STEM Visit
This week the children in Years 1 to 6 had a visit from the STEM charity SATRO who run science workshops. They have visited the school before and also helped our ECO Team gain our ECO award for energy saving last year.
Beech Class became expert CSIs to investigate who might have eaten the three bears' porridge! We examined a range of clues to determine who was guilty or not guilty. First, we matched animals to their footprints to figure out who had been inside or outside the bears' house. Then, we analyzed bite marks on the wooden spoon and looked carefully with magnifying glasses to see which animal’s hair matched the evidence slides. We even tested the weight that might have broken a chair to see if it could lead us to the culprit. In the end, our investigation pointed to two suspects who need further questioning—Badger and Goldilocks!
Click here to find out more about Beech Class.
Chestnut Class were very excited for their workshop on how to be healthy. Firstly, the children discussed what it means to be healthy and the things we can do to keep ourselves fit and healthy. The children then split into small groups and played a game of Healthy Foods snap, there was much laughter as cries of SNAP rang around the room. Next the children used an interactive app on iPads to explore the organ systems of the body and took an in-depth 360 degree look at the digestive system. Finally, the children used pulse meters to measure their resting pulse rate and then what their pulse was after 30 seconds of exercise. Chestnut class really enjoyed the workshop. Gavin said, "It was really interesting to find out stuff about our bodies and our pulse".
Click here to find out more about Chestnut Class.
In Oak Class, we were visited by Kirsten and her colleagues from SATRO. She helped us learn all about Charles Darwin, a famous naturalist. We created a timeline of his life and found out that he was so famous he was even one of the faces printed on our modern banknotes! One of the places he went to study was the Galapagos islands, where he discovered a variety of finches – each one had different beaks that had adapted to help them eat their specific food. Each island had its own individual habitat and each species of finch was different in each habitat. We then took part in an experiment to find out why the beaks were different. We simulated the different beaks of the finches with pegs, bulldogs, pliers, tweezers and spoons. The different foods were paperclips, elastic bands, marbles, buttons and plastic lids. We had to act as scientists; we aimed for reliability and consistency in our tests. We discovered that each different beak was best for a different type of food – some beaks hardly picked up any food at all! It was a fun way to start our new science learning for this half-term – we can’t wait to find out more about evolution and inheritance!
Click here to find out more about Oak Class.
