Primary Science Fair 2013
Almost two hundred pupils from a wide variety of primary and prep schools from Redbridge, Waltham Forest and Essex visited us on Thursday 21 March for the fourth annual “Primary Science Fair”. In addition, all Prep School pupils came up to the Great Hall. Pupils were entertained and, of course, educated by a wide range of exciting and often highly original stands presented by L6 science students. This year it seemed that the messier the better, as the young scientists learnt how to make “elephants' toothpaste”, how to measure the speed of light by melting chocolate and how to make their own potty putty. They discovered how marshmallow “astronauts” react in a vacuum and what goes into nappies to make them so absorbent. There was also a Cloud Chamber, as used by Dr Brian Cox on TV, on display from the University of Birmingham.
The L6 Scientists did a spectacular job in putting together a fantastic display for our visitors. In a hard fought competition, the stands were assessed on a wide range of criteria and only a few marks separated those at the top. This year judges chose to award four teams with runners up certificatesr: Hand Warmers; Under pressure; The Magic Phone and Smart Materials
The winning stall, by just 3 marks, was “The mighty electron” which was run by Justin Jude, Sanjuthan Krishnarajan, Inderpal Panesar and Christopher Bradbury. Congratulations to all the teams on a brilliant show!
As part of the day the visitors were also treated to workshops by the biology, chemistry and physics departments during which they launched rockets, made bees and cloned plants as well as witnessing a chemistry demonstration by Mr Neil Goalby when the children got a chance to see a variety of loud and, sometimes rather smelly, chemical reactions!
Science Coordinator of Avon House School Mrs Geisler said, "The children have had a fabulous time as always. They especially loved making and then launching their own rockets on the school field – it's great to see physics in action.”