Science

Katie from Science Buddies worked with year 6 and we dissected lambs hearts. It was fascinating: we got to pull heart strings, feel the weight of a heart, see the actual shape, observe fatty deposits and see where the valves were. Heart dissecting was fun but there were a few of us who were a little queasier than others. In contrast, the hands on science really allowed some of us, as you can see in the photos, to have a good explore and perhaps there will be a few heart surgeons or butchers amongst us in the future…

We had a great time with Katie from Science Buddies. We discussed habitats and then completed an experiment to find out which habitat a woodlouse preferred. We found out that it preferred a dark, damp home. We met Einstein the African Snail.

This week, Year 3 had a visit from Katie from Science Buddies. We made predictions and investigated how shadows can be changed. First, we investigated whether we could make shadows smaller or larger then we investigated whether we could change the shape and colour of a shadow. We found that a shadow can be made smaller when the object is further away from the light source and the shadow is bigger when it is closer to the light source. We found that the shape and colour of the shadow could not be changed.

As a year group we visited Dogger Bank which is North East England’s offshore wind cluster. We learned about how companies such as Equinor are working hard to revolutionise renewable energy with wind farms using the awesome power of the North Sea wind. It was very interesting and aspirational too with lots of children learning about a range of jobs and company benefits in this industry. This trip linked well to our Geography topic ‘Energy’ but also with STEM too.

Science Council voted on a science week visitor to wow us with some science linked to adaptation and change and it was ZooLab who topped the voting pole. Rob visited and brought in a tarantula (typically from the desert), a giant snail (rainforest habitat), a snake (grassland habitat), rats and cockroaches. We learned about lots of different characteristics which the different animals have that help them survive where they live. We got to hold/ stroke them if we wanted to and had a brilliant time.

As part of Science Week, Year 6 visited Nissan where we had a brilliant time learning about Nissan’s manufacturing of cars, the plant itself and careers. We worked in pairs to be creative and design our own Lego cars. We also worked as part of a larger team that imitated a production line, creating cars and completing checks: we learned how to work more efficiently and all increased our production rates. On the factory floor, we saw operational robots and then got hands on with stations that allowed us to experience drills, screwing, assembling, dent management and so on. It was an eye-opening day out which left lots of us inspired by apprenticeships and jobs in this industry.

As part of British Science Week Mrs Givens worked with children in Years 4,5 and 6 on The Fatberg Experiment. Ask your children what this was about?