Connecting with Science Newsletter December 2012
W
elcome to the third Science Newsletter for the Irish American Partnership schools network. The term from September to Christmas is a busy time and offers many opportunities for science investigations. Space week is in October before Hallowe’en and then Science Week comes along. In this issue we include some of the exciting work that was done in Kinaffe N.S. in Co. Mayo, during Science Week. We look at some of the opportunities that involvement with initiatives such as Science Week offers and we also include some advice and ideas from Tom Finnerty, the local co-ordinator of the Western Seaboard Science Project.
The Irish American Partnership Supporting Continuing Professional Development in Science St Patrick’s College has been at the centre of Irish education for almost a century and a half and it continues to focus on the contribution that education can make to the welfare of the nation in the future. The college recognises the importance of science, engineering and technology, among other areas, to the welfare of the country and as a result is committed to the development of scientific literacy among students, teachers and the public in general. The College therefore is particularly pleased to work with the Irish American Partnership (IAP) in order to facilitate science education courses for practising teachers in rural primary schools. These courses are provided as part of in-service education which includes among its aims the enhancement of teachers’ professional and personal needs. Since 2003, funding provided by the IAP has enabled the college to provide science courses in 30 schools from Kerry to Galway, Donegal and Mayo. This type of outreach work is an important part of the remit of St. Patrick’s College but in the current
economic climate would have been difficult without the assistance of the Partnership. Through this work, the College, with the support of the Partnership, is building local expertise in science which hopefully will help other schools in these areas. These courses have helped to develop sustainable ‘learning communities’ both within and between participating schools. Participating teachers develop strong professional and social relationships, through attendance at workshops and through use of a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) – ‘Moodle’. In many cases, participation by teachers has led to the award of Certificates and Diplomas in Education (Science). St Patrick’s College is delighted to collaborate with this exciting initiative and with the work of the Partnership in its on-going efforts to develop science education in rural schools. I wish them well in their endeavours for the future. Dr. Daire Keogh President St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra.
In this issue:
Science Week in Kinaffe NS, Co. Mayo
Observation as a foundation block of science by Tom Finnerty
An Irish scientist: Nicholas Callan and electromagnets Page 1
Science Week The first national Science Week took place in 1996, and since then it has grown to around 700 events a year. Science Week is Ireland’s biggest annual promotion of science that is open to the general public. The weeklong programme of events across Ireland each November aims to make science more interesting and accessible to children and adults alike. It promotes the relevance of science, technology, engineering and maths in our everyday lives and it demonstrates their importance to the future development of Irish society and to the economy.
Each year has a different theme and this year, 2012, the theme was “Everyday experimenting”. Last year the theme was ‘The Chemistry of Life’. The Science Week website provides lots of resources and cool experiments that you can do at home or in the classroom, and activity sheets you can download. This year activities included ‘how to make a bottle xylophone, melting ice, how to make a simple fire extinguisher and how strong is an eggshell’ As well as these activities you can still download Science Week activity sheets from previous years. So why not visit http://www. scienceweek.ie/. Check the Primary teacher’s section and see the range of resources and class activities for your pupils.
Science week 2012 in Kinaffe NS, Swinford, Co. Mayo Kinaffe NS, Swinford, Co. Mayo has been busy with science over the last few weeks. Kelly Walsh who is in 5th class, tells us about some of the projects that they worked on during Science Week. Science week took place in our school, Kinaffe NS, from the 12th16th of November 2012. Science is a fun subject to learn about. It is important because we need science for the future and we need science for jobs like farming, engineering and medicine. On Friday we designed and made parachutes. Tom Finnerty (local co-ordinator of the Western Seaboard Science Project) joined us and he asked us to try and experiment using different materials and shapes. We learned new words e.g. rigid, flexible, canopy and the
importance of weight on our parachutes. In Maths we had learned about triangles and the importance and strength of triangular shapes in our environment. Interestingly, we were able to use this information when designing the most aerodynamic parachute. We made triangular struts to support the canopy and these parachutes worked the best! We learned how to use a microscope and we studied a rib of our hair, a €5 note and a spiders leg under the lens. We enjoyed science week because we found it interesting, fun and very exciting. I learned a lot of new things like triangle shapes are stronger than cube shapes in our parachutes and spiders are much more interesting than they sound!
The initial test between Kelly’s and Niamh’s designs! Which one will stay afloat the longest? Whose passenger will crash land??
Our initial designs had 4 straws taped to the cloth.
The Triangle shape struts to support our canopy
Kelly helps her to launch their parachute! They are delighted with their results
Danny and Kailen designed 3 different types of parachutes. This was the best flyer!
Aisling wonders will it work.
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Magnets The children in Kinaffe NS also did a lot of scientific work with magnets and magnetism. Kelly describes some of this.
In our school we made Magnetic Cars. We used recyclable materials to construct the cars. We made the cars move forward and back using the push and pull forces of the magnets. My group used a butterbox to construct ours. We noticed that it wasn’t always the biggest magnets that worked the best!
Magnets and science in Ireland An Irish scientist called Nicholas Callan did a lot of work on magnets. He was a priest but he also was a scientist. He did a lot of work on electromagnets in the 1800s. He made an electromagnet that could lift two tonnes of iron. He also invented a very powerful battery which was named the Maynooth battery.
Making and investigating electromagnets If your pupils have already done some work with ordinary magnets you might like them to experiment with electromagnets. Such activities could then link in nicely with electricity. It’s very easy to make an electromagnet. All you need is a 2.5V battery, an iron nail and some insulated wire. Sellotape is also useful. The picture shows you how to make one. Items needed: • • • • • •
Battery (not rechargeable) Long flexible wire, at least 30 cm long Long iron nail Sellotape Scissors Paper clips to test your electromagnet
Instructions: 1. Test the nail first to check that it isn’t a magnet. Are paper clips attracted to it? If they are, how many can the nail attract? Is the attraction strong? 2. Wind the wire around the long iron nail, keeping the coils neat. Leave 5 cm of wire free at the end. 3. Now join the free ends of the wire to the battery as in the picture. You have made an electromagnet.
4. Use one end of the nail to investigate if the nail now attracts the paper clips. 5. Is the electromagnet strong? 6. Now take the battery out so the circuit is broken. Will the nail attract paper clips now? What is happening? The electricity flows through the coiled wire and turns the iron nail into a magnet. But it is only temporary. When the electricity stops flowing, the nail stops being a magnet again. Investigation Does the number of wire coils around the nail make a difference to the strength of the electromagnet? Set up an investigation to find out.
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Observation Most children have very keen eyesight. This would suggest that they are better observers of all things great and small than their parents. Sadly, I doubt if this is so. Modern life, transport and urbanisation all contribute to the distancing of children from nature. Nowadays, life is so much busier for everybody resulting in children learning more about nature from television than by personal experience. Moreover, the global nature of television contributes to our children knowing more about the Condor and the Tarantula than the Hare and the Hedgehog. Unfortunately, nowadays many children find it difficult to distinguish between the crow and the Jackdaw or even the blackbird. Can they tell the difference between a swallow and a housemartin? What about the difference between a primrose and a buttercup? The Cuckoo call is mistaken for the roosting pigeon’s coo! coo! Our commonest insects and creepy crawlies suffer most from lack of observation.
Observation is the foundation block of science and it is a skill for life. More beneficial still for children is fostering a sense of appreciation and enjoyment of the environment they are so blessed to inhabit.
Investigating fruit and seeds
Is it a case of ‘non-familiarity breeds contempt’ or fear or phobia? One has only to be present in a classroom on a late September day when a poor wasp has the temerity to enter. The spontaneous communal violence unleased towards it can only be described as awesome. The spider, the furry caterpillar and the snail can expect no ‘fáilte’ either. How disappointing! This is where we could take the lead. Maybe it is time to direct their observation a little. We could point out the distinguishing features they have missed e.g. the blackbird has a yellow beak, the crow is the one wearing baggy trousers, has a moustache and the jackdaw is smaller and is always neat and tidy in appearance. When the occasion arises one could pick up a creepy crawly and let it crawl across the palm. By pointing out various features and getting them to tell you what they have noticed, their powers of observation will be enhanced. You will be surprised how they improve. You will also instil a sense of calm among the fearful. Each creature has its own fascination.
Investigating fruit and seeds
Connecting with other schools in the network Thanks to Kinaffe NS, Swinford, Co Mayo and to Mr Tom Finnerty for their contributions to this issue of the Newsletter. We will be delighted to hear from anyone else with suggestions. So please send us any news, events or happenings in the area of science in your school that you would be prepared to share. We would especially welcome any suggestions for science topics that you felt worked well and that benefited the pupils. Equally problems that you encountered would be interesting to know about and possible solutions could be found from among the readers. With your permission we would print them in the next issue of the newsletter so that all the teachers in the network would benefit. Contact; Greg.Smith@spd.dcu.ie Or Paula.Kilfeather@spd.dcu.ie
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