Reach Out does Science
On Wednesday 7 October 2015 we welcomed 34 girls in Years 5 & 6 to our second Science Day. A total of 8 schools participated in Physics and Chemistry lessons aimed to inspire girls into science.
Mr Aspley demonstrated through a carousel of activities in Physics that visible light is electromagnetic radiation made visible by sight. The room became a hub of colour and light with various materials and instruments introduced to show girls how light can travel and affect how we see things. Girls particularly liked making their own coloured spectrum paper-spinners and playing with neon pens and ultraviolet lights.
In Chemistry, Miss Dunn talked us through safe working and preparing experiments in the labs.
The girls got hands on with several short experiments including how to filter dirty water through sand, extracting salt by evaporation, and discovering salt levels contained in crisps through burning. This particular experiment surprised a lot of our guests!
Despite the rain which resulted in indoor play, girls embraced all things science, from munching and burning hula-hoops, to balancing them on their waists at break time.
Aims
Following the success of February's Science Day, we were pleased to run another workshop for G+T girls in Science. Partner schools have asked for sessions such as this as they find that their girls are often not inspired by Science, or that boys tend to take over in the classroom. We hope to break down the assumption that Science is a 'boys' subject.
The immediate beneficiaries include all who attended made up of girls, staff and parents. Pupils will take back what they have learnt and inspire their wider school community.
Background
We piloted Science Day in 2014 after schools expressed a G&T event just for girls.
Resources
Science Day is planned and delivered by NGHS's Science Department under the provision of Reach Out.
Financial support was provided by HSBC and Big Lottery, Awards For All.
Impact
Girls were asked to make post-it note responses about their favourite, or least favourite part of their day. The feedback was outstanding with many girls commented on how they enjoyed Fireworks in Chemistry and experimenting with light in Physics.
We hope that Science Day continues to inspire and engage young girls in science, as with some of our other events which include STEM. We do have children from the same schools attend several events over the year, so the exponential impact is shown through repeated attendance and engagement.
Pupil Involvement
A total of 34 girls from Years 5 & 6 were involved from a mix of 8 city and county primary schools.
Frequency
This event is ongoing and will be programmed every year.
