A Magical Day of POTIONS

This week we were with our old friends from Summerhill Primary School Maghull for a day of shows and workshops themed around POTIONS.
The show is full of magical colour changes and dry ice fog.
Dressed in our magical science costumes we set the scene with rhyming instructions from the potions book:

a sleeping potion is in this flask

how shall we wake it I hear you ask!

a quick shake of the bottle turns the clear liquid bright pink!

These test tubes are filled with a liquid that's clear

add the green magic and watch colours appear

a rainbow of giant testubes coloured with universal indicator

And so the show continued with disappearing magic wand and black cat ( made from polystyrene and dunked into acetone) and an umbrella that changes colour when wet.
Then Helen created a huge fireball with milk powder and we set off the whoosh bottle.
The finale was all dry ice - cauldrons of fog, crystal ball bubbles and lids popping all over the place.

It went well.

We squeezed in a short hands on session with reception before we did it all again for KS1

In the afternoon we worked with year 3 and then year 4 letting them get up close with some of the colour change kit - heat sensitive paper and colour change straws and finally decked in gloves and safety glasses everyone got very close with the dry ice making banana smelling fog and blowing up some of the gloves with carbon dioxide gas.

a quick update: just look at the awe and wonder in the faces of these two young ladies

this is why we do our job

Show of the month for June

POTIONS

This month's Science Spot newsletter features our POTIONS show so I am sharing it with our blog readers

This show was created as part of one school's Harry Potter themed week and has become a favourite especially for end of term treats.

 With lots of dry ice in Hermione's cauldron and colour changing liquids to reactions that need to be woken up from a deep sleep.

 A set of rainbow coloured test tubes and disappearing gel balls. Eerie lights that appear like magic, amazing human light switches. Lots and lots of oozing slime….

Being true scientists we don't give away our secrets!  So many of our

demonstrations seem like magic so we began to collect amazing transformations, colour changes, disappearing materials and suddenly we really were in Hogwarts!

We invite potential wizards to join in an incredible experiment where they change clear liquid to bright pink and back again before our very eyes!

Dress up in your own costume or wear our wizarding hat to perform the experiment.

From bubbles to smoke to fire clouds this is an amazing show but of course we all know that even though some of the things seem

almost magic - it really is SCIENCE!!

Call us to find out how to book this show.

07972295527

Great day out in Ashton Under Lyne

Canon Burrows school

What a super day we had this week at Canon Burrows Primary School in Ashton under Lyne.
They had chosen to do two shows based around materials and their properties.
So for the infants we did Science Magic - an exciting look at some amazing materials and chemical reactions that seem like magic.
Certainly our pink and blue bottle demo brought a gasp of amazement and when we invited a group of volunteers to come and change the colour of some drinking straws with just the warmth of their hands - well they were really getting excited.

Helen's dry ice demonstrations brought WOWs especially when she blew huge bubbles that seemed to float in thin air! And when she caught a carbon dioxide filled smoky bubble on  her hand she got a round of applause.

After break it was time for the juniors. This show All Change, looks at solids liquids and gases and how we can change from one state to another using some incredible materials.
We brought out some brave volunteers to try out setting fire to some chemicals in a flame to show firework colours including sparklers.
We brought out an even braver teacher and tried to blow him up and we finished our show with our ever popular Whoosh bottle which certainly brought the house down!

After a quick lunch we went into a year 3 classroom to set up for an up close and personal session with handwarmers, heat sensitive paper, colour changing straws and then we all made bath bombs to take home. For this younger age we use a ready mix which really helps with the classroom management


A very quick turn around and the second year 3 class arrived - extremely excited - for their hands on session. We rang the changes a little bit using one or two different demonstrations including our lovely new flashing ducks and the ever popular energy sticks which were certainly a hit with the teachers. Then it was this groups turn to make bath bombs.

A lovely day with enthusiastic pupils and a warm welcome from the staff.
Huge thanks to Karen Woods who after seeing our lecture at the ASE NW conference last spring decided to bring us in for her schools cience sweek.

All Change at Lunt's Heath

Science2U had a very busy but fun day at Lunt's Heath Primary school in Widnes focusing on Materials and their Properties with our super show All Change.
This show looks at solids, liquids and gases and what happens when we heat, freeze and do other amazing things to them.
Our adventure started the day before when we were eagerly waiting for our delivery of dry ice. This was due to arrive round about lunch time but by mid afternoon there was no sign......DON'T PANIC comes to mind!!
A quick call to the company revealed that our little pack of ice was still at the depot and not winging its way to us. So after organising a courier to arrive first thing the next day at the school and calling the school to alert the caretaker, it was fingers crossed that our parcel arrived on time for the first show at 9.15

This school is very close to our HQ so it wasn't a dreadfully early start and after a warm welcome we began to set up.

Our first show was for KS1 and this was a Science Magic show with some amazing colour change liquids that go blue or pink when you shake them and then go clear again when left alone; invisible balls that magically appear when you tip the water away; spooky smoke that makes a spoon scream and gungy slime.

Everyone had a really great time and there were lots of smiles all round.

After break it was KS2 looking at  changing materials with lots of dry ice and very exciting - setting fire to things! Helen demonstrated with volunteers what happens when you set fire to chemical salts and we made iron filing sparkles.

The finale was our whoosh bottle which really surprised the front row!

In the afternoon we did two hands on sessions with Year 3&4. Lunt's Heath has 3 classes so we did rather large sessions in the hall getting up close to some of the equipment and demonstrations from the shows.

A quick tidy up and we moved to the Year 6 classroom for a staff CPD session. After exploring the dry ice and having a go with our ghostly bubbles gizmo, 

looking at colour change straws, paper and LCD sheeting and looking really closely at how handwarmers work, we all had a go at using milk, food colouring and washing up liquid for Art on a Plate

ASE North West Conference

Saturday March 16th at the Science Learning Centre Didsbury.
This is my third year of speaking at this great CPD opportunity for science teachers in the North West of England. Previously I have spoken with my good friend and colleague Lorelly Wilson but this year Helen was coming with me and we were speaking as Science2U.
We had been asked to deliver two sessions this year one for KS2/3 and a special one for KS1.

The first session was for KS2/3 and using the RSC DVD as a basis we shared simple demonstrations that could be used in a variety of ways within the lesson.

For example a simple handwarmer can be used as a session opener on observation, an introduction to exothermic reactions or even a fun way to start heat of re-crystallisation investigations. Many people have used a handwarmer but few have sat and watched what happens when you set one off!

Our second session was A Little Bit of Science Magic aimed at KS1 showing simple hands on ideas to introduce awe and wonder into the science lesson. From a home made lava lamp lit up from underneath in a darkened room which suddenly becomes rather special to a saucer of milk with food colour drops which creates a work of art when touched lightly with washing up liquid.

Some people came back to our second session - they had so enjoyed the first!!
The feedback comments were immense - we were a hit!
Quite a few of the teachers wanted to pick our brains after the sessions and we almost missed lunch. Lots more names signed up to our newsletter. There will be a special ASE conference one with links to the resources we shared - probably going out just after Easter.

A day out in Chester

Science2U had a super day with Upton Heath CofE Primary school in Chester. 

The science co-ordinator Emma had very wisely decided to hold the school science week early - in other words outside the usual March dates for National Science and Engineering Week. She knows from experience that science presenters get booked up very quickly during those dates so her school were having their special science week in February.

All week scientists have been coming and going working with various classes doing hands on science.  Some of the classes have been out to experience science learning outside the classroom. 

Then on Thursday it was our turn to bring exciting science to the whole school.

The theme for national Science and Engineering Week this year is Invention & Discovery and we have written a super new show for the event.

Starting from the premise that scientists are always asking questions we look at some quirky links between objects such as instant snow and astronauts......pirates and the rhinovirus........and we investigate modern materials and find out their use in our everyday lives.

Did you now that those hydrogel balls that we love and flower arrangers use are similar to those used to clean water conserve water in developing countries?

The show has the same basic content for all ages but the delivery differs to suit the audience - a bit more science vocabulary for some and lots science magic for others.

So polishing up our pirate ARRGGGHHs and fluffing up our big rhinovirus we spent the morning exploring the wonders of the scientific mind.

First the juniors and after break the infants - a quick clear away before lunch and then two sessions in the classroom with year 2.

These lucky children got very up close and personal with the instant snow, raced liquids, made paper change colour just by the heat of their hands and then we all made bath bombs to take home. 

Soon the year 2 classrooms and corridor were smelling wonderfully of bubble gum...the fragrance we use in our bath bombs.

The verdict from the children....awesome! From the teachers.....well they can't wait for their turn! We are back at the school for a staff cluster training session just after half term when they will be able to get their hands on the goodies!!