With in-person learning resuming this week, we would like to wish all our students a great return to school.
Our Modules at the Lab are off to flyer with a some exciting learning taking place. And our Home Workshops are also proving to be a big hit too.
If you are interested in hosting one of these, you can find out more details about these here.
EVERYDAY
MYSTERIES
On a cold day, our breath suddenly appears before us in a misty cloud, but where does it come from? To solve this mystery and many others, we turned to clouds and discovered they are not gases, but tiny liquid water droplets in the air. Even when we can’t see it, water is constantly evaporating into invisible vapour. When warm vapour meets cold air or a cool surface, such as a mirror, after a hot shower, it condenses into visible droplets. By breathing onto mirrors and creating clouds in a jar, our scientists watched this transformation happen before their eyes. With the help of dry ice, we filled the lab with rolling fog, showing how clouds form and float. What seemed like separate mysteries all come together in one simple idea: condensation.
A FANTASTIC
VOYAGE WITHIN
Last week, we got under the skin to uncover the muscles and bones that lie beneath. Together, they form the musculoskeletal system, giving our bodies both structure and movement. By examining our skeleton, we discovered why having many bones (206 to be exact!) allows us to move freely rather than stiffly. From hinge joints to ball-and-socket joints, our students explored how bones connect and enable everything from simple bends to full rotations. But bones don’t move on their own; muscles pull the strings. By observing muscle tissue and building a hydraulic arm, we saw how muscles contract and relax in pairs to create movement. Strength, flexibility, and motion all come from this incredible partnership!
CHEMISTRY IN
PLAIN SIGHT
Potions are all about mixing, but some substances seemingly refuse to play ball and remain staunchly independent! The students got molecular as they sought to understand the science behind why oils and water don’t mix! Astonishingly, this same science allows life to build cells. A game of hydrophilic and hydrophobic heads and tails drives these barriers, which can cause serious issues, from simple greasy hands to environment-damaging oil slicks. Then, they used their knowledge of chemistry to create a fragrant solution to these problems.
