To celebrate British Science Week the children at Toftwood Infant and Junior Schools took part in a range of different science-based learning activities. There was a variety of visitors and live talks from meteorologists, marine biologists and engineering geologists to name but a few! The children also took part in scientific investigations across their year groups. They loved putting their scientific skills into practice to test theories, identify patterns and record results.
Reception looked at reflections and symmetry using mirrors, used magnets, designed and made their own boats to see if they would float and created some shadow puppets. They even tried some bubble painting and had a go at making some giant bubbles outside!
In Year 1 we had a go at creating our star constellations using marshmallows and spaghetti. We practised using our fine motor skills to construct the constellations and had to observe the shapes and patterns carefully to create accurate representations. We also explored fair testing when looking at rocket mice and investigated which plastic bottle launched the rockets the highest. We predicted which rockets we thought would be the best and then tested them to see if we were correct.
In Year 2 we created our own ‘magic’ pictures. We investigated what happens to kitchen roll when it is put into water by drawing a black outline of a picture on one piece of kitchen roll and a coloured picture on another. We layered the drawings on top of each other and noticed that you could not see the colours through the paper. Once we put the drawings into a tray of water we noticed that the pictures had merged, and our drawings turned from black and white to coloured!
Year 3 explored the science of making toothpaste! We agreed that a good toothpaste should kill bacteria, have a nice scent and stay on the toothbrush! We carefully mixed ingredients to make our toothpaste. We then needed to think scientifically to plan a fair test to compare our own toothpaste to branded toothpastes. Finally, we collected the results in a tally chart and presented the results in a series of bar graphs.
Year 4 did an investigation in to fingerprints and whether they could be used to identify individual students! The children loved experimenting with different methods of collecting the fingerprints and then comparing their prints to their friends! They were fascinated by the different patterns within their fingerprints e.g. arches, whorls and loops. Finally, we discussed the best ways to record their findings and they were then given the opportunity to present them to the class.
Year 5 had a wonderful time designing rockets and looking at how a pneumatic system, that they have previously learnt about in science, can be used to create a force with which to launch a rocket! We had great fun launching our rockets outside and seeing who’s would go the furthest!
Year 6 took part in a live science lesson that looked at the adaptability of wool. We discovered that wool is even used in space! Within classes, we were set the task of investigating inks through a ‘dog napping’ scenario. We used chromatography to identify the thief from the ransom note they had written. We looked carefully at the different shapes and colours that the inks created.
To bring the week to a close, the children were able to take part in their very own Toftwood Science Fair. They were excited to bring in the science projects that they had been working on at home, to share with classmates, parents, carers and teachers. The children explained the Science behind the experiments they had designed and demonstrated them to all of the visitors. It was a fantastic turn out and the Toftwood Federation families enjoyed exploring all areas of science including a lemon clock, electrical circuits, erupting volcanoes and dancing milk!
