Practical Science at Robert May's Science Fair

Year five have spent several hours at the Robert May's School primary science fair, an opportunity for children to explore how science, technology, engineering and maths in different forms can be found in a variety of careers.

The Robert May's Primary Science Fair takes place annually with primary schools from the surrounding area encouraged to attend. The Science Fair supports our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) programme and provides practical opportunity for children to have some exposure to the application of science across a range of career choices, delivered by representatives of local community groups and businesses, such as the Royal Air Force, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and Surface Technology International, among others.

With the Hampshire Fire and Rescue service, children explored the interior components and workings of a smoke alarm. For this activity, children used a larger than life model alarm that contained all the required components and had to connect each component in the correct order for the alarm to work as required.

In another activity, children were challenged to bridge a gaps between two tables using only paper. Working as a team they were required to design and construct a bridge from only a few sheets of paper and some sellotape. The bridge had to be strong enough to transport a toy car from one side to the other. In a similar activity, teams were asked to build a tower from the same materials and which had to support a weight at the top without collapsing. On both tables, children used different designs and construction techniques to achieve the same goal.

A clear favourite of all the activities on offer was led by Holly Rivers from Guildford College. In a very practical experiment designed to illustrate the differences between solids, liquids and gases, children made their own slime using a combination of ingredients often found in the home. With the right amount of PVA glue and washing liquid, children made a liquid substance that behaves like a solid under certain forces.