Junior Scientists Busy making a model of a cloud

Busy Making a Model of a Cloud 

Today our eager junior scientists learnt all about clouds and what happens when too much water gathers and the cloud is a dark grey... 

Science and Literacy

A great example of how science and literacy can be used in the classroom. Great work Room 26. Your information reports are FANTASTIC 

Making bouncy balls

Today at junior science club we explored chemical change by trying to make a bouncy ball. Last week we learnt that PVA glue goes off. So armed with a new batch of glue we tried again and this time we were successful! 

Exploring Air

Room 18 Exploring how air moves and how the changes in the air temperature change how things... move.

Exploring Changes in Matter

Science club this week provided an opportunity to explore changes in matter, we had two types of ice (salt ice and freshwater ice ) We talked about the temperature and how water is still water when it's frozen.... lots of fun was had as we tasted the ice...We also got to use the new thermometers and noticed the salt ice was a little colder than freshwater ice. The salt ice was -1 degrees and the freshwater ice was 0 degrees. 

Exploring Colours

At science club, the budding scientists got to explore colour by making a spinning wheel. 

Colour Mixing Wheel Instructions

Science Roadshow Fun

This year students were chosen by classroom teachers. Students who show an aptitude for science were invited to attend the roadshow. Some students wrote application letters.

This year the science roadshow programme focused on learning about temperature and combustion and the second show was about the characteristics of living things: humans, other animals and plants.

Tree planting at Mangemangeroa Reserve

The first day of winter was (uncharacteristically) gorgeous - sunny and calm, a perfect day for planting at the Mangemangeroa Reserve.  Eco-warriors from Cockle Bay, students from Howick College, Friends of Mangemangeroa, the Gecko Trust NZ, parents and Environmental Services from the Auckland Council all worked together to plant 250 grasses, flaxes and trees.  It is great to see such a sweeping collaboration and Citizen Science in action.  

One of our activities, facilitated by Cate Jessep, the sustainable school adviser from the Auckland Council, was to listen to the sounds of the reserve.  Intermingled in the traffic noise and overhead aeroplanes, was the melodic sounds of tui.  In the future, as our native plantings mature, they will encourage more native birds back into the area. 

If you look carefully, you can see the new plantings follow the fence line.

Fungal Foray 2018

“Where is Mrs Bear these days?” you might be asking yourselves. 

Mrs Bear is still working at Landcare Research – Manaaki Whenua as part of the Science teachers Leadership Programme.   Her latest big venture has been attending the New Zealand Fungal Foray 2018, held in Lake Brenner in the Southern Alps. Scientists from around the world meet to learn more about fungi, and to focus their search to a different location each year, in the hope of finding new species of mushrooms.

                 

Every morning, scientists (65 in all) set out in small groups to forage for fungi in different collection sites around Lake Brenner.  In the afternoon, everyone gathered to identify, examine and verify the finds of the day.  A pop up science lab was set up in the local community hall with banks of microscopes, driers, laptops, camera stations and tables to help with the ID process.  The evening was set aside for further discussion and analysis; there was even a (successful) night hunt for bioluminescent fungi, that glow in the dark.

You have to look closely to find some of the smaller mushrooms.

A tiny selection of some of the mushrooms found near Lake Brenner.

The First Wetland Bioblitz in New Zealand

Click on this link to see what happened on the Bioblitz held recently in the Waikato, that scientists from Landcare Resources were involved in:
The first wetland Bioblitz in New Zealand

A Bioblitz is an event where you conduct an intensive survey of the biological diversity of a particular area over a period of time.  The goal is to count as many species as possible.  It is unique opportunity for scientists, students, teachers and families to experience the array of biodiversity in a particular location.  It is an opportunity for everyone to work together in the same place at the same time on the same project.

Later on Cockle Bay will be having its own Bioblitz in 2019!  We will be finding, identifying and recording all the different bacteria, fungi, insects, spiders, invertebrates, vertebrates, birds, trees and plants we have in our school grounds.  It will be a task for the whole school community, but first, we will have to learn all the scientific skills we need to conduct our own Bioblitz efficiently - watch this space!

Some women Scientists from Landcare Research talk about their work

Landcare Research has more than one hundred women working as scientists and researchers, and women make up about 46% of the company.  To celebrate the United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in Science,  the company has published this video which shows a few of these remarkable women chatting about their roles, why they got into science and what it is like working as a female scientist.  Click on this link to view the video:

Women in Sciences at Landcare Resources

Jessie explains how her love of nature led her into a career in Science.

Where is Mrs Bear?

Mrs Bear is currently participating in the Science Teaching Leadership Programme, and will be working with her host company, Landcare Research/Manaaki Whenua in term 1 and term 2.  She is doing a variety of scientific tasks out in the field or back in the lab - life is very varied at Landcare. 

Mrs Bear is learning how to work like a scientist, so that she can teach everyone at Cockle Bay to work like a scientist using their scientific skills when she comes back to school in term 3.

Here is a small sample to some of the things she has been doing:

Working in the lab

Working in the field

Experimenting to find different ways to investigate things

Sea Week Fun

Science club activities during Sea Week involved a hands-on experience of the fishy kind!

The young and very eager scientists got to use their senses to explore a fish species that looks a little different. Some great vocabulary was used as we noticed the smell, felt the fish and paid close attention to the eyes, gills and scales. Many observations were noted. The next part of this activity is to share some facts about the species …. Watch this space.