Science2U
Exciting science in the North West and North Wales
The Science Spot
March 2017
Well that special science time of year is here again and we
have a very busy month celebrating British Science Week .
Hopefully your plans are ready to go and you will have a great
time in your own science event. Keep your eyes open for our
blog where we will share what we get up to!
Sue Halliday
Have a Go!
Helen Ross
What have you got planned for British Science Week? If you’re still looking for inspiration, check out BSW
activity packs, that are jammed-packed with resources to suit all ages and abilities! They also contain
information about the poster competition and photo competitions, perfect for those wanting to get
creative during Science Week. https://www.britishscienceweek.org
Why not do an in-class demonstration for Demo Day (Thursday 16 March)? If you pledge to participate by
Thursday 9 March, you’ll be in with a chance to win one of five Chillistick dry ice schools packs (they
have two secondary and three primary up for grabs)! Pledge online here. We use Chillistick for our dry ice
and their education packs are great. Imagine being able to have dry ice in your primary school!!
Plus, if you share your stories and photos on the day itself by tweeting #DemoDay17 you will be entered
into a draw to win tickets to Merlin attractions such as Thorpe Park and Warwick
Castle.
https://www.britishscienceweek.org/plan-your-activities/demo-day/
Have a brilliant Science Week and join in the fun by sharing on Twitter using # BSW17
and don’t forget to tweet us @science2u_news and we’ll share it around. Keep your
eyes open for us too we’ll be Tweeting away over the next two weeks—we’re starting early!
Website of the Month
WHIZZPOPBANG Aimed at young scientists WPB is a lively, colourful and informative 36 page magazine.
We like the format with a good mix of the sciences, ideas for experiments at home which I think some teachers
might have a go at in school too. Plus there are no adverts or plastic toys on the front. Just quizzes and puzzles,
interviews with real scientists and things to grab the interest. Their YouTube video gives you a good feel. Be
warned there will be messiness!
https://youtu.be/JZGdTRHohVc
It is only available on subscription from the
website as single, 6 month or 12 month options. The cheapest comes in at under £3
http://www.whizzpopbang.com
All the website links were viable at the time of writing
More ways with Slime than you ever needed!
Over the next couple of weeks we will be using lots of slime in our shows and workshops.
Our slime is clear, brightly coloured and quite “snotty”.
We often get asked about making slime and we know that it is getting harder to get hold of
borax although chemical suppliers, eBay and some soap suppliers still sell it. Recently
Canada gave another warning about the use of borax in slime and other craft projects
because there may be developmental and reproductive health impacts in children and pregnant women.
I’ve had a good look at the research available - the concentration used was very high and
was ingested by the animals. The RSC recommend a 4% solution which makes perfectly
good slime. But you must make the decision.
However if you want to avoid Borax totally there are alternatives that are just as much fun.
Here are some links to some sites with recipes and ideas with and without:
http://science.wonderhowto.com/how-to/make-simple-dark-green-slime-without-borax-422982/
http://www.funathomewithkids.com/2016/07/uk-england-slime-recipeusing-kershaws.html this uses a laundry starch easily available on
Amazon
Aldi’s Almat liquid gel laundry detergent makes a great gloop when
mixed with PVA school glue. Just be aware I couldn’t find any full
ingredients list for the detergent. Here’s a recipe:
http://www.funathomewithkids.com/2014/07/make-slime-with-laundry-detergent.html
If you are after a clear slime you can get the UK equivalent of Elmer’s clear from Pritt clear craft
glue at supermarkets https://groceries.asda.com/product/sticky-tapes-glues-tacks/pritt-craftpva-glue-tube/1000000395657
This site has an amazing set of links to pages of ideas using, making and experimenting with
so many different types of slime.
http://www.funathomewithkids.com/2014/06/the-ultimate-guide-to-slimes.html
A new and quite exciting one for me is this bubbling slime
which uses the thickener Xanthan gum rather than borax. I love
the idea of slowly rising bubbles like a
swamp.
https://epicfunforkids.com/bubblingslime-recipe-sensory-tubs/
A little Google found lots of places to buy it including Tesco!
So now you have no excuse to have fun. Of course you
could be very serious and perform experiments……..
With special thanks to Asia Citro for her amazing ideas
http://www.funathomewithkids.com
Look what we found!
Have you discovered the Association
for Science Education ASE? They are a
great group passionate about sharing
good science with pupils across all
phases. Their conferences are super
events whether at regional or international level.
You can meet with other like minded science educators and the CPD sessions will totally inspire you. We
have regularly been speakers at the NW event.
The ASE website is a great place to find help, ideas and resources and you don’t have to be a member to
access many of the files. They also have a great shop with really useful books often written by ASE members
so you know that the author knows what goes on in a classroom!
They also have a Twitter event ASEchat on Monday evenings at 8.00
again this is open to everyone. This week they linked with PrimaryRocks to
explore great science at Primary level. The Tweetdeck was red hot with so
many people joining in and some amazing links to resources and ideas.
I’ve bookmarked quite a few!
You'll find the ASE website here: http://www.ase.org.uk/home/
STOP PRESS
Published this week the ASE Primary Science Leader’s Survival Guide—a
downloadable booklet with all you ever wanted to know whether you’ve just
got the role or been doing it for years. This document is full of advice from
raising the profile of science in your school to doing a resources audit to
managing your time as subject leader. It’s like having your personal advisor
on the laptop!
Lois Kelly the editor is a great primary practitioner with super ideas and a
deep understanding of primary science. The booklet is free to ASE members
and along with all the other member benefits well worth the joining fee.
I've got my copy!
What are we doing?
Our half price offer for Science Week has been hugely successful! We are sharing our All Change
show 8 times with schools in the area which will be great—lots of
dry ice fun. We are also doing a couple of other shows for schools
that have already seen that show so we will be very busy over the
next two weeks! Plenty of bath bombs,
slime and smart materials.
After all that fun we will be launching our
“Meet the Team” twilights so watch this
space!
Find us online www.science2u.co.uk
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