Science week assembly
‘Professor van der Ainscow’ started Science Week 2022 with a STEM assembly for the children and staff. Mrs Zastron, our science lead had organised a series of exciting activities to observe and think about.
Ask if your child can remember what the letters of STEM stand for… (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
In the assembly Professor van der Ainscow tried a few experiments. The first was to see how many balloons would be needed to make a bag float. The children considered what might be inside the balloons. Some children said ‘air’, but we talked about a special gas called ‘helium’. Thank you to Emily for being a great helper by adding the first few balloons.
As with any science experiment things can take an unexpected turn… The balloons escaped and floated up to the ceiling in the hall, causing a great deal of excitement! How long will it take for the balloons to come back down? Will they be down by Tuesday? Wednesday?
Next, the children saw a plastic zippy bag filled with water and some pencils. Professor Ainscow explained that the pencils were going to be pushed through the bag of water. What would happen? It was time for the children to make some predictions. Would the bag burst? Would we all get covered in water? Enci and Zara came out to help push very sharp pencils through the plastic bags. The children were all amazed to see that the water stayed in. Why? The science behind it is that the plastic bag is flexible and so could contract around the pencil just enough to keep the water safely inside.
Great science! This week the children will enjoy a wide range of experiments in and outside their classrooms.
