Invisible Ink

Tonight we explored two different methods of creating invisible ink.

Method 1

We used lemon juice to write on paper and then revealed our messages by using heat.

This method was unsuccessful in school as it was time consuming.

Method 2

We used a mixture of bicarbonate and water to write our messages. Once dry, we revealed our message using a solution of turmeric and water. This was the most successful method.

We found out that the messages were revealed due to chemical reactions between the acids and alkaline mixtures.

If you would like to try this experiment at home watch the video below. Take care with turmeric as this can stain. Water can be used instead of rubbing alcohol to make this safer. We used water in club and seen great results

Fascinating Undersea Creatures

We watched a video to see how squid’s change colour to communicate with other squids.
 

We also watched the clip below, showing how cuttlefish also change the colour pigments in their skin to hypnotise their prey (crabs) so they stand still and are easier to catch!
 

We used Scratch and used programming to create our own colour changing squids!

Density bottles

This week we explored how you can layer liquids upon one another. We spoke about how even though they are all liquids, they have different densities which means some liquids are lighter than others.

Week 1 - Spinners

This week we investigated spinners in science club. First the children explored the spinners, dropping the spinners from different heights, holding them in different places etc.  They then worked collaboratively and decided to see if height changed the speed at which the spinners dropped to the ground. The had lots of fun doing this.

They then decided they’d like to test using spinners made from different materials being card, celephane, tissue and plain paper. It was fabulous to hear all the discussion about fair testing and observing the children working together to drop the paper at the same height, despite the differing heights of them!
 

Afterwards they decided that the best way to make a fair test was to have the same person dropping the spinners at the same height at the same time. They had struggle to always let go in unison or at exactly the same height.

We then spoke about the forces acting upon the spinners such as gravity and air resistance, discussing how the heavier paper fell quicker due to the gravitational pull. We also looked at Sir Isaac Newton.

Take a look at the slow mo videos below!