This week’s British Science Week theme was ‘growth’, and we explored this through many exciting experiments and assemblies. 8E spent the first few days of Science Week preparing an exciting assembly for Pre-Prep. We tried to make this assembly fun and engaging for the younger boys whilst still being educational. We were also trying to spark curiosity and a passion for science. This assembly was useful because it created a rare opportunity to meet the Pre-Prep boys and for them to interact with the top of the school. We also discovered that a lighter failing to light is a source of amusement for young children!
A huge well done to Tom Marriott for editing the Pre-Prep Science Week assembly video shown below.
Some of our activities in science lessons included the science of bubbles and structural engineering with spaghetti. We experimented with bubbles by exploring how the walls of bubbles can be strengthened by adding gelatin or sugar to the mixture. We blew bubbles using adapted pipettes and then tried to blow bubbles inside of the existing bubbles. Next, we were set a challenge of structural engineering. We were given twenty pieces of spaghetti, masking tape and string to design and build the tallest tower. The winning team was Oscar, Piers and Euan with a tower that stretched one metre and fifteen centimetres into the air!
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the science department delivered an amazing assembly to the school. In the assembly, we explored the science of flight and gliders. Boys used cardboard to create a flow of air that kept the gliders flying. Dr. Sialvi explained that the design of the wings and difference in air pressure allows planes to generate lift. Then, we saw some magic with flash paper and growing money! Another experiment involved using ribbons to discover the energy transfer between chemical, kinetic and gravitational potential energy, and how energy is transferred from the sun, to plants, to animals and then to humans through the intake of glucose. Our favourite demonstration was the smoke rings; we loved seeing the rings shoot out of the air zooka and flying into the crowd. During the assembly, the entire school was encouraged to interact, ask and answer questions.
This week was about sparking passion for science and discovering how the skills taught in science are transferable to other areas. The week was a huge success and we are very grateful to the science department for organising this great event!
Here are some quotes from other year 8 boys:
“Science week was fantastic! I really enjoyed making an assembly for Pre Prep and inspiring them and showing them some amazing experiments.” Euan
“I really enjoyed the bubble growing experiment as they showed how simple yet beautiful science can be.” Harry
“Presenting a fun, entertaining assembly to the Pre-Prep really helped to inspire them to enjoy science. We learnt how to present effectively, work together and lead a group of young boys. This was enjoyable for us and inspiring for them.” Ben
