Catalyst Museum visit
Date: 11th Jun 2019 @ 7:38am
On Thursday 24th May, children in Year 5 and 6 visited the Catalyst museum in Widnes. During their visit, children took part in two workshops and had time to explore the different levels of the museum with their classes.
One of the workshops was all about electricity, where children were challenged to make their own switches. Children were able to apply their learning from Science this half term to make a simple circuit and experiment with the different types of switches. They learnt that there are three main types of switch: a rocker switch, a dimmer switch and a pull switch. Children then used everyday items including card, foam, wooden pegs, tin foil and paperclips to make their very own switch. They had to think carefully about what a switch needs (a gap) in order to break a circuit and make their switch successful.
The other workshop linked to our current topic of medicine and diseases. The children were in the role of pharmacists in the science lab and were able to make a medicine to treat patients with heartburn. The children learnt that heartburn is actually linked to your stomach and throat rather than your heart and that it is caused by acid. They also learnt that all medicines are made from a base liquid and an active ingredient. The base liquid makes the medicine nicer and the active ingredient is the part that makes us feel better. Children experimented with different amounts of active ingredient in order to find out which medicine would be most effective for their patient.
During their free time around the museum, the children thoroughly enjoyed exploring all of the different elements particularly the puzzle room and the observatory. The children had lots of fun and tired themselves out; we had many sleepy heads during the coach journey back to school.
Staff were amazed by the children’s enthusiasm and behaviour whilst visiting the museum. They were all excellent role models for St Joseph’s!