Science Week at The Firs

• On Monday we learned that your mouth produces 1 litre of saliva each day! Yuck!
• On Tuesday we found out that Electric eels can produce strong electric shocks of around 500 volts!

•  On Wednesday we were amazed that The average person has 67 different species of bacteria in their belly button! We also were startled to discover that Sneezing with your eyes open is impossible! 

• On Thursday we discovered that An asteroid about the size of a car enters Earth’s atmosphere roughly once a year – but it burns up before it reaches us. Phew!

• On Friday we learned that There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth! We also were dazzled by the fact that If you could be there to see it...the sunset on Mars would appear blue!

On Monday we started the science week with assemblies in KS2 and KS1.

The KS2 assembly was led by Exciting Science who got us off to a very exciting start!

In Pine we were Exploring changes of state with cornflour and water, exploring magnets, sorting non-magnetic and magnetic objects and observing alka seltzer dissolving in water - it made the lid explode and hit the ceiling! We also got to see and handle the baby chicks from Pine which all the children loved.

Year 1 Read the book 'Why Is The Sky Blue'. The children learned about recycling- where does rubbish go, and why is it important? Children took this very seriously and were very moved by the fact we were not looking after our world properly. Y1 also made slime! In the outdoor classroom. What a fun day!

Year 2 explored what a scientist is, what they are like, what they need to know etc. We talked about and challenged some stereotypes around who scientists are. Children looked at the science of the human body and the importance of exercise. They worked in pairs to devise exercises for flexibility, stamina and strength

Year 3 looked at growth, how we and everything around us grows. The children made things we could grow ourselves and made grass heads with sawdust, socks, grass and some accessories to make a face! We will now record the growth of the grass seeds. We discussed the importance of careful observation, and we planted broad beans and watched a speeded up version of a broad bean growing - the children being fascinated by the germination process.

Year 4 worked in groups to plan which is the bounciest ball and discussed fair testing. We Introduced work on the solar system with a model made of fruit. They researched a planet, answering 10 questions about their planet.

In Pine began the day with Exciting Science. They learned all about bubbles, what a bubble is, why bubbles pop and why a bubble can never be square shaped! They were fascinated watching flash paper being set fire to and then vanishing! The children also wore special 3D glasses and got to see how different sources of light are transformed.

Back in Pine, we set up an investigation to explore the effect of germs on bread (they’ll get to see how dirty Mrs Prior and Mrs Mercer’s laptops are!) The children also had opportunities to explore friction using ramps covered in different materials as well as floating and sinking in the water tray.

In Year 1 the children enjoyed their Exciting Science assembly where they got to see a foam explosion and made smoke rings. The assembly was followed by learning about parts of a plant and their purpose. 

In the afternoon the children conducted an experiment using skittles! We learned how the colour and sugar dissolves when mixed with water and diffuses through the water. The children had great fun designing their skittle plates!

Year 2 enjoyed an amazing assembly by Exciting Science. We got to see a foam explosion and made smoke rings! The children then enjoyed learning about wheels and axles, which we will be using to make our emergency vehicles move in DT. We then went back into the hall to complete a final Exciting Science workshop based around plants.

Year 3 began the day with an investigation to find out what a plant needs to survive. They placed their plants in different conditions and are going to check them over the next few weeks. The children then enjoyed using their engineering skills to devise ways to protect an egg using junk modelling. They had great fun dropping their eggs! 

Year 4 planned an experiment that would protect an egg from breaking when dropped from a height. We used junk materials and talked about gravity and air resistance and all but one of our eggs survived being dropped outside on the playground! 

In the afternoon we enjoyed the Exciting Science display in the hall, where the scientists burst balloons filled with different gases. The explosions were very loud! We also learned about air pressure and how to make a Kinder egg fly through the sky.

Pine looked at some spring flowers and discussed how we could make a painting using some paint and mixing the colours. 

We experimented with cells and wires and a bulb and managed to light it up!

We built 3D models using magnetic forces and challenged ourselves to complete some tricky life cycle jigsaws. We also started to measure the height of the children on a wall chart. 

The children wrote their names and recorded the measurement in centimetres on a post-it note, sticking it onto the chart. I wonder how much the children will have grown when we re-measure in July?

Some of us designed our own experiment to see how far cars go by sending them down a ramp!

When visiting Year 1, children did a fantastic job of creating their very own solar system. We first looked at the different planets, what they were made up of, and how far away from the Sun they were. Then with our very own paper plate, we dabbed black paint to create a galaxy effect, then coloured and cut the different planets in the order they are in from the Sun. All the year groups loved doing this and had their very own solar system to take home!

When visiting Year 2, children investigated how scientists could separate materials without using their hands. We discussed how this was important due to some materials being toxic. The children then conducted an experiment separating 5 materials:

Marbles, paper clips, rice, sand and salt.

The children were provided with tweezers, magnets, a sieve, filter paper and water to help them. All the year groups very much enjoyed taking part in this experiment with lots of success throughout! 

When visiting Year 3, children explored layering liquids by making their own lava lamps. They used water, food colouring, oil and glitter and observed what happened to each of the layers. We discussed the density of different layers before adding salt to their bottles. The children enjoyed watching the bubbles appear and illuminating their bottles with torches. They were all very excited to take them home to share with their families!

When visiting Year 4, children looked at a variety of buildings and amazing structures around the world. We talked about the shapes that make a structure stable and strong. The children then used different sizes of marshmallows and spaghetti and made either the tallest or strongest structure they could. We had great fun and made some fabulous structures.

In Pine we continued to enjoy our science based play. Everyone made a circuit using the batteries and wires, but this time their challenge was to make the bulb brighter! The children enjoyed playing outside, building bridges with the large bricks and playing with the bubbles in the water tray. 

In Year 1 we found out about Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon. We listened to his famous words just before setting foot on the moon, and we watched some videos of the astronauts walking in funny jumps across the moon and even driving a moon buggy!

In Year 2 we chose to look at the pioneering nurse practitioner, Mary Seacole; busting the myth that all scientists wear white coats and work in laboratories.

Mary experimented with, investigated and explored the science of nature to create herbal medicines which she used to help treat soldiers in the Crimean War.

In Year 3 we chose to look at David Attenborough as our exciting scientist. We began the day by discovering facts about his early life, family and his education and career. 

As a naturalist, David Attenborough studies animals, looking at their habitats and behaviours. 

The children chose an animal to research and created short wildlife documentaries just like Attenborough does. We discussed how David Attenborough has discovered a decrease in the condition of our Earth and discussed ways in which we can eliminate waste to look after our world. 

The children created posters to be shared around the school to raise awareness.

In Year 4, we chose to research the first African- American woman astronaut in space. We used the internet to research information about her childhood, her early life and career and her legacy. 

Once we had found out as much as we could, we completed a fact file all about her and shared our findings.

In Year R we looked at the Wright brothers achievements and discussed why people use aeroplanes. We discussed if children had flown themselves and if so where they had been. We were all very pleased that we do not need to lay on our tummies, in the open air, to fly these days!

In Year 1 we shared what they had learnt about Neil Armstrong to Y2, and we really enjoyed learning about Mary Seacole. 

Y1 then designed their own rockets before then making them from recycled toilet rolls. 

They had a great time role playing the Apollo 11 mission and pretending to be Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. 

In Year 2 we took part in a sharing assembly with Y1, and we continued our work on wheels and axles using Purple Mash.

We had great fun learning some songs to teach us about the solar system too.

In Year 3 we planned our sharing assembly for the afternoon. We took part in some fitness activities to see if we had improved from the previous time. Many of us had improved!

In Year 4 we finished off some of our science work from earlier in the week and worked on preparing for our sharing assembly too. Some of us learned about the water cycle and even how we might make a journey in the far future to Proxima Centauri B, the closest exoplanet to Earth!

The children in Saplings had a great time during Science Week too!

The saplings children have been learning about the different planets in the solar system and the different size and colours of the planets. We also spoke about the names of the planets. 

The children also designed rocket collages, we learnt about the different planets and how they travel around the sun.

Following on from this the children used various ingredients to make soluble planets and observed the chemical reaction when vinegar was added using pipettes. The adults modelled scientific language to further support the children’s learning. 

Everyone in Saplings had a lot of fun!