Page 6 - The Malvernian - July 2022

THE MALVERNIAN
Magic of Science
On June 23, when the final A level and IGCSE science examinations were being sat, we hosted 76 Year 6 pupils from The Downs Malvern, The Elms Prep School, Hollymount Primary and The Wyche Primary School to our Magic of Science event, the first one in 3 years!
We began the day in the Lewis Lecture Theatre with some exciting chemistry demonstrations by Nick Barker from the University of Warwick. His young audience was spellbound as he created elephant toothpaste and showed colour changes when solutions were shaken to dissolve the oxygen into them. Nick also generated hydrogen gas in front of the pupils and tested it to give the characteristic squeaky pop, then generated oxygen and used it to relight a glowing splint.
After the presentations, our young visitors worked in the College’s science laboratories, rotating around the three sciences. In Biology, they investigated their own senses and responses to stimuli; in Chemistry, they looked at colour changes, exothermic and endothermic reactions, and then met the challenge of creating a rainbow in a test tube. There was great energy and enthusiasm in Physics labs as the pupils investigated the science of bubble mixture and tried to work out which bubble mixture produced the bounciest, longest-surviving, or biggest bubbles.
Finally, the pupils all went back to the Lecture Theatre to be entertained by Nick again. There were demonstration sequences of changing the colour of solutions and a ‘whoosh’ bottle (named for the sound it makes when a fuel in it is ignited) that all created great interest and curiosity.
The excitement and enthusiasm throughout the day was contagious and it is wonderful to see the young pupils so inspired. Our thanks go to Nick Barker as well as our very hard working technicians who prepared everything and cleared up afterwards!
Natalie Watson | Head of Science
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THE MALVERNIAN