Science

Science Week Competitons

Science Week is taking place from Monday 18th - Friday 22nd May. During this time we will be running two competitions. See below for full details.

Sunflower Challenge

While the vibrant, strong sunflower is recognized worldwide for its beauty, it is also an important source of food. Sunflower oil is a valued and healthy vegetable oil and sunflower seeds are enjoyed as a healthy, tasty snack and nutritious ingredient to many foods.

The challenge is for:

• Each class to plant and grow their own giant sunflower.
• Each class will have three pots to plant sunflowers in.
• They will choose the strongest sunflower from their three for planting outside for their challenge. 
• Initially the sunflowers will be kept in grow houses but will then be transferred to beds around the school.
• Each class will be responsible for looking after their sunflowers.
• Each class will be using the same size pots, same type of compost and the same seed type (the Giant Single Sunflower seed).
• Each class will need to plant their sunflowers on Thursday 21st May 2015 and label their pots with class names.
• These pots will be collected across the day and transferred into grow houses.

The whole school will be responsible for looking after the sunflowers while they are growing.

Challenge 2

Grow Your Own Sunflower at Home (only KS2)

Pupils who are interested in growing a sunflower at home, will be provided with some seeds to take home and try the challenge for themselves.

Mad Scientist Competition

When:

Friday 22nd May 2015

What to do:

Come to school dressed up as a Mad Scientist to celebrate the final day of our Science Week

Viscosity

Watch these clips of Year 4 learning about viscosity and see if you can answer the question: What is viscosity?

Solar Eclipse

What is a Solar Eclipse?

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes in front of the Sun causing a shadow to fall on certain portions of the Earth. The eclipse is not seen from every place on Earth, but only from the locations where the shadow falls. From these locations, it appears as if the Sun has gone dark.
 

This essential safety advice has been issued jointly by the Royal Astronomical Society and Society for Popular Astronomy.

(source: BT.com)

1. Never look directly at the Sun.

2. Don’t even look directly at the Sun through sunglasses or dark material, such as a bin liner or photographic negative.

3. Makeshift filters may not screen out the harmful infrared radiation that can burn the retina of the eye.

We cannot over-emphasise the amount of jeopardy your retinas will be in if you try any of these foolhardy viewing methods.

How to stay safe

Here are some of the best safe methods of observing that magical (okay, strictly astronomical) moment when the Moon moves in front of the Sun.

1. Using a mirror.

Cover a small flat mirror with paper that has a small hole cut in it. The hole does not have to be circular but should be no wider than 5mm. A larger hole will produce a brighter but fuzzier image.

Prop up or clamp the mirror so that it reflects the sunlight onto a pale screen or wall, ideally through a window. A projection distance of five metres (16.4 feet) will produce an image of the Sun just over 5cm across.

The eclipse can be seen in the image as the Moon starts to take a “bite” out of the Sun, appearing upside down compared with its position in the sky.

If clouds move across the face of the Sun, they can be seen as well.

The smaller the mirror and further away the wall, the sharper the image will be. Experiment with the distances and mirror size.

Do not look into the mirror during the eclipse as this is just as dangerous as looking directly at the Sun.

A big advantage of this method is that it allows a number of people to watch the eclipse at the same time.

2. The pinhole viewer.

You’ll look odd, but it’s safe

Pinholes allow light through them and can create an image like a lens. Make a small hole in a piece of card using a compass or other sharp-pointed implement. Standing with your back to the Sun, position another white card behind the one with the pinhole so that the Sun projects an image onto it.

An alternative method uses a cereal box or something similar. Make a pinhole in one edge, point it towards the Sun, and a tiny image will be seen projected onto the inside of the box. A piece of white paper or card placed inside will make it easier to see.

Never look through the pinhole at the Sun.

3. Projection from binoculars or a telescope.

Cover one eyepiece of a pair of binoculars with a lens cap and face the “big” end of the binoculars towards the Sun. The uncovered lens will project an image of the Sun that can be cast onto a plain card held about a foot away. Use the focus wheel to sharpen the image.

Ideally, the binoculars should be fastened to a tripod or stand. A cardboard “collar” with holes cut to fit the large lenses will shade the card on which the image is projected.

A small telescope can be used the same way.

4. Colander method.

Take an ordinary kitchen colander and stand with your back to the Sun holding it in one hand and a piece of paper in the other.

The holes in the colander can be used to project multiple eclipse images onto the paper.

5. Eclipse viewing glasses.

Eclipse viewers are being given away free with the Society for Popular Astronomy’s members’ magazine and the BBC’s Sky at Night magazine.

They can also be obtained from www.eclipseglasses.co.uk www.astromediashop.co.uk www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk www.telescopehouse.com and www.amazon.co.uk 

Design an Alien Competition Winners

Well done to everyone that entered the Christmas design an Alien competition. There were so many fantastic entries that we couldn't choose just one winner for each year group!

The competition was judged on the 19th of January by Ms Bashir, Mrs Bathija, Miss Williams, and Mrs Smith. See all the winners and runners up in the photos below.

The Prize

All winners and runners up will be going to a Space Day event at the Science Museum on the 24th of March.

During the trip children will watch an IMAX 3D showing of 'Fly me to the Moon', meet an astronaut and take part in an exploring space workshop!

Check this page for photos of the day

Christmas Science Competition

Design an Alien

What to do - designing your Alien

• Use the teacher given websites and other resources such as books etc. to research Earth and the other planets in the solar system.
• Find out about the environmental factors that make Earth habitable and compare them to another world within our Solar System.
• Use creative thinking to design a 3D alien life form model suited for specific environmental conditions on an extra-terrestrial world within our Solar System.
• Write a fact file (1 A4 Sheet) for your alien. The fact file should include your alien’s: name, gender, age and details about their home planet, habits, likes, dislikes. It should also include a description of what they look like (see template below to help you organise your writing). Your writing must be grammatically correct and neatly presented.
• Make your alien using everyday resources.

Space Websites:

• http://www.kidsastronomy.com/
• http://www.planetsforkids.org/
• http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/do/
• http://gws.ala.org/category/sciences/astronomy-space
• http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/astronomy.html
• http://Iflscience.com
• http://Earth.google.co.uk

(use this to download Google Earth)

Deadline: Tuesday 6th January 2015

Bring your alien model and fact file into school on the first day back after the Christmas holidays and give to your teacher. Happy designing!!!