Third – sixth class pupils attended Life Time Lab in Cork today. This is a very special workshop programme uniquely available to schools in Cork City and County. In the Primary Science Workshops children from 3rd to 6th class explored topics from the SESE Science Curriculum under the guidance of a qualified teacher experienced in the teaching of Primary Science. The 3 1/2 hour workshops were full of hands on practical science activities that encourage discovery.
Una from Lifetime Lab helped us to understand the science of heat. Before we could begin our experiments we learned about working scientifically and the methods and equipment we would use as young scientists. Una told us about sources of heat and how heat is measured.
Next we became familiar with the equipment we would use. We also learned how to conduct a fair test and how to document our results scientifically.
We learned that some materials are good conductors and that some materials are good insulators. This was very effectively demonstrated with hot water bottles and butter.
After all this hard work it was time for a break!
After the break we learned that good insulating materials are both effective at keeping heat energy in and keeping heat energy out. We experimented with ice wrapped in wool and unwrapped ice and found that the unwrapped ice melted much more quickly. We also found out that materials that reflect heat and create air-tightness are also important to prevent heat energy from escaping.
Using what we had learned we experimented with different materials to find the most effective way of insulating a bottle of warm water.
Our experiments were conducted scientifically – and the results were documented and compared.
We finished our day with a quick quiz about all we had learned. We would like to thank Una and the Life-time lab for a wonderful day.