Oceans Alive

by Sampad Sengupta

On Thursday, 13th June, PGS Year 2 pupils got the chance to work in senior laboratories and carry out various experiments under the watchful eyes of Mr Goad and with the help of the Year 12 Science Ambassadors. As the name suggests, the activities were based on oceans and primarily the properties and uses of water. The students came to the Science Centre and were greeted by Mr Goad, whom they followed into a lab where most of the activities took place.

The experiments were set up mainly to show the various uses of water. The Year 2s were asked to try to make objects float on water and guess how deep pieces of fruit would go if they were submerged in a tube which was filled with liquids of different densities (alcohol, oil, water and glycerol). The brightly coloured liquids and sight of objects stopping midway through the tube and floating on the different liquids excited the students, who all came up with very intelligent answers and ideas as to why the floating objects behaved the way they did. They also saw how water was used to rotate turbines, which in turn were to generate electricity. Each one of them even had their own views on the use of hydroelectricity and how it could be implemented further. They got a chance to drop tiny divers into bottles of water and see how these divers floated in the water in the bottle, and how they could sink down when the air bubble in the divers is reduced simply by squeezing hard on the bottle.

The day ended with all the students sitting in the atrium of the Science Centre and watching eagerly as Mr Goad performed another experiment and explained to them the effects of different densities of liquids and buoyancy. The event was organised to try to inspire young children and give them an example of the kind of work done in senior laboratories. At the end of the day, it was more about them enjoying themselves and getting a chance to work with seniors and to realise that science can always be as fun as you want it to be.