Science Week Activities in EYFS

During Science Week, the Early Years children had great fun exploring “Normanhurst’s Amazing Toy Machines.” We investigated three fascinating toys, starting with a magnetic Thomas train. It took some time to figure out how it worked, but we soon discovered that magnets were the key. The children were amazed to see Thomas move along the track all by himself!

“I like the way it stays on the track”. – Saxon

“I love it because it makes sounds.”- Penelope

“I like it because it moves and it knows what direction it goes in.”- Shriyan

Inspired by this, we created our own magnetic models. Each child drew a vehicle or animal and attached a magnet to the back. By using another magnet underneath the surface, we were able to guide our creations along the tracks or trails we had drawn on card, it felt just like magic!

The next amazing machine was pull-back cars and we discovered how they work. They found that when the car is pulled backwards, a spring inside stores energy, which is released when the car is let go, causing it to move forward. They investigated how far the cars travelled when pulled back compared to when they were simply pushed, and also explored what happened when they pulled the cars back by different amounts. The children noticed that pulling the car back further made it travel a greater distance, showing their developing understanding of cause and effect and how forces work.

“I like reversing it and letting it go.”- Eddie

“When the spring makes it shoot forward.”- Shivaya

“I like racing them.”- Emilia

The next day, our pit crew sprang into action like a team of engineers preparing for a big race! We revisited our ideas about what makes things move and remembered that our cars stored energy in a spring. This sparked an exciting new challenge: how could we store and use energy to power a boat?

The children teamed up to share their ideas, and Saxon had a brilliant breakthrough, why not use a propeller? From there, our mission was clear: design and build boats powered by elastic band energy!

We set to work creating two different types of boats. The first was crafted from lightweight balsa wood. This involved real woodworking, carefully sanding the wood until it was smooth, before attaching a small propeller that could store energy from a twisted elastic band and then release it to drive the boat forward.

Our second design was bold and inventive: a recycled plastic bottle boat fitted with a much larger, spoon-shaped propeller. The idea was simple, could a bigger propeller mean more power?

With our fleet ready, it was time for the ultimate test! Outside at the water trays, the pit crews launched their boats and watched eagerly. Some of the balsa wood boats struggled to move at first, so we problem-solved by adding extra elastic bands to increase the stored energy. This helped a little, but then came a moment of real excitement…

The plastic bottle boats surged ahead, racing through the water much faster! The children were amazed by the difference and couldn’t stop watching them zoom along.

After all the action, we gathered together to reflect like true scientists. Some children felt disappointed that the smaller boats didn’t perform as well. Shriyan suggested it might be because they were too small, while Saxon pointed out that the larger boats worked better because of their bigger propellers.

The excitement didn’t stop there! Inspired by their discoveries, many of the children wanted to make their own boats at home. They shared a concern about their boats floating away, but quickly came up with a clever solution, why not tie a piece of string to the bottle? This way, they could safely pull their boats back and keep the fun going!

It was a fantastic experiment full of teamwork, creativity, and discovery, and most importantly, the children had an amazing time exploring how energy can make things move!

Our final exciting machine was the “stomp rocket.” We began by examining it and discussing what it was and how it worked. We learned that air is stored in the pump, and when you stomp on it, the air is forced through the tube, launching the rocket into the air. We all had the chance to test it in the playground, which was great fun. We also investigated whether it would travel further when stomping with one foot or jumping with two feet, and we found that it went much farther when we jumped with two feet.

Twyla- “The rocket goes up in the sky.”

Joe- “ We stepped on it and the air came out.”

Avi- “It went really high!”

After this, we explored balloons. We observed what happens when you blow air into them and then let go. We then carried out an experiment where we attached a balloon to a straw, released the air, and watched it move forward along a string. The force of the air escaping from the balloon pushed it forwards.