Profiles
How we earned our Discover Primary Science Award of Science Excellence
Scoil Caitriona Junior, Renmore, Galway
The boys and girls from senior infants told us about how they earned their Award of Science Excellence.
STEP ONE: Activities from the Discover Primary Science classroom pack
We made rockets out of balloon, tapes and a straw and flew them along a string. We tried it without string and the balloon went everywhere when we let it go. We made helicopters from paper by cutting and folding. We saw what floats and what sinks and that raisins can dance in fizzy drinks.
We tested magnets and saw that some go toward each other and others push apart. They can be strong or weak and we tested them to see what they could pick up. We wanted to see if they could work through cardboard, paper, water and even carpet. We used them to move our boats around. We made snake spirals and melted chocolate to investigate heat. We tried balancing in all sorts of different ways and we tested our senses by exploring how different types of food taste bitter and sweet and making strange sounds.
STEP TWO test: Invite a speaker, visit a Discovery Centre
A scientist called Rachel came and talked to us about dinosaurs, we learned that they have tiny brains, She showed us bones and she had a huge blow up dinosaur that she put in the yard. Another lady came and told us about birds and foxes and worms and who eats what. She had a big ball of string she used to help explain.
STEP THREE: Displaying our work at a science event
We went to the hall with other classes and asked our Mums and Dads to come to the school and we showed them our science work.
STEP FOUR: Explorative activities
We grew radishes, carrots and onions from seed in our classroom. We put caterpillars in a special container made from net and we feed them grass. Their names were Spotty, Shiny, Goldy And Billy. They grew up into butterflies and we let them go. We kept them in a plastic container and fed them grass. Worms live in the muck and we learned that they like the dark.
We looked at bugs in our bug boxes, we picked them up carefully with special tweezers and looked at them under magnifying glasses. We found beetles, spiders, and more than 50 woodlice. Then we let second class look at them and then we let them out.
What our teacher Ms Mc Loughlin thought...
I had an interest in science and went along to the training day. The Principal was already inviting speakers in to the school, like the Armagh Planetarium and was very supportive in providing resources. I found kits and packs useful like the magnet kit and the butterfly and vegetable kits. I adapted a lot of the science for younger classes as I was teaching junior infants.
I found that DPS raised interest among the children in science and appeals to all ability levels. The project is a great starting point and supports the curriculum. I demonstrated some of the Discover Primary Science activities at a staff meeting and then my colleagues worked with me, we split the workload and supported each other.
SO GO AHEAD AND GET INVOLVED. YOU'LL ENJOY IT!!!
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