British Science Week
Science week is an annual event at Pattison College which encourages the pupils to think about how Science, technology, engineering and maths relate to our everyday lives – whilst engaging pupils with this core subject and having fun!
Each year group have carried out lots of exciting science investigations, such as extracting copper metal from its ore as well as sending fizzy rockets up into space! All pupils have taken part in science workshops as well as watching the Science Show! We have also encouraged our pupils to create and present a Science project on the theme of this year’s Science Week – Journeys!
Please have a look at some of the pictures from this week to see just how fantastic Pattison College’s Science Week has been!
On Monday 11 March Pupils in were introduced to the theme of this year’s Science week of Journeys. We looked at the journey of a rocket from Earth into space. Pupils designed their own rockets and launched them too. To make a rocket fly upwards into Space, we need a force in the opposite direction that is strong enough to propel it upwards. For the fizzy rocket experiment we used half an effervescent tablet as rocket fuel. Pupils placed the effervescent tablet into a film canister half filled with water with a cap. As gas (carbon dioxide) built up inside the container, the pressure
increased until the lid popped open, with the water firing out the container pushing it further, just like gases coming out of a real rocket. Pupils thoroughly enjoyed their experience and pupils from the prep school were also invited to have a go and watch the “Whoosh” bottle demonstration.
Whoosh bottle rocket demonstration was a reaction between a mixture of propanol (an alcohol), used as fuel, and air in a large polycarbonate bottle. This resulted in a rapid combustion reaction, accompanied by a dramatic “whoosh” sound and flames, this demonstrated a large amount of chemical energy released in the combustion of fuels. On Tuesday 12 March we welcomed engineers from MTC (Manufacturing & Technology Centre) into Pattison College to host coding science workshops for Year 7-10 pupils, as well as sharing their journeys into their engineering careers. It was informative and fun, pupils enjoyed the challenge of travelling into space and animating their own video using the ‘Scratch’ programme and were challenged to be creative. Pupils involved themselves fully and if you would like to them to keep using code club, it’s completely free, please visit https://codeclub.org/en/ for more details.
On Wednesday 13 March the Science room was transformed ready for the lunch time Science show! With various members of staff allowing their hands to be set alight using methane bubbles.Whilst the senior pupils were enjoying their Science Show, Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils had an exciting day at
Warwick Castle’s Medieval Science Day. As well as exploring the Kingmaker, Time Tower and other attractions, pupils attended the brand new Mad Science “Brilliant Birds” workshop. They learned how Birds fly, how they stay in the sky, how their wings work as well as learning about aerodynamics and Bernoullis theory of flight. The day ended with a Birds of Prey show.
Friday 15 March Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils visited the Big Bang fair at the NEC. They enjoyed taking part in various activities. Pupils’ feedback on the day has been positive. We look forward to Science week again next year.
British Science Week is run by the British Science Association with the aim of encouraging a series of events and activities celebrating science to take place across the country for all ages to enjoy.
