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Students bring the ocean home with GSK Science in the Summer™

- Create your own ocean adventure with this simple jelly float oceanography experiment

GSK Science in the Summer™ (www.scienceinthesummer.com) enriches young minds through offering elementary school-aged children a free summer science education program. Students in second through sixth grade in the Greater Philadelphia Area are given the opportunity to study Physical Science & Electricity (Bucks County), Oceanography (Chester County), Genetics (Delaware County), Chemistry (Montgomery County), and Simple Machines (Philadelphia County). Sponsored by GSK and hosted by The Franklin Institute, GSK Science in the Summer classes are taught by certified teachers at local libraries. Through simple, hands-on experiments, GSK Science in the Summer helps students “grow into science” and gain first-hand knowledge of complex concepts: students learn about density and buoyancy, the uniqueness of fingerprints, the strength of levers, and much more!

To spread the joy of science, GSK Science in the Summer is sharing an experiment from its Oceanography curriculum—an experiment that you can do in your very own home! Please note: for optimum safety, an adult should be present during all experiments, and children should wear safety glasses when conducting experiments at home and school.

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Experiment: making a jelly float

The ocean is full of wonders and mysterious creatures, one of which is the jelly (jellyfish), a large species of zooplankton. This fun, easy experiment allows students to create a replica of a jelly using household materials! Young scientists will not only make a fun toy, but will also learn about the traits of real jellies.

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Materials: scissors, two plastic re-sealable bags (such as Ziplocs), water

Instructions:

1. Use scissors to cut one plastic bag into strips (see Step 1 on the diagram below).

2. Tape the strips onto the sides of the second plastic bag to make dangling tentacles.

3. Fill the second bag halfway full of water and seal it. This is the jelly! Similar to a real jellyfish, it is mostly composed of water.

4. Fill a bowl with water, and float the jelly in the bowl.

5. Observe how the jelly becomes difficult to see once it is partially underwater—how would this be helpful to a real jelly? 

For more information on GSK Science in the Summer classes, visit www.scienceinthesummer.com

About GSK – GSK – one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.  For further information go to us.gsk.com, follow us on twitter.com/GSKUS, or visit our blog(www.morethanmedicine.us.gsk.com/blog/).

About The Franklin Institute – Founded in honor of America’s first scientist, Benjamin Franklin, The Franklin Institute is a renowned and innovative leader in the field of science and technology learning, as well as a dynamic center of activity. It is dedicated to creating a passion for science by offering new and exciting access to science and technology in ways that would dazzle and delight its namesake. For more information, please visit www.fi.edu.

Media Contacts:

Jennifer Armstrong, GSK, (215) 751-5664 or jennifer.l.armstrong@gsk.com

Camille Dager, Harris, Baio & McCullough, (215) 440-9800 or camille@hbmadv.com

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

GSK cautions investors that any forward-looking statements or projections made by GSK, including those made in this announcement, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Such factors include, but are not limited to, those described under Item 3.D 'Risk factors' in the company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2013.

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