Solids, Liquids, Gases and non - Newtonian fluids

 On Tuesday we added more resources to our tower building challenge and figured out a few things as we went. No matter what materials we used the best constructions were made with triangles. When they didn't work so well we usually found a square or rectangle had been made by mistake. There were some materials which worked with 4 corners but the most efficient use of the materials meant creating triangles.

On Wednesday none of the P6 class were in school so we had a smaller group of P5s on their own. We started with some new strategy games - mancala, blokus and Chinese chequers.

Then we did some activities to explore how solids, liquids and gases behave. We used popcorn to represent the water molecules which slide around each other and managed to make marbles sink and a ping pong ball float as they would in water.

Next we went on to make 'gloop' which is a non- Newtonian liquid.

It behaves like a liquid until pressure is applied to it.

We did some hard thinking about what exactly solid and liquid meant.

Finally we made 'flubber' or 'slime' which is a slightly more solid non-Newtonian liquid.

We accidentally made some too solid and it turned out to act like a rubber ball - it was bouncy!

If you are looking for liquids like this around the house get the ketchup out. This is why you can't get ketchup out of a glass jar easily, and, if you hit the bottom of the jar you are applying pressure so the best way to get it out is to use gravity and just wait!

P5 and P6 get together

Today we got into groups and had an hour to create the costume of Henry VIII or Elizabeth I using newspaper and tape. The results were spectacular. The Henrys looked magnificent and the Elizabeths were very regal. It was interesting thinking about the shapes  that the costumes made and how to recreate these in paper. Many of the costumes were built on spills to give volume and drape.

We went on to try another technology challenge using sticks and marshmallows. Each item cost 5p and we had £1 to spend in each group, though groups could trade with each other... we will modify the task and return to it tomorrow.

All of these resources, the bamboo sticks and newspapers in particular, come at a cost to us and the environment. Not only are the raw materials grown, processed, manufactured and shipped to us but we also have to dispose of them again when we are finished using them... To remind us of how we need to think of the impact our actions have on the environment, and ultimately ourselves, we are watching the movie The Lorax.

Research for our Museum and Open Day

This week we have been reading and researching for our museum display. We will be making info-graphics which will help our visitors interpret and understand the objects in our displays.

We will let everyone know when we are ready for visitors.

Next week we are off to Hoy and we will post and add our own comments about the trip here the following week. 

Second week of cycling and a theatre performance

Working on the foundations for the Ring of Brodgar model.

 This week we have started work on the Ring of Brodgar model.

We went to Stromness Primary School to see the theatre production 'Shopping for Shoes'.

We are into the second week of cycling and we are making good progress!

More information and personal responses in the comments below to come on Monday.

Science, cycling, stones and STEM challenges

This week the Science Festival has brought us two shows. The first was from Dynamic Earth and was all about launching into space and surviving at the space station. We already knew a lot about this but the team made it very funny and we had a chance to reflect on how much we had learned by following Tim Peake's mission.

The girls got a football session which was very successful and gave them a chance to get some skill practice and have some healthy fun. Maybe a few more girls will take it up after this.

 Meanwhile the boys started to get the museum ready. We hope to have a good display of items for visitors to look at. We need to think about interpretation of the objects we are going to display. The boys started to make 'stones' for a model building activity.

The second Science Festival Event was the Science Ceilidh band who explained how we sense sound and how the brain works. As well as playing music they helped us make up dances about eyes and ears sending messages to the brain. We even saw a real brain scan!

The STEM challenge this week was building a tower of plastic cups using only string. It took a while to work out a way of doing this but once the technique was mastered there was no stopping the builders!

Week 1 of cycling was fitted in around the other events. Starting off in the playground and then in the car park everyone practiced signals and looking back to make sure it is safe.

and there is still more to come! This was only Monday and Tuesday!