British Science Week, an annual event organised by the British Science Association, is a long-standing tradition at Leighton Park and a popular activity for all our students. Now in its 30th year the 10-day festival of Science provides an opportunity get involved in concepts and experiments outside the curriculum and to spark inspiration for future exploration. The theme for 2024 is ‘Time’ and the LP Science Department were keen to ensure there were a plethora of engaging lessons from 8th to 17th March.
David Hammond, Head of Science enthused: “British Science Week is a wonderful opportunity for us to explore grand concepts on a theme from different angles with specially created lessons for Year 7 to 9 and invites us to contemplate the awe and wonder of the Universe which is breathtaking! It’s amazing how a single word, ‘Time’, can become such a profound and deep exploration of Science.”
The week kicked off on 8th March with a 40-strong trip to London’s Science Museum. Taking students from across the school the group divided into two, the younger pupils headed for the interactive world of ‘Wonderlab’ whilst the older ones visited ‘Power Up’, an exploration of the development of gaming as a global phenomenon.
Head of Physics, Simon Booth, gave the headline Collect on Time for British Science Week. This was a far ranging and interactive Collect which covered how important our sense of time is; that light reaching us from the stars was emitted up to 12 billion earth years ago; and past Simon interacted with our present selves. We were all invited to consider how we can interact positively with our future selves. With a cunning bit of time travel, the Collect concluded bang on time and to a round of applause.
Astronomy & Space Science expert and Physics teacher, Jon Clarke also gave a Collect about ‘Time, Space and Seasons’ and planted the seed that current Years 7 and 8 will see in the news new human expeditions to Moon will happen during their time at LP.
Across the week there were sessions dedicated to British Science Week in Biology, Chemistry and Physics for Year 9s and in Science for our Fryers.
In Physics, pupils investigated the energy changes in rollercoasters by dropping a ball bearing from different heights down pre-prepared ramps. Comparing a straight run with a looped track, they measured the speed of the ball bearing at the bottom of each ramp using a light gate. By drawing graphs of their findings they were able to find out if the loop made a difference to the final speed of the ball bearing and if any energy was lost in the process.
Physics teacher, Nicola Jenkins, enthused, “I think that British Science Week is valuable to students as it gives them a real insight into real world uses of the sciences. How science can be fun as well as interesting. The best way to learn is through play, as you don’t actually realise you are learning. ”
Our young chemists measured the time taken for a reaction to occur and used the data points to solve a conundrum relating to the concentration of two solutions. Our scientists had four concentrations of hydrochloric acid from 0.25 to 2.0 mol/dm3. They knew the data points of the extremes but the 1.5 and 0.5 mol/dm3 had got muddled up! To identify the unknown concentrations of the acids the pairs worked together to mix the acid with sodium thiosulphate and record the time taken to watch the cross disappear. They could then use the data from the extremes to identify the concentrations in the middle.
The Chemistry labs also featured an amazing colour changing centrifugal experiment for the students to observe. The Briggs-Rauscher Oscillating Reaction combines hydrogen peroxide, potassium iodate in sulphuric acid, starch solution and malonic acid with manganese sulphate, in this order, and mixes them on a magnetic stirrer. The liquid turns repeatedly turns from clear to opaque black and back again!
In Biology students investigated heart rate and blood pressure over time, enjoying jumping jacks in the classroom and the chance to test the physical reactions of their bodies. Older students undertook a heart dissection to enhance their understanding of how the heart muscle works to pump blood.
A number of philosophical debates took place across the week with students discussing whether it was better to look after the planet we have or to focus on space exploration in the hope of discovering a new world. Opinions were divided, and often heated, as the pupils were polarised over the topic which centred around the UN global goals and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Students were pleased to try new aspects of their usual subjects and spend time on practical experiments. Akshay (Year 7) commented: “It’s just been a really fun opportunity to explore science more and try to engage more in science for me.” Akshay’s classmate, Poppy agreed, saying: “You can have something different to what you normally do, just experimenting with the freedom to do so, a change for the regular curriculum. Science is probably one of my favourite subjects.” Harun (Year 8) reflected “It was just a very nice interactive practical week!”
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