If I had the time

Things to do with your family this week

Find out why we burp

How loud can you burp? Well, I don't know about you, but the record is louder than a motorcycle! You can find out more about burping - and a few other things - on Burp Day at the Science Museum in London today.

The Punk Scientists will be helping out with a science show led by Glenn Murphy, the former chief explainer at the museum, whose new book, How Loud Can You Burp? (Macmillan, £4.99) inspired the event. Together they will be demonstrating the whys and wherefores of such pressing scientific questions as what happens if you fart in a space suit and why is snot green? - which is the title of Murphy's first book of scintillating scientific questions and answers.

The questions may sound a bit dodgy (though there are some more conventional ones, such as what are clouds for and why do we need sleep?), but the science is 100% accurate.

If you can't get to the Science Museum, you can always hold your own burp day - there is plenty of material in Glenn Murphy's books.
Juliet Rix

- sciencemuseum.org.uk/burpday, 020-7942 4000

Hook yourself a crab

When I first took my nephews crabbing, they were old enough to realise that an after-its-sell-by-date bacon rasher was unusual bait, but not at an age to recognise this wasn't a wind-up. "Bacon? Why not a sausage or a chicken?" they mocked. But those lampooning laughs soon turned to "Gis a go!" when I hoisted a mighty pinchy beast from the depths. "We're gonna need more bacon," said one, in much the same way Roy Scheider ponders the need for a bigger boat in Jaws.

Crabbing is a great way to lose a couple of hours on the coast and if, like my clan, you think it's all to do with the skilful positioning and lowering of the line into water rather than sheer pot luck, why not try your hand at the British Open Crabbing Championship in Suffolk tomorrow? Arm yourself with a line, some bait of your choice and go hook some crabs. The rules are simple but effective - the person who captures the weightiest crustacean wins.
Antony Jones

- 28th British Open Crabbing Championship, August 10, Walberswick, Suffolk. Entry costs £1. For more information visit explorewalbers wick.co.uk/crabbing

Get lost in an 'amaizing' maze

A field may not sound the most promising venue for a day of family fun, but when it's a field of corn as high as an elephant's eye, with a cunning plan cut into it, believe me, it is.

Our destination: Dymchurch in Kent, on a grey day we hoped would clear up but didn't. Our challenge: an ingenious maize maze. Armed with a flag on a pole (sensibly supplied so staff can find and rescue visitors if need be), we set out into the corn along tracks that were not so much paths as mud slides. As the rain bucketed down, staying upright became a bigger challenge than finding our way. It didn't matter. We were happy just being out in the countryside, lost to the world, slip-sliding this way and that, getting covered in mud. If we made it out by teatime, well, that was fine.

There are only a couple of months between the corn being high enough to hide in and harvest time, but happily that coincides with the school holidays and there are maize mazes the length and breadth of Britain, from Cornwall to Stirling, Pembrokeshire to Norfolk. To find one near you, go to maizemaze.com. It's the most fun you can have getting lost.
Andrea Chapman

Spot a shooting star

If you've got the time and the patience, it's possible to spot meteors - or shooting stars to give them their more romantic title - on any clear night, when, with a bit of luck and not too much light pollution, you can generally see about six an hour.

At this time of year, however, the spectacular Perseids meteor shower passing overhead means you can see as many as 100 an hour. However short your child's attention span, they are pretty much guaranteed to see something.

Meteors are flashes of light caused by particles of dust burning up as they enter the Earth's atmosphere, about 60 miles above our heads. In the case of the Perseids, these particles were originally part of the Swift-Tuttle comet. They've been visible for a couple of weeks but are expected to peak on Monday night and Tuesday morning (August 11-12). The best time to look out for them will be just before dawn, when the moon will have set and our side of the Earth will be moving directly into the cloud of debris. The best views will be out in the countryside, but even city folk will be able to wonder at the streaks of light across the sky.
Helen Davies

- See the National Maritime Museum website at nmm.ac.uk for more details

Tune in to the bagpipes

Bagpipes are a bit like Marmite: you love or hate them. If you fall into the second category, avoid Glasgow next week when more than 8,000 musicians will play and pay homage to the pipes.

Many of concerts and performances are free. You can catch daily highlights in George Square, and the Street Cafe next to the National Piping Centre on McPhater Street has free daytime performances. The main competition is on Sunday 17 at 10.30am, when the world's top pipers fight it out for the Masters Solo title. There's also a daily busking session to find the best under-21s, and this year's Pipe Idol.

And you can learn to sort out your chanter from your drones at one of the "come and try" workshops. On the family fun day (Tuesday 12) an adult and child can try pipes for just £2.50. You do get a tour of the piping museum and the chance to learn Highland dancing with a ceilidh band.
Lesley Carr

- Piping Live! runs from 11-17 August at venues across Glasgow. Come and try sessions are Mon-Fri, 11am-2.30pm, at the National Piping Centre. Full details at pipinglive.co.uk

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