at Dulwich is very fun and interactive and I have learnt a lot since I started in Year 7.’ Oisin Hetherington, Year 8 Bottle flipping How does the shape of a bottle and amount of water affect the success rate of a bottle flip? Bottle flipping has become a craze at Dulwich – can you flip a bottle and have it land base down and not fall over? Boys need to investigate the properties of the bottle and amount of water to determine if there is an optimum set-up for bottle flipping. Every two weeks we run the Lower School Science Society where boys are invited to try out a variety of thought-provoking activities. In the past we have had mackerel dissections, egg-drop challenges, marshmallow and spaghetti towers, computer intelligence, density rainbows, extracting iron from cereals, making slime, advanced Bunsen burner theory, experiments with liquid nitrogen... and more! ‘I enjoy Science because I like the fact that everything has an answer and that answer has a reason. I also like doing practicals such as seeing how long it takes ice to turn into water vapour. Science is great!’ Jonathan Millis, Year 7 During the summer term the Year 7 boys went to Greenwich Observatory, where they experienced the wonders of the Planetarium and were taken on a journey to the edge of the known Universe. They participated in workshops where they learned how to spot exo planets from the intensity of light from far away stars. They looked into the possibility of a career as a scientist and learned about the evolution of time pieces across the centuries and the importance that Greenwich played to those in London – and beyond – who wanted an accurate measure of time. ‘Science in the Lower School is brilliant because every lesson you get to perform a practical or do some research. Science Society is an extra activity where you get to do really interesting practicals that you might not do in lessons.’ Hector Senior, Year 7
Iodine clock to music The boys have to calibrate an iodine clock which turns from clear to pitch black instantaneously after a certain time has passed. The interval is based upon the strength of the chemicals and a calibration chart needs to be created. The boys are then given a set time at which their iodine clock must turn black and they use their calibration chart to determine the strength of chemicals used. This is all set to the song Happy . When the word ‘Happy’ is sung, an iodine clock should change colour!
Building a marshmallow and spaghetti tower.
‘I have enjoyed Science Society because there are many opportunities to try out interesting new ideas and to learn about the world and the way things work. I particularly enjoy topics to do with space and this is why I enjoyed the Year 7 trip to Greenwich Observatory as I learnt about constellations and stars.’ Rathan Subramanian, Year 8 Which brand of indigestion tablet is the best? This is similar to the kitchen roll test except the boys have to use indigestion tablets to neutralise acid. First they have to make a chemical that is similar in properties to stomach acid and then use universal indicator to determine when the solution is neutral. How much acid can each tablet deal with? ‘I enjoy Science because I like finding out why things happen; the causes and the effects of different phenomena. Science
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