Harrodian Science Week brings real life excitement and engagement to Prep pupils studying STEM subjects
At the heart of British Science Week, which takes place across the UK in mid March every year, is the desire to bring Chemistry, Physics and Biology out of school labs and classrooms and to reveal its relevance, power and fun in people’s lives.
Harrodian teachers and pupils don’t need to be asked twice to enjoy their science. Last week, pupils in every Prep age group cheerfully threw themselves into activities intended to test their ability to investigate practical questions on building or engineering projects.
The 8s (above) rose impressively to the challenge of constructing robust structures using the unlikely combination of dry spaghetti and marshmallows as building materials.
The 9s got their heads round the tricky task of building working cranes out of everyday household bits and pieces, (above).
And the 10s relished their challenge of creating parachutes or cushioning and shock-absorbing cases to protect an egg from breaking when dropped from an upper-storey window.
Meanwhile, the 11s were working on individual projects that asked each of them to come up with a hypothesis, to build and test the idea and then to demonstrate the results to visitors to their own special Science Fair in the School Theatre. Some of the prizewinning ideas selected by teachers are shown below.
12s Overall winner: Atticus - How clean is your commute?
12s Science teacher's choice: Fiona - How reliable is eyewitness testimony?
11s Presentation award: Lyra - DNA extraction in plant and animal cells.
11s Science teacher's choice: Sasha - What affects the amount of un-popped popcorn?
11s Presentation award: Otta - Does sugar affect the size of Boo Bubbles