Profiles
How we earned our Discover Primary Science Award of Science Excellence
Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh, Cnoc na Cathrach, Gaillimh
The boys and girls of sixth class share the secret of their success with us!
STEP ONE: Activities from the Discover Primary Science classroom pack
We made paper bridges and tested them to see which held the most weight. Folding the paper like a fan spreads the weight and the bridge holds more. We made lighthouses and sometimes the wires needed to be adjusted to work. The same with the electric quiz, but we got them all working in the end.
STEP TWO: Invite a speaker, visit a Discovery Centre
Second class visited Atlantaquaria in Galway and got to handle crabs and other creatures and work in the lab. The Bug show came to our school with three types of bug, cockroaches, tarantulas and millipedes. Some of us held them and we heard about their habitats and where they live in the wild. The cockroach was sticky, the spider was furry and the millipede was very active.
STEP THREE: Displaying our work at a science event
We invited all of our parents to an open day in the school and local second level pupils came with their teacher too. We demonstrated our science expertise and the day went really well.
STEP FOUR: Explorative activities
An Engineer came to our school to tell us about the K'nex challenge. We designed space buggys that had to be able to hold 500 grams. We participated in the K'nex challenge and two of our classes got to the National competition in the Helix in Dublin. We also made our own volcano in class, that was great fun. We also received our Green Flag in April 2004.
What we thought of Discover Primary Science...
Spreagúil- Encouraging/Inspiring
Spraiúil-fun
Oideachasúil-educational
Iontach-brilliant
Cruthaitheach-creative
Taitneamhach-enjoyable
Úsáideach-useful
Spéisiúil-interesting
Praiticiúil-Practical
Thar cionn-superb
Suimiúil-interesting
What our teacher Ms O' Gorman thought...
We registered for the project because we decided at a staff meeting that we wanted to get some practical, child centred experiments up and running in the school. The induction day was very hands-on and the local second level school science teachers have been really helpful to us.
The Principal was very supportive in providing resources and supporting my running a training day for teachers and an open day for parents, both of which were really well received. There was integration with other subjects and the project developed social skills, group work, designing and making and language skills. There was lots of cross over with art and the children learned a lot of science terms as gaeilge. We got a PCSP trainer to assist us with a training day for all teachers.
Each teacher adapted things for their own class. Set up can be a challenge but we worked as a team and it was well worth it. As part of weekly assembly, a class now does a science demonstration for the rest of the school. DPS developed the children's confidence, is relevant to the curriculum and integrates with lots of other subjects. I'd definitely recommend getting involved, children get real hands on learning.
SO GO AHEAD AND GET INVOLVED. YOU'LL ENJOY IT!!!
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