“Mad Scientists”

Our inquiry learning this term is based around better understanding the skills/attributes a scientist needs to have – wonderings, hypothesizing, forming questions, following methods/procedures, recording data, looking at controls, observational drawings, writing conclusions etc.

This week Room 1 tamariki have been delving in some science experiments.

The first experiment the tamariki looked at during the week was ‘Colourful Chaos’. The tamariki were in small groups and had to come up with a question as to what they wanted to find out when mixing detergent with the milk that had food colouring in it. They then had to predict what they thought would happen, write down their equipment list, method, observations and lastly form conclusions at the end of the experiment (based on their question and hypothesis).

There were lots of surprised reactions when the children saw what was happening. By the end of the lesson the students having done further research were able to describe the changes they saw, explain what is happening to the milk, explain that detergent particles have two ends one that likes fat and the other water, and also discuss the differences and similarities of the different types of milk used in the experiment.