Science Week 2012

WORLD IN MOTION! That’s the theme

We have the following superbly stupendous scientific (check out the alliteration!)  activities for our children to wonder about; to be engaged in and to explain:

*  Presentations by the Science Museum, no less! KS1 and KS2

*  Story Science workshop especially for Foundation Stage

*   A recycling assembly and workshop

Monday 14th

Science inset for staff was greeting with enthusiasm and excitement. Teachers were pondering what kind of experienments Ms Birch had in store? Last year the Mentos and Coca Cola experiment went down really well so Ms Birch was going to surprise us all. After much discussion and collaboration our task was finally given; We had to build the tallest structure that would balance a Kinder Surprise egg using 6 marshmellows, 3 jelly babies  and a half packet of store brand spaghetti. It was a fantastic team science investigation. All teams got to work very quickly and soon had the base of their structures. The extra challenge wa s to beat Ms Birch’s countdown clock before it let off its fireworks! Great commeradery – each team were eager to win!

Tuesday 15th

Sarah Langford from Sphere Science kicked off science week, with an all day Story Science workshop for Nursery and Reception classes. The workshop consisted of 6 parts:  Thaumatropes, Boats, Balancing, Sand and snow, Whirligigs and Trucks focusing on science enquiry and investigative skills .  All the children enjoyed the exploration fun! They were thrilled with the Trucks and Whirligigs and enthralled with the sand, snow and boat predictions. A sensationally, stunning day!

Meanwhile, Year 3 classes used their ICT lesson to recreate their observations of a plant growing using 2Animate.

Wednesday 16th

Year 3 went on the most amazing trip this year. We went to the utterly amazing Kew Gardens. We were all bursting with excitement we could not control our enthusiasm. We travelled by coach which seemed to take for ever. The roads were extremely busy and traffic was at times at a standstill. We finally arrived to be greeted by luscious green banks and huge leafy trees, all with their own unique colours of browns, greens and reds. We went to the ‘tree top walkway’ and were stunned at how high we had to climb. There stood an amazing iron bridge supported by rusted steel columns that blend in with the natural environment, towering high up into the tallest trees. We had to climb the spiral staircase to reach the top, 18metres above the ground! Even though some of us felt a little wobbly we had to arm our selves with steal of nerves and plucked the courage and determination to reach the top. What an amazing site a bird’s eye view of the Kew.

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Science Week 2011

It was an exciting and fun week for all staff and pupils during Science Week 2011!

Science week started off with KS1 assembly provided by Preston Manor High School with the children learning about Static Electricity. It was literally a hair raising experience for all as children found out the effect of static electricity on the hair! You can try this experiment out at home for yourself. Blow up an ordinary balloon (any colour you like), then rub it in your hair for 15 seconds. The friction between your hair and balloon will build up an electrical charge and your hair will be attracted to the balloon making your hair stand up. The static electricity in the balloon will even make it stick to a wall or other surfaces.

KS2 Assembly followed this. It was an exciting and amazing experience for children to see lots of chemical changes. Do you know how and elephant brushes its teeth? We saw how to make an elephant’s toothpaste.

Elephant's Toothpaste- chemical reaction

Ever heard a jelly baby scream? We have! The ‘Screaming Jelly Baby experiment, potassium chlorate is heated gently in a test tube, then a jelly baby is added. The chemical reaction causes the mixture to burst into flames and makes a loud screaming sound. This is because the sugar in the jelly baby oxidises with the potassium chlorate which is an oxidising agent. This experiment shows the amount of energy in jelly babies.

This set off the children with great ideas about science and how exciting it can be.

Tuesday saw and afternoon of parent’s demonstrating in the main hall. Each year group showcased different scientific experiments and demonstrations. Year 5 made farting slime, Year 4 showed how to lift a table with just straws and sandwich bags! Year 2 had a variety of demonstrations including the self inflating balloon!  It was great fun and lots of parents came to see amazing and fun science.

Wednesday started with a whole school assembly about Energy. We made our own energy as a whole school. Ask your child how we did this.

Years  5 and 6 had a Dry Ice experience with Mother Nature Science all day. They were able to make the queen scream! Can you guess how they did this? It involved using a two pence coin.