10 November 2011
In November Year 6 had a visit from Science Oxford. They ran workshops on the theme of Forces. The day began with an interactive show, Joining Forces.
A whistle-stop tour of forces and motion, involving demonstrations linked to magnetism, gravity, air resistance, friction, pushes & pulls, and measuring forces.
The pupils took part in experiments to show Newton's Laws of motion and were able to develop and review their knowledge and understanding about the topic.
This was followed by the egg drop challenge.
Here the pupils were provided with a limited supply of materials to design a means of protecting a raw egg when dropped from a height of over 3m. The boys displayed good team work and a competitive spirit. A good number of eggs survived the drop showing that the boys had put their knowledge of air resistance and gravity to good use. The afternoon activity involved a vast amount of KNEX; the boys were given the task of designing cars powered by an elastic band or motor to complete various challenges. The boys were engrossed in this and kept testing and redesigning their models to achieve the challenge. It was a very successful day; the boys enjoyed themselves while reinforcing their understanding of forces. It also developed their ability to work cooperatively in teams and consider each other's ideas.
