Norfolk Big Science Event
14 June 2016
Last week budding scientists showed off amazing projects as 70 school children took part in the Norfolk Big Science Event at Norwich School. The day brought together schools across the region to challenge their investigative skills and celebrate the importance of science.
The children had been asked to design a science investigation that they could then present to the judges at the event. A big congratulations to Coltishall Primary School who won the big Playforce prize. They can choose between two great packs that will help them take science into the playground. We’re looking forward to finding out how they use their play equipment to carry out even more science investigations and experiments.
It was great to see so many happy faces, both teachers and pupils, at The Big Science Event so we asked the organisers to tell us what feedback they got from the schools that took part.
What skills did the children improve when preparing for the event?
Schools said that the children were really enthused by choosing their own investigations and they worked hard to explore further and develop it on their own. It was a great way to get the children focused on investigative skills (and assess them on it) as well as highlight the importance of teamwork and collaboration. Using the final as a goal to aim for, inspired and motivated the children and it made them take the work very seriously and try to think as creatively as possible.
How did running the project benefit the schools taking part?
The Big Science Event encouraged schools to think about how they teach science and gave them the opportunity to mix things up, putting different classes together and working in a different space. Teachers at the event said that it had started a real buzz about science throughout their whole school. The project also developed professional practice amongst staff as well as raising the profile of their primary science in school and gave them an opportunity to showcase their resources.
What were the highlights of the day?
The whole day was an inspiration and celebration for all of the children and teachers that took part. All of the schools’ presentations were impressive and judges asked good and thought-provoking questions that the children answered intelligently and inspired teachers to think about their own class questions. All of the children got to take part in a Rocket Workshop where they got hands-on with a live science experiment and built their own rocket that they could launch across the room.
It’s fantastic to hear that all of the schools enjoyed the Big Science Event and that it has inspired children across Norfolk to get talking about science. It’s Science and Discovery Month at Playforce as we celebrate the return of astronaut Tim Peake to Earth. We’ve been thinking of lots of great ways to take science into the playground. If you’d like to find out how you can combine science with the outdoors, book a consultation with us today.
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