From extracting DNA to The Great Crash Test challenge

On Wednesday 15 March, I took five Year 5 students to the Royal Institution for the GDST Junior Science Conference. They joined students from other GDST schools to take part in lots of different scientific investigations. They learnt how to extract their own DNA strands and transferred them to a pendant. They also took part in The Great Crash Test challenge where they had to design a vehicle that could not only survive a crash test, but, most importantly, keep their passenger (a chocolate egg) safe.

We listened to two PhD students discuss their scientific research and what inspired them to become scientists. We took a journey around the Ri and explored the paintings and artefacts. We even played The Periodic Table game. The children were fascinated to learn that ten of the elements were discovered at the Royal Institution! We uncovered facts about Humphry Davy, James Dewar, Michael Faraday and Kathleen Lonsdale to name but a few! Finally we watched a spectacular interactive Science show in the theatre which got extremely messy. All in all a fantastic day!

Effie Nathanael
Year 6 Teacher
Science Co-ordinator