Pupils at Prae Wood took part in Science Week, 2024, the key theme for which this year was 'TIME'. Children participated in lots of activities to investigate this such as ways to measure time; how shadows move and change; how apples react when cut and exposed to air; how food grows from bean to shoot to plant; the life cycle of a caterpillar and even how jelly setting can be affected by enzymes!

Alongside this, we welcomed some fantastic speakers from our parent body who delivered presentations on many diverse topics including how our bodies work; what we can eat to stay healthy; building services engineering; what vets do; environmental planning, climate change and sustainability; design and invention; DNA extraction from strawberries and even all about the Mars Rover and what we need to consider to send a robot so far away!!

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NURSERY

We have taken part in lots of fun activities for Science Week. We have planted some runner beans and talked about shadows. We also have some caterpillars in the class so we also talked about the life cycle of a caterpillar. 

We have had a visit from a doctor and a nutritionist. We had to decide where we needed to put the different fruit and vegetable cards on the rainbow. 

YEAR 1

We have had lots of fun immersing ourselves in Science this week. We started the week with a really interesting talk from Mr Coles all about the Mars Rover. We learnt that Mars is a long way from Earth and there are lots of things to consider if you want to send a robot there!

On Tuesday we had a visit from Dr Bhalsod and learnt all about the different parts of our bodies. We found out how doctors check people's hearts and lungs too!

In Science we have been using our sense of taste to sample different varieties of apples. We carried out observations to identify how they were the same or different and have been recording how they change over time. we have already seen that they start to go brown and wrinkly once they have been cut open.

YEAR 2

We created posters about the British Science Week theme TIME. We thought about how we measure time, what we do in our spare time and other representations.

Year 3

In Science lessons this week Larch and Hawthorn class were trying to find hidden nature out on our school grounds...

We welcomed visiting speaker, Mrs Wood and learned about her job, which involves understanding about climate change and sustainable living. She is involved in projects around the UK and the world. She explained the effects of development on people and the natural environment. The children were then asked to design a 'net zero' community. They came up with some fabulous ideas such as bicycle buses and solar-powered cars!

YEAR 4

We investigated how fruit affects the setting of jelly and the children were surprised how the enzymes in pineapple stop the jelly from setting completely!

Mr Page talked to us about building services engineering. We found it really fascinating and have had some amazing ideas about future classrooms!!

Year 5

Year 5 took part in a Pendulum Timer investigation exploring different ways to reduce the time it takes for a pendulum to stop swinging. The children asked questions such as: 

Does it make a difference if I change the weight on the pendulum? 

What effect does changing the length of the string have?

What happens when I attach card of different sizes to the pendulum? 

We had a visit from Duncan Foster-Fitzsimons, who is a mechanical engineer and product designer.  He showed us some different products that he has designed and invented such as a foldable wheelchair and a water bottle which counts how many times you refill it as well as the process from coming up with the idea , building prototypes, experimenting using 3D printing and then on to being made in a factory. The children were fascinated and we’re hoping they will become inventors, designers and engineers of the future!

Year 6

This week Year 6 have had a fantastic week learning about lots of different areas of science. First, after a school assembly about AI Robotics, Year 6 were lucky enough to have an extended Q&A session with Andrew to find out more. They discussed the future of space travel and the impact AI will have on this. On Wednesday, Year 6 thought about farming in the future. They looked at the use drones and robots to make farming more efficient as well as how to maximize space and resources. Finally, on Friday Year 6 had the pleasure learn how to extract the DNA from strawberries. They were even able to take home the DNA they extracted!

BIG PLASTIC COUNT

As part of Science Week, Prae Wood families were invited to take part in THE BIG PLASTIC COUNT, where households record how much plastic waste they produce over the course of a week. It is run annually by Greenpeace and Everyday Plastic. Pupils enjoyed an assembly all about plastic waste and the importance of reducing it, along with information about just which types of plastic can be recycled and which go to landfill. We also learned that Greenpeace count's the UK's plastic waste recycling at just 12%, as not all plastic that is sent overseas in recycled. By taking part in the count, pupils understand the need to keep pressure to see positive change.