We finished the session by giving the students some hands-on experience of safely using fire. The Year 5s were shown how to safely light a tealight candle using the flame from a bunsen burner and extinguishing it by placing a small beaker upside down over it. They then went into teams of three and took turns to have a go themselves.
It was so rewarding to see the level of enjoyment our visiting students got from doing some fun science experiments. Hopefully we have inspired a future Nobel Prize winner!
Waldegrave students attended assemblies delivered by Mr Allen on the theme of 'connections'. The theme explored the connections between all three sciences, between nature and the pharmaceutical industry as well as between science and career aspirations. The topic of the assembly was 'paracetamol'. After a brief history of where it came from and how it was made, students explored how all three sciences come together to bring paracetamol to us. This involves spectral analysis of the compounds to ensure high purity (chemistry), scaling up and manufacturing of the formulation (physics) and the drug interactions with the body as well as possible side effects (biology).
The students showed great engagement throughout the assembly and learnt more about a drug that they are familiar with but don't know much about. They left with interesting facts for example the scientific name for paracetamol is acetaminophen or that to control snake populations on the Island of Guam they have been stuffing dead mice with paracetamol as the drug is toxic to snakes.
Here's hoping we inspire the next Harmon Norse or Dorothy Hodgkin!
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