Science Week

Every year we celebrate Science week in November where all our pupils participate in a range of Science related activities.  

This is What we did for this years Science week.

All classes were very busy throughout science week this year (November 13th-17th). A huge variety of experiments and STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) activities were undertaken by each class. We even got involved in some virtual workshops,

Our infants investigated floating and sinking and also investigated what was best material to make a new coat for Owly their class puppet. 1st Class did lots of experiments to investigate sinking and floating, electricity, static electricity and heat.

During science week some of our classes also became engineers, our third class used their engineering skills to design and launch their own NASA space rockets. They investigated rocket building and physics. They watched a video from a NASA astronaut who explained how rockets work and the reason behind a rocket's pointy nose. They then put their engineering skills to the test and made and tested their own rockets. They measured the nose of each rocket and investigating which rockets flew the farthest when launched.

2nd Class designed their own parachutes and got the opportunity to see if they would work. Luckily for us it was a nice breezy day and we discovered that our parachutes worked perfectly. They also started on our journey with Picker Pals. This is a programme focussed on keeping our environment clean with lots of learning and fun included. They started with a Zoom meeting which explained all about the programme and then they did their first task which was picking up all the litter in the yard. We will have lots of other tasks to complete over the course of the year.

Our fourth class became researchers and researched famous scientists and presented some interesting facts to the class. They also all took the leadership and became teaching scientists for the day on Friday. Everyone showcased and modelled different experiments sharing their scientific knowledge with their classmates. A wide range of experiments were demonstrated from static electricity, learning about our senses, making volcanoes,Ooblec, Lava Lamps, Magnetic Powered Vehicle, Rainbow Skittles, Floating Ink Drawings etc. They also discussed the possible changes that could be made if carrying out these experiments in the future.

Our 6th class also invited our junior and senior infants to come and see their experiments. Our infants had great fun being shown a range of different experiments. Click here to see video of great range of experiments that were showcased.

Coding Workshop

As Part of Galway Science Week 5th Class took part in a coding workshop provided by Corrib Kids. The children used Microsoft Make Code Arcade to code a simple computer game. They designed a 2D game where they designed their own characters and built their own world. They learned how to add sound, characters and instructions to their games in order to create authentic and interesting chase games. They thoroughly enjoyed our session.

Fantastic DNA in a box

In association with Galway Science Week, our 6th class took part in the ‘Fantastic DNA in a Box’ workshop where they became 'Cell Explorers' as they experimented with DNA. Thank you to NUIG for sending us out the equipment and resources to carry out the experiment in our classroom.

They used a banana to extract DNA by breaking down the cell membrane to release the DNA. They did this by adding liquid soap, saline and ethanol at different stages.

They all got to bring home DNA in small tube! They thoroughly enjoyed carrying out the experiment and really felt like scientists.

6th class shared the knowledge they had learned and their findings with our 5th class and also demonstrated how to do the experiment to them,

SFI Virtual Science Show

4th Class enjoyed the Science Foundation of Ireland (SFI) Virtual Science Show where they witnessed a selection of experiments including a pedal powered car race and circuits. The scientists spoke about the importance of trying and testing and never giving up when it comes to science. They also discussed how we use science in our everyday lives

Teagasc Microbial Experiment

As part of Science week, 6th class were so fortunate to have been sent out a science research pack from Teagasc. The experiment explored microbial grown on different surfaces. Pupils each had a petri dish with agar and a swab and used it to test different surfaces around the school i.e. tables, door handles, printer and lots more. After a few days, they could see growth on the petri dish - some more than others. They were very surprised at some of the results. It was very interesting to investigate and they all enjoyed being real scientists for the day.

Thank you to Claire Madden in Teagasc for sending out the packs to us.

It was certainly a busy week full of demonstrations, experiments, and fun to mark ‘Science Week 2023.’ We are already looking forward to next year. Visit our class pages on our school website to see some pictures of what we got to on during science week.