St Edward's NS

Tag: science week (Page 1 of 2)

The Ark-November

19/12/2022 /

 

We were so busy in the Ark in November that I forgot to add my blog post! We were super busy during Science week. We worked with Beebots (see previous Beebots post) and also made our own Lava lamps in class using water, food coloring, oil and an Alka Seltzer tablet. It was fun to watch the oil and bubbles turn into a Lava Lamp like the one I have on my table.

Our theme this month was Owls and we learned lots of interesting Owl facts and read the story Owl Babies. We made some lovely Art and finished off the theme with some procedural writing and making Owl Toast. Once we finished up in the kitchen, we tidied up and made sure the kitchen was ready for the next class to use.

The children in the Ark were also busy intergrating back into their mainstream class this month and they also managed to get some down time on the swings and outside in the sun for a spot of tennis!

All in all, a very busy and fun month!

Science Week 2022 – The Bewitched Egg

14/11/2022 /

This week in Ireland it is Science Week 2022. During Science we will be exploring and experimenting in our role as scientists learning new facts about the world around us.

Today, we did an experiment called ‘The Bewitched Egg’.

  1. First we made predictions (taking a guess) as to whether an egg would float or sink in a glass of water.
  2. Next we filled a glass of water, popped in the egg and it sank to the bottom.
  3. After that we added three spoons of salt to the water and mixed it up until all the salt had dissolved.
  4. Then we predicted again whether the egg would float or sink in the salty water.
  5. Finally we popped in the egg, and guess what – it floated!!!

Here’s why: when you add salt to the water, you increase the density of the water by adding more mass in the same volume of water. The density of the water becomes higher than the egg and so the egg floats.

We then did the experiment again with a carrot and potato slice. Some predicted at first that the vegetables would float in plain water as they felt lighter than the egg and were surprised to see them sink. After adding salt, the vegetables floated too! Overall water density was higher with salt added.

Science Week in Second Class

30/11/2021 /

Science Week activities took place in Room 10 during the week of the 8th November and what an exciting week it was!

We kicked off the week by doing some coding using the iPads. We used the programme Kodable. We played different games to learn the concept of coding. We even built our own games and mazes. It was a really fun way to learn coding.

We went in search of some horse chestnuts conkers and brought them back to the classroom to plant.

And we saved the best until last… The experiment. We did an experiment called ‘Fizzy Balloons’.

We put 100ml of vinegar into a plastic bottle. Then we added some food colouring. Next, we put baking soda into a balloon using a funnel and attached it to the top of the bottle. We then tipped the baking soda into the vinegar and watched the balloons blow up by themselves.

The Science: The baking soda and vinegar reacted with each other and produced a carbon dioxide gas. This gas is what blows up the balloon.

Warning: make sure the balloon is attached to the bottle properly or you may have an explosion like we did!!

 

 

 

The Ark-November 2020

06/12/2020 /

Hi Everyone!

We all came back from mid-term break, happy and rested and ready for some fun and of course lots of work!

 

We loved being outside in the sun, when it wasn’t raining and loved splashing around in the big puddles.

 

 

We really enjoyed playing with bubbles  and using the wind as well as ourselves to make bubbles float around the yard.

We also had so much fun riding our new bicycles and playing with our new tennis rackets that was donated to the Ark.

Thank you to Jamie and Hazel Feeney for the rackets and Ms Kivlelan and Ms Browne and Johnny for the new bikes. We will have so much fun with them.

It was Science Week so we decided to do some experiments during Action Autism Time (The Bucket). We decided to do the Skittles Rainbow Science Experiment and  Fizzing Colours! A Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment (Thank you for the inspiration Ms Walsh!) The children  take their jobs as junior scientists very seriously in the Ark and watched quietly as teacher explained the ingredients and the experiment and was amazed with the finished results!

Fizzing Colours! A Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment:

Skittles Rainbow Science Experiment:

We had one last birthday to celebrate this year, Happy Birthday to John! Caitlín very kindly presented a yummy chocolate cake to John and we all sang Happy Birthday.

Here’s hoping for a nice, relaxing December!

Bye bye,

from everyone in the Ark.

Science Week in Senior Infants

01/12/2020 /

For science week, we had great fun in Senior Infants making experiments and using Beebots in our classroom. Please have a look at our video and below we will explain what we did in our experiments.

Experiment Title: Volcano.

Strand & Strand Unit: Materials & Change.

Equipment needed: Cups, tissue, vinegar, food colouring, baking soda.

Method: Each group of children gets one cup in the middle of their table. Place the cup on some tissue which will absorb any spillage. Each group gets a small bottle of vinegar. Empty the vinegar into the cup. Place one pipette of food colouring into each cup. Then take one spoon of baking soda and get one child at each table to hold the spoon over the cup. Do a count down and on one, get the child to tip the baking soda into the cup. 

Result: An eruption takes place.

Conclusion: The eruption of bubbles comes from a reaction between the vinegar and the baking soda. The baking soda is a base while the vinegar is an acid. When the base and the acid is mixed, they break down and form a new chemical called carbon dioxide. This builds up pressure in the cup. Since the gas, which is the carbon dioxide, takes up more space than the liquid, the pressure builds up until it has to escape.

Experiment Title: Magic Glove.

Strand & Strand Unit: Materials & Change.

Equipment needed: Cups, gloves, baking soda, vinegar.

Method: Each group of children gets one cup and one glove in the middle of their table. The glove is pre-filled with baking soda. Take a small bottle of vinegar and pour a small amount into each cup. Get the children to carefully stretch the glove over the top of the cup so the fingers are hanging down. One child holds the glove around the sides and another child picks up the fingers of the glove and gently shakes in the baking soda.

Result: The glove inflates.

Conclusion: The eruption of bubbles comes from a reaction between the vinegar and the baking soda. This is the same reaction as the Volcano, however this time, you are catching the gas, which is the Carbon Dioxide inside the glove, causing it to inflate. 

 

 

 

More Science Fun

30/11/2020 /

Bouncy Egg Experiment

  • We began this experiment by placing a raw egg in its shell into a jar and covered it with vinegar
  • We made some predictions about what would happen
  • We checked on it every day and discussed the changes to the egg.
  • After one week, the shell of the egg had become translucent.

Take a look at what happened when we bounced it…

The Science behind this experiment:

The egg becomes bouncy as a result of a chemical reaction between the eggshell and the vinegar.

The vinegar and calcium carbonate of the eggshell are reacting because of the small bubbles that form around the egg when it is placed in the vinegar. These small bubbles are carbon dioxide gas, which are the result of the reaction between calcium carbonate and vinegar.

Once the shell of the egg is gone, all that is left covering the egg is a thin membrane. The vinegar begins working on the egg’s membrane. The vinegar toughens up the membrane of the egg making it bouncy!

 

Science Week in Room 4

30/11/2020 /

We were learning all about our teeth for Science Week.

After learning the correct names of the teeth and their uses, we each made a set of teeth from modelling clay.

We also made elephant toothpaste! 

The Procedure:

  • First, we mixed yeast and water together
  • Next, Ms Kelly poured the hydrogen peroxide into a small bottle
  • Then, we added food colouring and washing up liquid and swished it around a little
  • Finally, we poured the yeast and water mix into the bottle and stood back!

What happened? 

A very impressive and fast chemical reaction! Hydrogen peroxide is made up of hydrogen and oxygen.  In this experiment, yeast is the catalyst that helps release oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide solution. As the peroxide breaks down, the soap that was mixed in will also combine with the water and turn into foam. The oxygen gushing out is what makes the soap bubbles move.

Take a look here:

 

 

Science Week in Junior Infants

13/11/2020 /

This week was Science week all across Ireland. To celebrate it, in junior infants we worked as scientists in part of our Aistear for the week. We were working as creative scientists with paints – using the three primary colours: red, yellow and blue to create some new colours. We found out that:

red + yellow = orange

blue + yellow = green

blue + red = purple

We were also working as robotic scientists as we learned how to use robots called Bee Bots. We learned how to input directions for the Bee Bots to travel forwards, backwards, turn left and right. We used the Bee Bots to play the game snakes and ladders and finding treasure on maps.

We then worked together to do some experiments. We created a rainbow of colours – using skittles and water. We couldn’t believe what happened when we added water to a plate of skittles……it was Magic!

We also worked together to create mini volcanos & watched them erupt…. it was so exciting!

Last but not least, we created an explosion with Diet Coke and Mints…..

It was so much fun being a scientist this week!

 

 

Energy & Forces – Science Week in Room 4

12/01/2020 /

The children in Room 4 were busy during Science week as they showed off their excellent construction and engineering skills. 

Experiment Name: An investigation of speed factors (Lego WeDo Speed Car Test).

Strand: Energy & Forces

Strand Unit: Forces

Equipment needed: 

  • Lego WeDo kits
  • iPads, pencils
  • Lego WeDo Speed car project booklet
  • masking tape
  • timer

Method: First, we built the cars and then programmed them to move. We made our predictions and then put it to the test. We fitted the car with small wheels first and timed how long it took to travel 2 metres. Then we did the exact same test but fitted the car with big wheels this time.

Conclusion: We found that  bigger wheels made the car go faster. We also discovered that the use of a pulley and where it was placed on the wheel also had an effect on the speed of the car.

Ms. Kelly was so impressed with us after she received such positive feedback from other staff who said that we explained our project so well and that we were kind and patient when showing other children how to control the cars.

 

Science Week Room 10

02/12/2019 /

Science Week in St Edward’s was a great week- it always is! We became Scientists in our classrooms, on the school yard and in the Hall with our friends and families.

Room 10  investigated ‘Forces’ and how a hairdryer can keep a ping-pong ball floating in the air.”‘Its just like the astronaut in space” Ms Browne told us and we learned all about gravity and air pressure.

We also investigated how to make a rainbow of colours from sweets and warm water. This was a really lovely science experiment as we got to taste the sweets as we went along!!!! We learned that the warm water draws the sugar from the shell of the sweets. The sugar melts and creates a rainbow of colours.

 

Take a look at the pictures and see for yourselves the fun we had during Science Week and in the hall with our families for Science Week Display Day.

 

 

 

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