Scientific Exploration

Over the past three weeks, children have been exploring different scientific concepts: floating and sinking, density and chemical reactions.
One of our baserooms was transformed into a science laboratory. Books around science and famous scientists were on offer. A dark space was created to explore light and dark using torches. Firstly children were encouraged to share what they knew about floating and sinking. they handled a range of objects and predicted whether they thought they would float and sink. They worked in small groups to share their ideas. Then they tested the objects and recorded the results. Children were very confident to share their ideas and hypothesise why they got the results they did. 
Next they investigated volcanoes: again, sharing their knowledge and thoughts and using books and images to inspire them. They created a volcano and set about using chemicals to create a reaction. It was very exciting when the eruption occurred and children used language to describe the reaction. "It flowed everywhere" and "It smelt quite a lot".
Finally density was explored with different "liquids" with food colouring being used to create layer of colour in a tube. This was not a success and some children ended up with a black mixture rather than the rainbow we had predicted! However, the subsequent research and discussion was very valuable and children repeated the experiment with more success.
I will include the website below tomorrow so you can do some kitchen science at home!!!