Balloon Challenge

As part of CBS Science Week, the whole school was involved in the Balloon Challenge.  This challenge involved making carbon dioxide using vinegar and baking soda, and trapping the gas in a balloon to find out which class could make the most.  Some people experimented at Science Club,  others in their classrooms.  Finally, on Friday we had the Big Balloon Blow-off to find our winner.

Classroom experiments

Science Club experiments

Bizz! Bang! Pop! was the winning group with a balloon circumference of 42.5 cms.

The Big Balloon Blow-off

Maritime Museum

Most year groups will be visiting the Auckland Maritime Museum as part of our Coastal Capers theme.  Year 3 looked closely at sea life under the Auckland city wharf and in prepared aquariums.  Year 5, on the other hand, will be studying shipwrecks.  All year groups will sail on Auckland harbour and witness how the wind can be harnessed to move a vehicle through the water.

You've been slimed!

We experimented with quantities of PVA glue, water and Borax to make slime.  When we changed the quantity of Borax in the solution, we found that our slime became increasingly bouncy.

What is the capacity of a disposable nappy?

We discovered that disposable nappies contained tiny granules of water sensitive chemical that can hold liquid.  We used the new measuring cylinders for our Science kits to measure the amount of liquid they could hold before they became saturated.  Some classes compared the retention in boys and girls nappies.

Tricky triangles - Maths meets Science

We used force to make triangles of every possible shape. First we marked an elastic band into thirds with a marker pen, and then cut a length of string into thirds, tying one end to each mark on the elastic band.   Remembering force is a push or a pull, we worked in groups of three to pull one end of string to make different shaped triangles.  We knew the elastic shapes were triangles because they all had three sides and three angles.

Science tubs

Science tubs were assembled with equipment and delivered to every class room.

Float the Boats

Heavy rain left puddles under the dome that made an impromptu pool for floating boats.  We fashioned our crafts out of tinfoil and experimented to see how many acorns each one could carry as cargo.

Easter Egg Science

The Science Club carefully cracked open eggs in half and removed the yolk and white (plenty of scrambled egg mixture for the weekend!).  We then very gently wiped the inside of the shells dry and secured a marble with blue tac to the bottom of the large half.  Next we taped the two halves together to make a whole empty egg - but with a twist!  With the heavy marble inside, the egg's centre of gravity was changed.  Now, whenever the egg was pushed over, it rolled around to right itself, as the heaviest part with the marble sat on the desk.

Eggs can fly!

With the aid of a parachute, which caught air in its folds, most eggs floated gently to the ground.