Welcome to the first newsletter of the term!
Each week, you will find a short write-up on each Module’s lessons so that you can have some great science chats with your future scientists.
You will also find news about important upcoming events to keep you in the loop on what’s going on at the Lab.
We hope you find it fun, informative, and helpful!
SCIENCE BEHIND THE WAND
With the long journey from Platform 9 3/4 complete and the Sorting Hat placing us in the house we knew we always belonged, it’s time for our first spell - Incendio - perfect for warming up the chill around Hogwarts. Now, starting fires is something we humans are very good at. The right fuel, our oxygen-rich atmosphere, a kick of heat, and... incendio! Fire! But rather than going primitive and rubbing sticks or banging rocks, last week, we got electric. Using piezoelectric crystals that turned our blows, smacks, and even our voices into electricity, we generated the sparks of heat we needed to ignite nitrocellulose - a super flammable type of paper - and shoot it out of our wands in a fireball!
MYTH BUSTERS
With so many possible misconceptions to choose from, knowing where to begin would have been tough. But a Dubai summer that shows no signs of letting up made the decision easy - Sun myths, it is! Is it yellow? Is it better to wear lighter colours to stay cool? Can you really cook an egg on the pavement or the hood of a car? Last week’s lesson was an exploration of all things solar as we shone light through milk to explain the many colours of the Sun and sky, tried to pop different coloured balloons using magnifying glasses and high-powered lasers, and built solar ovens that were more effective (and safer!) at cooking eggs than hot, sun-baked cars!
PERIODIC PIONEERS
The Periodic Table may look daunting, but it has to be! This dense collection of squares and symbols is a list of all the elements - the different types of atoms - that can and do exist in our universe. Or simply put, it is the complete list of ingredients our universe has to work with to cook up all the material things in it. And very little separates one element from another. Take the simplest elements - hydrogen and helium; a single proton is the difference between a squeaky voice and a fiery explosion. Armed with this knowledge, we began by exploring familiar chemical reactions as not just chemicals being mixed, but as atoms of elements teaming up to form molecules that then swap and switch teammates to create new chemicals. A whole lot of fizz later, our journey has begun!
