November 13^th – 17^th saw the classrooms in Ballyconnell NS transform into laboratories! Science week is always an enjoyable week for children where they to explore various things, ask many questions and make discoveries.

Here are some pictures from within the various classes during Science Week 2023. Take a look at what we were learning about.

 

Junior Infants (Floating and Sinking)

 

Junior Infants (Skittles Experiment)

 

Senior Infants

We focused on energy and forces and we designed and made different types of shakers using 3 different materials:

• Dried peas
• Sugar
• Coins

We had so much fun exploring the different types sounds that these different materials made in an empty plastic bottle.

First of all, we predicted which ones would make a soft sound and which ones would make a loud sound. We then made the shakers one by one in groups. Finally, we carried out the experiment and each group made the 3 different types of shakers. We then discussed which shaker made the loudest sound i.e. coins and then which shaker made the softest sound i.e. sugar. We also discussed the changes we would make if we were to do the experiment again i.e., would less coins have made a difference or more dried peas. We took photos of the different groups with their shakers before the children left them on the investigation table. The children thoroughly enjoyed the experiment.

 

1st Class

We had a super time carrying out experiments and learning about different scientists during Science week!

We explored colours using skittles.

We made our own lava lamps.

We engineered structures with spaghetti and marshmallows.

We explored hearing and vibrations using our voices and cling film.

 

5^th Class (Creating Tin Foil Towers)

 

6^th Class

We undertook a variety of investigations this week!

Our first STEM Challenge was to create the tallest, free-standing structure possible from just 1m of tin foil. The key point here was that the structure had to stand by itself – no props! We focused on planning out what we would do before we started. We then created our structures and tested them to ensure they were free-standing. We compared all the towers! Each group spoke about what worked well, what didn’t and what they would change should we repeat the task.

“Crushing Columns”: The next investigation we carried out was based on columns/pillars. We thought about where pillars are used and the shape of pillars we have seen. The material they are made from was also spoke about. 6th class were quick to point out that the material the pillar or column is made from along with how broad it is will determine how strong it will be. We then set out to test which shape would be the strongest. We made predictions and then tested the columns for which could withstand the most weight.

6^th Class were very keen to get set with crushing and recording how many books each column shape could hold – So Ms Dagg missed capturing any photos from this investigation!! Every group recorded what each column could carry before collapsing. Our discussions revealed that our results varied from group to group and we thought about reasons why this might have been the case.

As 6^th Class were learning about Wind, we completed a STEAM task to make wind powered vehicles. We set ourselves the challenge to use recyclable materials from our homes (along with some Lego wheels!) to make a vehicle capable of travelling 1m when powered by wind. 6^th class really enjoyed this! Take a look at all the engineers as they put their vehicles together.

Once all the cars were made and lined up, we marked out a 1m section on the floor in the classroom to test if they could travel 1m or not when wind was applied. Despite the odd wheel falling off the wagon, a quick trip to the pits for repair meant that the vehicles were successful in making their journey.

The final step was for each of the engineers to take to the “Engineer’s Chair” to tell us about their creation. Some things that we learned from each other during this evaluation phase included:

• What was used to make the car
• Was it too heavy or was it light enough to travel in wind
• Did the shape help the car to travel
• We learned words such as aerodynamic and resistance caused by air
• If the car was successful in making the journey
• What we would change if we were doing this task again