STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths
This year the boys and girls in Burrane N.S. are taking part in the SFI discover primary science and maths award. We aim to achieve the DPSM plaque of STEM excellence. We will be engaging in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths activities. We will also have fun with our STEM show and tell activities and learning from our guest speakers.
Check in here regularly to see what we have been up to!
Our digital STEM log!
Science Week Show and Tell
(Step 5- Show and Tell/Step 2 -Technology extension )
The Senior Room had an exciting week for Science Week when they put on a STEM Show and Tell for the Junior Room.
Using our ICT skills we made PowerPoint presentations.
Check out the pictures, presentations and videos below to see what we got up to.
Elephant Tootpaste powerpoint
Magnetic Car powerpoint
Rockets powerpoint
Chalk Rocket powerpoint
Cleaning Dirty Water
Powerpoint
A few pictures of our presentations and experiments
Wait for the POP!!
Watch the rocket go!!
Lava Lamp Experiment
(Step 1: Science- Environmental awarenesss and care/Step 4: Maths extension)
This week for our STEM activity we investigated how to make lava lamps. It was lots of fun. As well as science this activity involved a lot of math as we had to measure liquids. As we are also learning about data we made a tally chart and other graphs. Check out the PowerPoint presentation we created to learn how to make one. We also investigated and learned about the effect oil can have on wildlife and the environment.
Click here to see how we made a lava lamp
Watch the video to see our finished lava lamps
Which kitchen paper absorbs the most water?
(step 2: Technology extension)
For this weeks STEM activity we investigated the properties and characteristics of one material - kitchen paper. We learned a lot about absorption and why some materials absorb more liquid than others (capillary action!). We also chatted about and investigated the importance of ensuring a fair test. We are learning about procedural writing and used our ICT skills to create word documents of our experiment procedure.
Click on our word documents to read the different ways we thought of doing this experiment.
Grupa Buí
Grupa Gorm
Grupa Dearg
Grupa Glás
''It was interesting to see the different methods each group thought of to carry out the same investigation.''
Our Experiment to find Materials that float and materials that sink
(Step 1: Science- Materials)
For this STEM activity the Junior room investigated materials that can float and sink. We conducted an exciting experiment where we gathered objects and materials from the classroom that we could use in our experiment. We started off by making predictions as to whether the items would sink our float, then we tested each item in our experiment. We recorded our results on a results table. We are learning about procedural writing in Literacy and recorded our experiment procedure in our SESE copy.
See our images below
Our Project on what things are made from
(Step 1: Science- materials)
Recently the junior room have been learning a lot about raw materials and man made materials. We did a project on lots of things we use everyday and discussed and learned about what was used to make them.
Insulators to help keep us warm
(Step 1: Science-Energy and Forces/Step 4 Maths extension)
We had lots of fun outside this morning playing in the snow (hailstone).
This got us thinking about how we can keep warm in the cold weather. We learned about insulators and conductors of heat. We examined and discovered everyday things that insulate and conduct heat. We investigated different materials that could be used as insulators to keep us warm for the longest amount of time.
Our Results: Tin Foil and Cotton Wool were the best insulators, Card and Tissue were the worst.
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Parachutes and Gravity
(Step 4: Maths extension/Step 1: Science-Space week activities/ Step 2: technology- made a video)
The theme in the senior room this month is the solar system. We did projects on the various planets and learned about some astronauts journeys into space. We learned about the force of gravity and the effect of air resistance on falling objects. In groups we designed and made various parachutes. We then predicted and tested our parachutes to see which was the best. We tested parachutes made from various materials, sizes and shapes. We concluded the best parachute is rectangular in shape, is large and made from plastic.
This investigation required a lot of maths. We had to measure our materials (string, cloth, plastic, tape). We made sure the area and perimeter of our parachutes were the same. We also measured the distance we dropped our parachutes from. We then investigated the weight/mass of objects on other planets and recorded them using ICT. Check out our findings.
Our Lungs
(Step 1: Science- living things)
This week we learned about our respiratory system. We learned about the different parts of the body that make up the respiratory system. We also investigated how our lungs work and how the body changes the oxygen we breathe inhale into energy to breakdown food and then exhales carbon dioxide. To help us understand this, we made even made our own lung!
Building Bridges
(Step 3 :Engineering)
Today for engineering we designed and build some sturdy and not so sturdy bridges. We learned about the important characteristics of bridges and what to consider when designing a bridge. We even tested to see if our bridges could support different weights.
Our school garden
(Step 1 :Science - Living things)
Today we started work on our new school garden. We were busy preparing the garden for planting. We then planted some lovely flowers and also some tasty vegetables that we can enjoy in a few weeks time. We look forward to caring for them and watching them grow.
Guest Speaker
(Step 1 :Science - Environmental awareness and care- guest speaker)
Thanks to our guest speaker Karen Foley, Environmental officer from Clare County Council, for coming to talk to us today. We learned loads about the importance of waste management and recycling and how we can all do a little bit to care for the environment.
