Pupils in the Juniors enjoyed a fortnight of experiments and STEM learning!
EYFS Challenge Afternoon
The Early Years children had great fun working in small groups to try to build a bridge that could hold a train. They were only allowed to use pasta, spaghetti and playdough. They had great fun and all of the bridges were able to hold the train.
Year 1 and 2 Challenge Afternoon
The children were set the challenge to design and build a boat that would hold some weight (marbles) and float. The winning boat was the one which held the most marbles. They enjoyed the opportunity to work in small groups and get creative, thinking about the best materials they could choose to build a boat. They had a great afternoon and there were many boats that fit the brief and floated whilst holding several marbles.
Year 3 and 4 Challenge Afternoon.
As part of STEM fortnight, Years 3 and 4 embarked on a Goldilocks and the Three Bears chair challenge. The children were spilt into groups and given the resources they needed to come up with a chair large enough for 3 teddy bears. They had to plan their designs first, discussing in their groups the best strategy, working together as a team communicating well. After 45 minutes, their time was up. The children had to present their chairs to the rest of the pupils and make sure the 3 bears could sit comfortably on the chair.
Year 5 and 6 Challenge Afternoon.
The Year 5 and 6 pupils were challenged to help Cinderella to build a timing device so that she could leave the Prince’s Ball on time. The children had to choose the best equipment and materials from a small selection on offer, and then design their timing devices. Many of the groups decided to try and build their own take on a sand timer, whilst a few adventurous groups attempted to create a water or marble timer. This was a great opportunity for the children to learn about the importance of perseverance and resilience in innovation. They discovered that very rarely is an invention designed and created perfectly on the first attempt, instead it generally takes lots of trial and error to create the final, perfect product.
VR Workshop
The children in Year 3-6 took part in a super exciting, interactive virtual reality workshop. They had an amazing time exploring new places, including Mount Everest (Year 3) and Space (Year 5). The children were initially shocked by how strange it was to feel as though they were somewhere else, even though they were still physically at Normanhurst! However, after a few seconds they came to love the feeling of being somewhere else and lots of fun was had by all. They are looking forward to more opportunities to experience virtual reality in the future!
Amelie, in Year 4, said, “I loved it when the lion licked me!” Enis said, “It was so cool and I wanted to have the animals as pets!”
