Chickens, potatoes and crystals all came under the microscope at Kingsbury Green Academy in Calne recently as students celebrated British Science Week.
British Science Week, which this year ran from 11 to 20 March, is coordinated by the British Science Association and funded by Swindon-based UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The ten-day programme comprises thousands of events running throughout the whole of the UK with the aim of celebrating science, engineering, technology and maths.
Kingsbury Green Academy, which is part of the Royal Wootton Bassett Academy Trust, challenged its students to explore different aspects of science and technology, and design their own experiments to discover more about chemistry, biology and physics.
Among the experiments the budding young scientists in Year 7 undertook were investigations into which types of potato can conduct the most electricity, whether the amount of salt or sugar in a solution can affect the size of crystals produced, and looking at the growth of different species of chicken and examining characteristics such as size, egg size and length of comb.
And Year 7 students weren’t the only cohort to have fun with science. Students in Year 8 researched, designed and then raced self-propelled cars, to see which car travelled the furthest distance, while Year 9 designed and launched bottle rockets. Those in Year 10 made and tested calorimeters and students in Year 13 presented various research projects to Year 11.
Dr Natalie Skinner, Kingsbury Green Academy’s teaching and learning coordinator for KS3 Science, said one of the keys to succeeding in a subject is ensuring students are engaged in the subject. “We want to engage students in science both in usual lessons and outside of the curriculum, so to give Year 7 students the opportunity to investigate an area of science that interests them and develop their investigation and practical skills, we have introduced a British Science Week project,” she explained.
“Students chose to research and carry out experiments linked to the theme of growth, and then produce a display for our own KGA Science Fair. As well as equipping students with the relevant education and knowledge, science also encourages students to develop transferable skills such as maths, literacy, critical thinking, organisation, teamwork and problem solving.
“Science has always been a key subject, as global issues such as climate change, biodiversity, and pandemics have made abundantly clear. By educating students on issues that can impact on their day-to-day life, such as how vaccines work or properly understanding health issues, we enable them to make informed decisions that may affect their own lives, those of people around them and their surroundings.”