On Thursday, 9th of march, the boys and girls of 5th class took on the challenge of Engineer’s Week at Blackrock Castle.
At first, the students took a look inside the castle’s planetarium tent where they learned all about our solar system, planets all around earth and the names of important stars that can be seen at night. They also got the opportunity to work for NASA and help save the Earth from a deadly comet headed straight for our planet in the castle’s comet simulator. Thankfully, they were successful and saved the world from destruction!
Next, the boys and girls begin the engineer’s workshop where they used everyday materials to build a variety of roller coasters. They worked in groups of 3 and the results were fantastic. Each group successfully created a wonderful project and the students were extremely excited.
All the children had a super time and can’t wait to go back next year and learn even more again!
On Friday 9th of December, Eimear from APC Microbiome Institute visited Scoil Ursula. Eimear discussed the digestion system, the nervous system and the respiratory system with the children.
The Digestive System
In the pictures you can see Eimear measuring Muireann’s height using wool. Eimear explained that Muireann’s intestines are three times her height in length. To show this to the class she sent Muireann to the back of the class with the string in her hand. Muireann stopped once the string was taught. You can see the length of Muireann’s intestines in the second picture.
The Brain
Eimear showed the children an egg in a plastic tub filled with salty water. She explained that the tub represented the skull, the salty water represented the fluid (CSF) that allows the brain to float and the egg represented the brain. She asked Holly to shake the tub as hard as she could in order to crack the egg. Holly shook the tub vigorously and the egg didn’t crack.
The Nervous System
Eimear discussed the five senses with the students she then asked for six volunteers to demonstrate how neurons work. The children stood in a line and they passed a ball from the start of the line to the end of the line. The child passed the ball either over their head or under their head to the next person. As the children carried out the activity the rest of the students counted aloud. Eimear explained that nerves send messages to the brain in under a second.
Measuring Sugar Content
Eimear brought in a defractometer and explained that she uses it to test the sugar content of liquids. The children tested the sugar content of Fanta orange and Coca Cola. They found that the sugar content was equal in both drinks.
The students of fourth class both thoroughly enjoyed and learned a lot from Eimear’s visit.
