We really enjoyed Science week in Carrakennedy NS. A full gallery can be viewed by clicking here.
Making the Invisible Visible
All classes enjoyed making a glow in the dark solution. This was used as a germ paste. We spread the paste all over our hands and examined them under UV light. We were amazed how the germs spread so easily. We then gave our hands a quick wash with water and looked at them under the UV light again. The results really proved to us that washing with water alone will not kill the germs. Then we washed our hands using the technique we have learned- palm to palm, dive down, interlock, interlace, thumb one, thumb two, finger tips, finger tips, rinse and then your done! After washing thoroughly we looked at our hands under the UV light again and they were perfectly clean- no germs to be found. We are super handwashers in Carrakennedy NS!
Design a Buoyant Boat
The Junior room also designed boats using márla- these were put to the test in water to see if they would float or sink. Our first attempts needed extra work but we were delighted at how buoyant our boats were. We even managed to get some passengers on board before they sank to the bottom of the sea!! We had great fun making the boats.
Mysterious Microbes
The Senior room also did the Scientific Sue microbes workshop. During this interesting workshop we examined Bacteria- the good, the bad and the ugly. We looked at plaque on our teeth, how germs can multiply. We did a sneeze/cough spatter investigation and concluded that using a tissue, sneezing into your elbow or wearing a mask really reduces the amount of spatter and decreases the spread of bacteria. We also looked at the effectiveness of alcohol sanitiser and understand that in order for it to be effective it needs 70% alcohol and some water. The number of 9’s on the label increases its efficacy. The one we use in school is 99.999%. We compared the Covid-19 pandemic to pandemics of the middle ages. There were lots of similarities but these have all been modernised so much. It was a really great workshop and we really enjoyed it.
Coding
Coding with VEX-VR was a great hit on Thursday in the senior room. We enjoyed making our way out of the wall maze, the castle crash where we had to knock down the towers and the magnet pick up- where we had to retieve magnets and bring them back to home base. Coding is really brilliant for improving our problem solving techniques and will also help with our maths. This is something we hope to work on throughout the year.