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Knowledge is power | Wellington Science Week powers pupils up

27 Mar 2019
[wellington_wistia]r3qtsuopup[/wellington_wistia] As Dr Debieux rightly said at the beginning of Science Week – Scientia potentia est: knowledge is power. As the theme of this year’s Science Week, this phrase serves as both an invitation and a warning. All of our pupils were invited to expand their knowledge of the scientific world and in the process gain a better understanding of just how practical, relevant and useful such knowledge is in the wider world beyond the laboratory. As for the warning part, the realisation that knowledge is power is a reminder that power needs to be used responsibly and with benign intentions if it’s to benefit society as a whole. From the designing of the wheel to the splitting of the atom, science is a truly powerful force and it needs to be valued and respected accordingly. While these are quite weighty concepts, they certainly didn’t undermine the usual sense of fun, sparked curiosity and ‘wow’ moments that are now well-established elements of Wellington’s annual Science Week. The first three days of the week featured a packed roster of experiments, investigations and science-based challenges suitable for everyone in the Upper Prep and Senior Schools. Pupils threw themselves into making brightly coloured bath bombs, invisible planes, ice candles and much more, before delving into the biological makeup of the Asian bullfrog by conducting dissections. For the Lower Prep school, pupils split off into groups of two or three, with some of the older ones going it alone, to design, prepare, conduct, analyse and present a project of their very own for the school’s science fair. Led by Ms Luker, every Lower Prep pupil chose a topic, aided in their research by online tools of the non-profit organisation ‘Science Buddies’. Every group or individual then produced an outstanding board which conveyed all of the key information to help them present at the individual science fairs of each year group. Stand-out projects include: understanding the distracting nature of screens while driving, assessing the speed of your computer, and the effects of different toys on dogs’ cognitive abilities. All of the projects made for an outstanding series of science fairs, which were well attended by pupils’ parents who aided in the judging part by scanning the individual QR codes for their favourite projects. As for the Pre-Prep School, year 1 had a special visit from Miss Palakrishnan who helped them carry out investigations into the needs of cress seeds and the effect of coloured water on white carnation petals. Year 2 got stuck into designing and constructing their own ‘Big Top’ circus tents, testing various materials to see which had the most suitable qualities. During their music lessons with Mrs Sumerfield, they also investigated how different volumes of liquid affected pitch.  
Spreading the sense of discovery
As in previous years, cross-curricular activities were a big part of Science Week 2019 too. The art department helped pupils explore the connection between the studies of the natural world and its influence on artistic principles, while the English department took the theme of Science Week and explored its darker side in relation to the George Orwell classic, 1984, where the dystopian rulers proclaim that: Ignorance is Strength. Meanwhile, the geography department took pupils through a simulation of the eruption of the volcano of Mt Merapi in Java, Indonesia. Pupils had to make strategic decisions which would influence the effectiveness of the response and the overall outcome, which really showed the difference that knowledge can make in life or death situations!  
Pupils teaching pupils
Also in the growing tradition of Science Week, this year’s event saw Wellington’s sixth formers lending the teachers a hand while showing their passion for scientific discovery along the way. A small core of year 12 volunteers could be seen assisting with many of the sessions, as well as running their own CCAs, as Heather, Leisl and Zehra explain. Heather: The three of us ran a suturing CCA session for the Senior School, which we designed ourselves. We gave our peers latex-based ‘skin’ as well as professional medical kit including scalpels, medical scissors, forceps etc, so they could cut their own ‘injury’ into the stimulated skin and then sew it up. We even had a competition to see who could make the neatest stitches, with the winners getting skittles and M&Ms to reward their steady hands. Creating our own CCA was an amazing experience. The planning part was a big eye-opener – we quickly realised how much preparation goes into every science lesson! We had to plan the activities, consider the safety elements, arrange for the materials to be there. There was an awful lot going on. It was also great to mentor others and watch them enjoy making their own discoveries. Leisl: The ‘Super Science’ CCA was another big highlight this year. We had three stations: lava lamps, slime making and bath bombs. The groups of 10 pupils rotated throughout the hour, so they got to try everything and remained continually absorbed by what they were doing. I think the whole week struck a solid balance between showing the importance of practical knowledge but also having fun. It’s so great that the younger ones can see that science isn’t all just textbooks and theory, there’s also a very hands-on and fun discovery side to it. The bath bombs were the epitome of this; it was messy and exhausting but they loved it! I think that this allowed them to get a much better understanding of how and why the chemical reactions took place, which is such important knowledge for them to take away. Zehra: As well as the CCAs and assisting with the teacher-led sessions, we also helped judge the year 3 Science Fair, which was fantastic to see because they had clearly put so much effort into their projects to make them eye-catching as well as scientifically sound. My personal favourite was a project on the oxidation process on apples with different stimuli; the girl presenting it was clearly so passionate about her experiments and their findings. It was actually quite inspiring to see someone so diligently and enthusiastically pursuing science at such a relatively young age. I think that’s a big part of what makes Science Week special – it ignites a passion for experimenting and learning in pupils of different ages. It’s so important to get people into science early on and show them what a difference it makes. All three of us want to do medicine, so we really feel that the practical side of science is something all pupils need to understand and appreciate.  
Fresh takes on Science Week
Alongside our newer pupils, this year’s Science Week was a first-time event for two of our science department teachers as well. Dr Bache and Mr Kanaan, who joined Wellington at the beginning of this academic year, shared their thoughts on their first experience of the annual event. Dr Bache: It was an absolute pleasure to be part of Science Week. The suturing class was a particular highlight as it was so great to see the ‘med soc girls’ design, plan and run their own CCA so professionally. The polymer chemistry session had a late surge of interest, and I was very impressed with pupils’ steady hands as they pulled out the longest possible threads of nylon from the bonding reagents before wrapping them around a glass rod. Edible chemistry was another big hit, so popular that we had split it between myself and Mr Deva. I really love how Wellington does Science Week; pupils from across the College get to explore so many fun and exciting things without being taken off timetable. Maximum fun, minimum disruption, what’s not to like? Mr Kanaan: Practically every school in the UK does Science Week but its very different here at Wellington. Here we have the freedom, trust and resources necessary to try some very ambitious experiments and activities in a way that just wouldn’t be possible in most schools. I had a great time putting together the cloud chambers this year and I’m already planning next year’s activity around projectile motion – so look forward to building some trebuchets out on the field! It’s fantastic how everyone across the College gets involved in Science Week. The pupils throw themselves into it without hesitation, the science teachers are so enthused to put together something truly memorable, the technicians support us excellently, as do the teachers from other departments with great science-based activities of their own. It’s a wonderful opportunity to show how fun and impressive science can be.  
Wrapping up Science Week 2019
After the first three days of fun-filled discovery, Science Week concluded with a final assembly on Thursday 7th. After a quick recap of the week, pupils from across the year groups demonstrated their scientific talents in a range of creative and often unusual ways. We enjoyed science-influenced hip hop songs with beatboxing accompaniment, a musical composition translating the code pairs of human DNA, an environmental awareness speech regarding microplastics and finally a series of experiments narrated and carried out by the year 13s. In each case, pupils throughout Wellington’s year groups demonstrated just how exciting, creative, influential and thought-provoking science can be. If knowledge is power, then this was a week of power sharing.   More relevant articles :

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