2 Year Olds
In the two year old nursery to celebrate Science week, we have been exploring the farm animals frozen in ice. We tried to hammer the ice away to free the animals . We then poured spoonfuls of salt onto the ice . Everyone liked hearing the ice crack when the salt was added.
3 Year Olds
As part of British Science Week our Three Year Old Nursery children have been learning about this years theme ‘Change and Adapt’ We have been looking at different animals that are really good at playing hide and seek by making themselves the same colours or patterns as the place they live (their habitat). We learnt that this special skill is called camouflage. We visited Forest School to look for different coloured caterpillars which we then matched to the best home or habitat so that they were camouflaged from animals like birds or mice who might like to eat them! We found that the green and white caterpillars were the most camouflaged and the hardest to spot and find 🐛
Year 1
As part of British Science Week, Year 1 made healthy fruit smoothies.
Year 2
As part of science week, year 2 taste tested ingredients for a healthy wrap. They tasted avocado, hummus, coriander, parsley, egg, cheese, tomatoes, spring onion and cucumber.
Year 2 had to plan three healthy wraps. Their friend evaluated their designs. Children chose their final design to be made into a wrap.
Children prepared their ingredients then made their wrap. They used lots of skills. They tasted their wraps and compared them with their friend’s wraps. They evaluated their final product.
Taste testing – everyone was very brave trying new foods.
Acorn Class
During Topic session we asked the children what we do when doing an experiment, recall materials, method (what we need and what we do). We then discussed creating a structure of shapes with marshmallows and spaghetti (uncooked). We thought about how we were going to do this, being gentle with the spaghetti not to break it. We also threaded hoops onto our structure to help strengthen our fine motor skills and to see whether adding hoops would strengthen the structure of collapse it.
For a sensory experiment we made Gloop using cornflour and water. We then looked at the changes what reaction the cornflour had when we added the water to it. The cornflour had changed from a powder into a solid form but when you picked it up the consistency changed to a liquid form. It was lots of fun even the teachers loved playing with the gloop and feeling the liquid run through your fingers.
During Topic we discussed The Northern Lights. Where do we find them? (Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Canada, Greenland, Norway) We discussed how they were formed (when the sun and magnetic fields interact). We looked at some photographs on the interactive whiteboard and identified what colours we could see. We talked about Scientist doing experiments and how the record experiments. We introduced the words, materials, method, conclusion. What we need? What we do? What happened? We then showed the children what materials and ingredients we needed, milk, food colouring, washing up liquid, shape cutters, pipettes and a plate. We placed the cutters onto a plate with washing up liquid on poured milk onto a different plate then placed the cutter in the middle. We then placed using a pipette dots of food colouring around the cutter. We did this several times with different colours and watched how the milk mixed the colours and made the Northern Lights.
We were very excited to do the “Coke” experiment. We wanted to make a rocket to shoot up into Space. The children watched Mrs Addison do the experiment outside. We used a bottle filled with pop opened the lid and placed mentos/denture tablets into the bottle. The pop had a chemical reaction to mentos tablets and the gases fizzed and it exploded out of the bottle and shot up to the sky just like a rocket. The children loved and wanted to do it again and again.
Year 3 British Science Week- Step into the NHS
As part of science week, Year 3 took part in the NHS Schools Competition. We discovered that the NHS is one of the largest employers in the world. We learned about all of the different careers in the NHS and considered the skills necessary to do these diverse, exciting and unique jobs. We met with NHS staff to hear more about their roles and responsibilities. We were then inspired to create posters and factsheets for our competition entries. We found out that we already possess many of the attributes needed for a career in this field, and now have aspirations to be the next doctors, physiotherapists, dieticians, dentists, GP’s and radiographers of the future….to name a few of the jobs that we could choose from!
Year 3 & 5 also took part in the Primary Engineer Competition where pupils were asked to design an invention that solves a problem. They watched an interview with an engineer and also had to write a letter to accompany their design detailing how it worked.
Year 4
During Science Week Year 4 continued with their States of Matter Science topic and learnt how the Water Cycle works. The children also took part in the Primary Engineer competition. They watched an interview with the engineer called Andrew Smyth who inspired them to design inventions which will solve problems in life. Andrew Smyth works for a company called Rolls Royce and he has also taken part in the Great British Bake-off. He applies his engineering skills to baking and he calls it bakeineering!
Year 5
As part of Science Week, Year 5 made individual cheese cakes. We crushed digestive biscuits and mixed them with butter to create the base. Then we whipped some double cream until it was stiff. Then we added cream cheese and vanilla to the cream and mixed it to create the top of the cheese cake. We put the base and the mixture into individual containers and refrigerated them for a couple of hours. Then we decorated them with grated white chocolate and fruit. They were delicious 😋
Year 5 also took part in the Step into the NHS live stream event this afternoon where they got to meet two NHS workers doing jobs that the children wouldn’t automatically think about as jobs in the NHS. One was a children’s physiotherapist and the other was a library assistant. They presented the children with two facts, one myth about their job and they had to work out which was the myth. Then we had the opportunity to ask questions about their jobs. It was very informative and gave the children an insight into careers in the NHS.
Year 5 took part in a Rockets for All webinar with astronaut with Helen Sharman. It was really interesting to find out how she became an astronaut and what life is like on the international space station including some of the experiments they conduct.
Year 6
In science this week year 6 carried out a beak investigation as part of their topic on evolution and inheritance. They tested tweezers, chopsticks and fingers and thumbs to see which was the best to pick up grains of rice, making sure they kept all other variables the same so that it was a fair test. They did some maths to calculate the averages and record their results, using these to write a conclusion. Tweezers and fingers and thumbs both proved successful but the same can’t be said for the chopsticks!
