SCIENCE DAY

 World Science Day happens every year on November 10th. It was started as a way of opening up the world of scientific research and discovery to engage everybody in current scientific issue and developments — like artificial intelligence or renewable energy. World Science Day aims to show that — although you may not be a scientist or a researcher — science is all around you and is a part of everybody’s life. By making science more accessible, World Science Day is one way in which science can be used to inspire people to study and participate in it. 

In Nursery we became scientists and researchers. 

PLAY DOUGH CIRCUITS 

Did you know play dough conducts electricity and can be used to make circuits? Play dough contains salt dissolved in water, which conducts electricity.

In our circuit we used a Light Emitting Diode (LED).  Light emitting diodes light up when electricity flows through them (like light bulbs).  They only let electricity flow through them in one direction, so if you put them in the wrong way round, they won’t light up. The children soon discovered this. 

There must be a gap in the play dough, and the circuit is completed by the LEDs. We turned the LEDs on and off using the battery pack. 

We also discovered we could turn the LED's on and off by removing and replacing a wire in the play dough. 

LAVA LAMPS

Lava lamps are a safe, exciting and visual way to introduce chemical reactions and the often tricky concept of density (the oil floats beautifully on top of the water). 

We added food colouring and this mixes with the water. We used some effervescent tablets and watched the bubbles form and float through the oil to the top! 

We have been experimenting with water and oil. First, we used the droppers to put coloured water into the oil. It made bubbles but it didn't mix. The children wanted to add more water. We tried to predict whether the water would float or sink. To make things more interesting we added glitter and some bicarbonate soda, to see if it would fizz. It was very slow to start but it eventually began to move. Some children had the idea to use a timer.