Posted on: July 3rd 2015
On Tuesday 23rd June we attended the annual Haileybury Year 5 Science Challenge at Haileybury School. Representing Norfolk House were Anna Herbert, Pip Jordan, Marissa Forbes and Elliot Forrest. The theme of the day was the exploration of Mars on which the three challenges (Chemistry, Physics and Biology) were based. Students were assessed on their ability to problem solve, work as a team and meet specific criteria for each challenge. Throughout the day Anna, Pip, Marissa and Elliot exemplified the ethos of Norfolk House by working together, being polite and courteous and enjoying themselves.
For the Chemistry challenge the children had to produce exactly 30 ml of oxygen in 30 seconds by choosing a catalyst to react with hydrogen peroxide and controlling the rate of the reaction by changing the variables; the focus being producing oxygen for people to breathe if they landed on Mars. Even though the children had never experienced working with any of the equipment or chemicals, they did an amazing job producing 25 ml of oxygen in 30 seconds - pretty impressive! We then enjoyed the fantastic lunch provided in the impressive dining hall. Much of the talk on the way to Haileybury had been centered around how great the food was and it certainly lived up to the reputation.
After lunch we began the Physics challenge and the children had to design and build a system to land sensitive scientific equipment on Mars from limited materials. The children had to protect a raw egg (representing the equipment) when thrown off the top of the Science building! Unfortunately, ours didn't make it down in one piece, but we still had fun building it. Finally for the Biology challenge we had to filter water from Mars by building our own water filter from the materials provided. Our water filter did make the muddy water a little clearer, but we decided to stick to the water fountains when we were thirsty.
The day drew to a close with an exciting yet educational Chemistry Show from the staff at Haileybury and presentations. There were more that 30 schools taking part and even though we did not win the overall event, we performed to a very high standard in the Chemistry challenge (the best in our group by far) and had an immensely enjoyable day. Anna, Pip, Marissa and Elliot should be proud of the way they represented our school and it was a real pleasure to accompany them. Well done to all.
Mr Jowett