The children in 5th and 6th class have been busy developing their STEM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) by building Mindstorm and Vex robotics kits.
Category Archives: Science
Space Week
Today we Joined Mark ~ the Science Guy and special guest, Dr. Norah Patten, for a LIVE Q&A as part of WORLD SPACE WEEK 2020.
Thanks to @MarkLangtry and @SpaceNorah for an inspiring discussion. We were delighted to hear our school called out when one of our questions was answered.
Pizza Time
It’s been a fantastic first month back to school at Togher N.S. We have received another Science Award, we have some wonderful new sports and robotics equipment and some of our children will receive their First Holy Communion this weekend. It was definitely time for some well deserved pizza.
VEX Robotics
As part of our School Excellence – Digital initiative we have started exploring our new VEX Robotics kits. VEX offers our pupils a rich and exciting platform to immerse themselves in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) through the fun of building robots.
Scratch
Togher N.S. is a lead school in the School Excellence – Digital Initiative. This additional funding allows us to further enhance our use of I.C.T. and deliver the best educational experience for our pupils through information and computer technology.
Scratch is an excellent, engaging and fun environment for learning some fairly advanced mathematical concepts and the basics of computer science too. Scratch is deceptively simple with its palette of brightly coloured blocks. The thing about Scratch programming though is that you can do amazing things when you combine the blocks in interesting ways. As children progress they are able to use Scratch in more and more advanced ways. Scratch has a low floor, but a high ceiling.
Scratch programming allows children to use computers to express their creative ideas and solve practical problems and empowers children to be digital makers not just digital users.
Did I mention that it was engaging and fun?
Scruffy’s Pet Store
The younger children really enjoyed the visit of Scruffy’s Pet Store to Togher N.S. The children were delighted to meet and learn about wonderful animals and reptiles that were brought to the school.
Scruffy’s Pet Store and Reptile Centre
We were delighted to welcome Scruffy’s Pet Store to Togher N.S. The children were fascinated by the by the wonderful animals and reptiles that they got to meet and learn about.
Carrigdangan Wind Farm
We were delighted to visit Carrigdangan Wind Farm. Mr. David Egan the Senior Operations Manager explained how the wind farm and sub station operated and how the electricity was generated and added to the national grid. The children enjoyed the walk through the wind farm and the opportunity to see the inside of one of the turbines.
The Science of Lift
The children in 3rd and 4th class have been learning about The Wright Brothers and the first powered and sustained heavier than air flight in 1903. The children discovered that the brothers completed many experiments with different wing shapes and that they used a wind tunnel to study the effectiveness of these wing shapes.
As a science experiment the children have tested different wing shapes to discover which wing shape creates the greatest lift. After a number of failed efforts our latest wing shape was ready for testing in our wind tunnel (a piece of string and an old hairdryer) The children were delighted to finally see wing lift in action.
Dancing Raisins
The children in Miss Daly’s class really enjoyed their latest science experiment, They loved watching the raisins dance in the soda as the bubbles attached to the raisins and lifted them up.
The Science behind The Dancing Raisins: When the raisins are dropped into the soda they sink to the bottom of the glass because they are more dense than the soda. But the carbonated soda releases carbon dioxide bubbles and these bubbles love to attach to the rough surface of the raisins. They act like tiny floatation devices that lift the raisin to the surface of the water. This is due to an increase in buoyancy.
Once the carbon dioxide bubbles reach the surface of the soda they pop and the gas is released into the air. This makes the raisin lose buoyancy and fall back down to the bottom of the glass.
This continues until all of the carbon dioxide has escaped and the soda is flat.
