On Friday, 15th March, the whole school took part in our annual British Science Day that including all elements of STEM. Each year group had their own experiences either in or out of school but on speaking to pupils they all agreed how they valued their experience and took many positives from their day.
Year 5
Year 5 spent an amazing day for NSEW week at the Centre for Life. During the day, the pupils took part in either a Fantastic Fossils or Science of Sound workshop.
“I loved the Sound workshops because it was fun and interesting. I found out how to make a musical instrument out of a straw and that sound can travel through solids”, said Ruby from 5I. During the Science Theatre Show, volunteers were invited to the stage to participate in kitchen experiments and encouraged to try some out at home. A number of activities also explained amazing facts about the wonders of space and some students even decided to get hands on with the moon. The Brain and Curiosity Zones gave the pupils a great opportunity to experiment with science.
“I thought it was an interesting day and I learned a lot from it such as what the moon looks like and how big it actually is. My favourite part was the Planetarium because you got to understand about the movement of the moon and how all the planets revolve around each other,” said Olivia from 5B
Year 6
The whole cohort stayed in school and took part in wide variety of activities. In total, the year group took part in 5 activities including:
- Technology Tom
- Construction
- Literacy Challenge
- Dove Marine Lab
- Creative Bags
The pupils commented on how they loved the interesting and innovative ideas that Technology Tom discussed and they particular liked the last activity in which some pupils were chosen to be electrocuted by Mr Shaw! The teachers in the room were amazed with how much the pupils knew but most impressive was how they could relate the science to experiences they have had.
The other big hitter in Year 6 was the Dove Marine Lab from Newcastle University. They brought with them a variety of sea life creatures including starfish, crabs and lobsters. Pupils were fascinated to find out about the animals and many pupils have never had the chance to handle such animals previously so it was a great new experience. It was amazing to see so many smiling, inquisitive faces around the room eager to learn.
A special thank you to Miss Larsen, Ms Kerr, Mrs Brown and Mrs Elliott for also running workshops on the day – they all played a key part in making the day a huge success and the pupils are proudly showing off their ‘Creative Bags’ made with Mrs Elliott in Technology.
Overall it was a fantastic day and the pupils were amazing!
Emily said “I really enjoyed the construction workshop as we had to work hard as a team to be successful.”
Poppy said “I really liked the marine session as you learnt loads of interesting things about the animals and I liked the construction task because it made you think and use knowledge.”
Year 7
Year 7 visited Newcastle University to take part in a campus tour and CSI investigation. During the campus tour, students were able to visit many buildings on the campus including the Medical School and their close links with the RVI hospital, Old Library, King’s Gate and the Northern Stage. They also visited the Student’s Union and found out about the extra clubs and societies offered at University and were able to ask student ambassadors questions about studying at Newcastle University.
The CSI investigation involved three workshops where the children had to identify who, out of 12 suspects, had stolen the Martin Luther King Statue which is located within the university’s campus. The children extracted DNA from a strawberry and compared it’s amino acids to that of some of the suspects. They then compared the moisture and PH of soil samples to identify where the crime took place. Following this the students looked at a range of artefacts which linked famous crimes such as the great train robbery. From here they found it more information about the criminal such as their gender and height.
Jack said “I found the deciphering the DNA task very interesting because I got to combine English and maths in a very interesting puzzle. Although the time was short, I had lots of fun!”
Maisy said “I liked the first activity, which was history and social science, because you used props and tried to link them to the case. It creates ideas in your head about how and why the props were related to the crime.”
Eva C said “I really enjoyed going to Newcastle University because the whole day was dedicated to one investigation. The campus tour was interesting but I would have liked to look into more buildings. The cryptography was very fun, especially when we created our own coded message! The whole trip was really fun and I would love to go again.”
Year 8
Year 8’s British Science Day activities were supported by sixth form students from KEVI and STEM Ambassadors from Virgin Money. The KEVI sixth formers led a series of practical investigation tasks designed to find out who stole a rugby trophy from the school trophy cabinet. This involved conducting a series of tests on pieces of evidence left at the crime scene, including paint scrapings and foot prints. The Virgin Money STEM Ambassadors delivered a session about coding and cyber security, which have particular relevance in the financial sector. Year 8 students also took part in a special maths problem solving session and workshop about healthy lifestyles.
