimming don't be alone, just in case anything happens.

BOY 2: I wouldn’t kill the animal because it is their territory and it's where they do live.

Did You Know?

Port Jackson sharks lay eggs that are spiral-shaped. They look like this and their shape allows them to be wedged securely between rocks, so they don't float away.

Stan Lee

Reporter: Ruby Cornish

INTRO: The man responsible for creating some of the biggest superhero characters in the world has died, aged 95. His name was Stan Lee. Let's take a look back at his life to find out how all his amazing heroes came to be. Superhuman speed. Jaw-dropping agility. Genius level intellect. And of course, those unique spidey-senses. There's no doubt that Spiderman is one of the best superheroes ever created and that this definitely isn't him.

The person we have to thank for Spiderman's existence is this guy, American comic-book writer, editor, and publisher Stan Lee. And Spiderman's not the only hero Stan brought to life. Not by a long shot. He's also responsible for the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther, the Fantastic Four. The list goes on. Back in the 1930s and 40s when these iconic characters were nothing more than a twinkle in young Stan's eye, it wasn't the big screen that captivated superhero fans. No, it was the golden age of comic books. In 1939, Stan began his career as an assistant with a very small publisher called Timely Comics, but it wasn't until the 60s that he first put his biggest creations to paper. By then, that little publisher had re-branded, and you might recognise the name it went with. In the 60s Marvel characters were brought to life as live action and animated heroes in movies and on TV screens. Today it's a multimedia giant owned by Disney and worth billions of dollars, pumping out slickly produced blockbusters full of recognisable faces. And - fun fact. As many Marvel fans would already know, over the years Stan snuck short cameo appearances into dozens of Marvel movies, a game of hide and seek that never failed to excite his fans. Those fans say it's sad to say bye to Stan. COMIC BOOK FAN: He's taught me how to read a little bit. Greatest of all time, father of comic books.

©ABC 2018

COMIC BOOK FAN: He was 95 but to us he's a superhero. He'd live as long as he wanted to. As do the celebs who've been lucky enough to play his characters on the big screen. IOAN GRUFFUDD: He was an incredibly kind and generous and the most enthusiastic person I'd ever met on set. You guys told us he meant a lot to you, as well. GIRL 1: It was pretty sad to hear he'd died, mainly because he's the original creator.

BOY 1: Stan Lee was a very successful man he created a franchise that's made billions and billions of dollars and it's been able to connect with me and heaps of other children. Critics say what always set Stan's superheroes apart was that they are not perfect. They are all flawed and have real-life problems their powers can't solve. I guess you could say Stan's superpower was showing us, through his characters, that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. Well, most people. SPIDERMAN: Help. someone? Heeeeelp.

Egyptian Cat Mummies

Reporter: Amelia Moseley

INTRO: To Egypt now. Archaeologists have uncovered a series of ancient tombs that date back to around 2500BC. But it's what they found inside those tombs that was particularly interesting. Something that was purrrrrrfectly preserved. Take a look.

Buried deep within this ancient Egyptian tomb are dozens of mummies. Mummies of cats. Cat mummies. While they aren't the bodies of pharaohs or queens, the discovery of these really, really old creatures is pretty incredible. After all, they've remained hidden away and preserved for more than four thousand years. You see, mummification was really important to ancient Egyptians because they believed in the afterlife and that you needed your body there. So, when a rich or important person died, embalmers would treat their body with salt and oils, remove internal organs (except the heart which they thought contained your soul) and, here's the best bit, they'd pull the brain out with a hook straight up the nose. Ew. Then the body was wrapped in bandages and placed into a sarcophagus, or coffin, to sit for thousands of years. REPORTER: But I know what you're thinking - why did they do all that to a cat? Well, ancient Egyptians believed cats were really important too. In fact, they thought they were divine creatures. Might be where they got the attitude. Several Egyptian gods took the form of a cat, like Bastet. She was thought to protect the home from evil spirits and diseases, so cats became a religious icon as well as pets, and - coming back to that afterlife again - people believed they could take things with them when they died, so cats were often mummified too. Thousands of cat mummies have been found in Egypt over the years. But, here's the thing - these newly discovered tombs held more than just that.

©ABC 2018

DR MOSTAFA WAZIRI, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF ANTIQUITIES: I would like to call it the necropolis of the sacred animals. Why? Because we found here cats, we found snakes, we found scarabs. Scarab is something really unique.

Yeah, and there was a crocodile. REPORTER: So, sorry cats. You weren't the only divine creatures. All sorts of animals were also considered pretty special, because the gods took many animal forms. The Egyptian Minister of Antiquities AKA the guy in charge of really, really old stuff says they've also found a door to another new tomb. They're hoping to open it up soon to find out what ancient secrets lie behind it. I, for one, hope for more cats.

REPORTER: Alright little kitty, time to go to the afterlife. There we go. Oh it’s going to take a while.

I don’t know if I’m doing this right.

Ask a Reporter

Have you got any more questions about ancient Egypt? Ask me live on Friday during Ask a Reporter Head to our website for the details.

Quiz

And sticking with the Egypt theme. Is the country located at the top, middle or bottom of the African continent? It's located at the top right here.

Sport

Sport time. First up, cricket and it was a real swing and a miss from our national teams over the

weekend.

The women's side, who had gone undefeated all tournament, lost their final T20 group match to

India. And it was extra bad news for star opener Alyssa Healy. She was concussed after a mid-

pitch collision with a team mate and wasn't able to bat.

Australia will take on either the West Indies or England on Friday morning in the semi-final.

It wasn't any better for the men's side. They lost to South Africa in a T20 on the Gold Coast falling

well short of the 109 they needed to win.

©ABC 2018

Turkey's Can Oncu has become the youngest Grand Prix winner ever winning the Valencia Moto3

at 15 years and 119 days old.

It was actually his debut. and he came from behind to snag the win.

These aren't tiny surfers, they're huge waves twelve metres tall at the Big Wave Tour event in

Portugal.

GRANT BAKER, WINNER OF BIG WAVE TOUR NAZARE: You're not sure where it's going to

break, so you got kind of just wait and wait and wait and then eventually you can just turn and

swing and go.

Grant Baker took out the comp and is leading the overall Big Wave rankings.

And finally, people around the world are losing their minds over this young basketballer's incredible

skills. Ten-year-old Zachary wowed fans during the half time break at an NBA game between the

Raptors and the Pelicans.

Now his video's been watched nearly four million times.

Video Game Coding Champs

Rookie Reporters: Anastasia, Ava, Paige and Lucy

INTRO: Finally, today. Let's hear from the group of girls that took out this year's Australian STEM Video Game Challenge. While that sounds super fun, collecting their award was apparently the best part of all. Take a look. Hi, I'm Anastasia, hi I'm Ava, hi I'm Paige, and I'm Lucy, and we're video game designers. We decided to create a video game and enter it in the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge. We are year 6 students from St Anthony's Primary School in Western Australia and our teacher Mr Wynne was our mentor. We started with a theme, which was transformation. Then we wrote a story, then we made a game that matched the story. And we made it on Gamestar Mechanic. It took about 12 weeks. Our game is called Unknown Dimensions. It's about four sisters who are separated. They each have a locket which they use to find each other. Every time one sister reunited with another the locket would glow and the picture would reveal the two sisters that found each other. Making the game was really fun, but also challenging. It was tricky working in a group because we did not always agree with each other. Everything took a lot longer than we thought it would and it was hard to get everything done on time. The Gamestar Mechanic software made the coding pretty easy to understand. We tried to make the game begin easy and then get harder, but not too hard, because we wanted the players to still have fun.

©ABC 2018

Over 3000 students entered the competition. We couldn't believe it when Mr Wynne called our parents and told us that we'd won. To get our award, we got to fly to Melbourne to a gaming convention called PAX.

We just arrived at Melbourne Airport, we're waiting for our bags. It's quarter to one in the morning and um yeah, we're trying to figure out where our bags are. PAX was really busy and there was lots to do. We got to try out lots of games and hang out with cool cosplay characters. We even got to try some VR games. We saw a lot of cosplays and took photos with them. Lucy got a giant alpaca this big. And of course. We got our prizes. For our prizes we got a really cool gaming headset, an LED mouse, a mousepad and a block of chocolate. We got chocolate.

After PAX, we got to visit Science Works. I'm really excited to see what's in there. I've been waiting for this time since I found out I was going. There was an arcade where the winning games from STEM Video Game Challenge were set up, and there were heaps of other science experiments and activities to try. Making Unknown Dimensions was a great experience. We learned that coding is fun and also really useful, and we can't wait to do more of it in the future. It's amazing what you can do with hard work. If you're a kid who wants to get into coding, here's some free advice. Don't give up, believe in yourself and communicate.

Closer

And that wraps us up for today. But you can always head to our website to check out more fun stuff. And teachers, we haven't forgotten you. Our site's also full of handy resources related to each week's episode. Thanks for watching and I'll catch you next week.