Step One – Science

Materials – Materials and Change

Energy and Forces – Heat

Junior Infants

During Science Week, the children had the ultimate challenge of holding on to a chocolate button (instead of eating it!). We held the chocolate button in our hands while teacher read a poem to us which was all about chocolate too! We guessed what might happen to the chocolate in our hand. Would it still look the same? How might it be different? The children were shocked to discover how quickly the chocolate button had melted – but this certainly didn’t stop them from having a morning treat!!

Environmental Awareness and Care – Investigation

Environmental Awareness – Caring for the environment

Here are pictures of the boys and girls composting and replanting flower boxes to enhance the front of our school.

Science Week 2020 3rd and 4th Class

3rd and 4th class experimented with acids and bases to create a volcano (using vinegar). They also discovered that water and oil don’t mix when making their own lava lamps.

Experiments included:

Growing crystals

Paper helicopters

Bubbling magic potion (volcanoes)

Outdoor rockets

Materials – Investigation

Materials and change
-investigate how materials may be changed by mixing

https://www.stem.org.uk/system/files/elibrary-resources/legacy_files_migrated/22808-08_growing%20crystals.pdf

GROWING CRYSTALS ACTIVITY SHEET GROWING CRYSTALS IDEAS TO INVESTIGATE

• Find out about the different shapes crystals can be.

• Look at some sugar under a magnifying glass.

• Draw the shape of the crystals.

1. Fill a jar with warm water from a kettle.

2. Add several teaspoons of salt to the water and stir until all the salt has dissolved.

3. Add several more teaspoons and stir. Repeat this until no more salt will dissolve.

4. Tie a paper clip onto the end of a piece of cotton and wrap the cotton around a straw. Bend down the ends of the straw and secure over the jar with an elastic band as shown in the diagram.

5. Put your growing crystal solution to one side and look again in a week. You should see crystals growing around the paper clip .

Living things – Investigation:

The boys and girls, planted and grew cress seeds. They worked in groups to decorate the pots, so when the cress grows they will look like mini monsters with funny hair! The children have watered and taken care of their cress plants every day.

Take a look at our pictures of our cress seeds on the day they were planted and one week later – they have grown so much already!

Senior infants and first class:

Science week:

The boys and girls in senior infants and first class had lots of fun during Science week 2020. We carried out lots of experiments and investigations, including:

Floating and sinking: We tested a leaf, a paperclip, a pencil, a pipe cleaner, a stone, a coin, a maths cube and a pompom.

Making high and low sounds: We learned that the more water in the glass, the lower the sound and the less water in the glass the higher the sound. The children had fun making music during this experiment!

Our five senses: The boys and girls learned how important our senses are and we tested our senses with some fun experiments.

Light sources: We investigated the different sources of light.

Nature walk: We went on a nature walk around the school grounds. We learned about the trees and the different parts of a tree: roots, trunk, branches, leaves, buds etc. The children collected leaves and used them for leaf printing in art.

Energy and Forces – Magnetism

Junior Infants

The children enjoyed investigating how the magnets pushed and pulled the paperclips through the paint. Sometimes, the paperclip got stuck in the paint. We discovered that by moving the paperclip in the opposite direction again, we could continue our investigation!

Environmental Project – STEM Skills

3rd and 4th Class

As part of Tree Week, the children learnt about the different types of native Irish trees. They went on a nature walk around the school grounds to see how many they could find. The children also learnt about types of wild plants, discovering several examples on the school grounds also.

They brainstormed questions about Irish Trees, and then investigated the answers using books and ICT resources.

The boys and girls created Art exploring trees in different seasons. We discussed the importance of trees for the environment – providing habitats, cleaning the air and even reducing stress!

Following on from Tree Week, the children celebrated Earth Day. Have a look at their amazing work!