Stem Clubs Activities
Wind Power Investigation
04th April 2010
As part of our on going investigation into alternate sources of power we decided to look into the pros and cons of wind power. In order to conduct or investigation we decided to buy in a pre-assembled basic wind turbine from sep.org.uk. This allowed us to conduct practical experiments to see what factors affected the effeciancy of the turbine and how much power we could expect to produce. We used a fan as an artificial source of wind which allowed us to adjust such factors as the strength of the wind and the wind’s angle of incidence on the turbines blades. We were also able to change several factors with the turbine including the angle and number of blades present. We then recorded the amount of electricity produced using a digital multimeter. Check back soon to see the results of our experiments…
Science Club
01st April 2010
Every Thursday pupils from Year 7 have been getting involved in a range of scientific experiments. The main theme is having fun, trying out experiments that normally would not be done in lessons.
So far we have – made slime, designed and built a Buzz Bar, looked at Concentrated acids and spent lots of time working as a team.
In the future we hope to make a range of indicators and investigate solar ovens…
Soap making
30th March 2010
Students investigated different methods for making soap. They then produced a batch of varying flavour soaps using the different methods.
Bicycle Engineering
29th March 2010
15 students took part in a 3 week project looking at bicycle engineering. We started by investigating tube strength, then we designed and built a flashing LED using 555 timers. Then the pupils used their LEDs and Moviemaker to calculate their speed on the schools exercise bikes.
This project also gave Mr Handley the perfect excuse to show off his mountain bike!
Smoothies - Product Wars
29th March 2010
“Using Bowland Maths as inspiration a group of around 20 pupils were set the challenge of designing and making a smoothie. They had to put their math skills to the test to ensure they did not include too many calories and to complete some market research.
We then used the food technology facilities to produce some interesting flavour combinations – I don’t think I’ll be rushing to the shops!!”
KS 3 Biology Dissection
29th March 2010
The Biology Department and the Gifted & Talented Programme at Calday ran a free short dissection course after school. The course was designed to further student’s interest and understanding of the subject and to complement knowledge gained in class. An outline of the course is shown below:
Week One (Feb – 24) Rat dissection demonstration showing the major internal organs and the similarity between rat and human anatomy.
Week Two (Mar – 3) Heart dissection explaining the link between diet and coronary heart disease. Pupils will have the opportunity to bring in a heart and dissect it themselves.
Week Three (Mar – 10) Mr Louis Clearkin, an ophthalmic eye surgeon at Arrowe Park Hospital will dissect a cow’s eye. Pupils will also have the opportunity to dissect a cow’s eye provided by the department.
Electronic Dice
26th March 2010
The students have been involved in the construction of Electronic dice this in preparation for making their own board games.
The Dice are made using a circuit board and different components to produce a simple Dice using LEDs as the number indicator.
KS3 Chemistry Club
26th March 2010
Each 2nd Wednesday of the school year the Chemistry Department, in conjunction with the Gifted and Talented Programme, runs a club to compliment the Chemistry Curriculum taught to Year 7 pupils. Alongside written work the course includes the following practicals:
Making Fire Extinguishers
Fire Writing
Indicator Rainbows
Making Hand Warmers
T-Shirt Chromatography
Making Chrystal Gardens
Fake Stained Glass
Bouncing Custard Balls
Burning Food
Hydrogen Balloons
Fire Bubbles
Slime with a Twist
Electroplating a Design
Secret Writing
Apothecary Cocktails
Washing Soda Stactites
Alien Blood
Messy Volcanoes
Floating Soap Bubbles
PH Painting
Chrystal Growing
KS3 Jaguar Challange
26th March 2010
Our Design & Technology Department have entered a team to compete against 11 other teams to build a car for Jaguar whilst considering environmental issues. The teams give oral presentations with additional power point and participate in practical activities.
Crest Awards
25th March 2010
12 Students from year 9 worked towards their Bronze crest award. They carried out a range of investigation that they designed themselves.
Some examples :
Are males more likely to be left handed?
Does height affect your lung capacity?
The best chewing gum?
Effect of surface on stopping distance?
Investigating the effects of different amounts of baking powder on cake height.
Candle making
25th March 2010
Students learnt the art of making candles. They all made a candle for a family member. Through this project we discussed sources and types of energy.
2Fast2Tec
17th March 2010
This year in STEM club we did a number of things such as: Tooth paste, Tallest building, Egg challenge, Diwali Cookie, Debate – Whale/ global warming, Marble challenge, Treasure Hunt.
Tooth Paste Experiment
In this challenge we tested two different toothpastes to see which had the most acidity and lathered up the most. To test the acidity we used the universal indicator. To test how much it lathered we added 10ml of water to the paste and shook it for a number of seconds and then measured the foam.
Tallest building experiment:
The tallest building in the world is called the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Our experiment was to create a taller building design using rolled up A4 paper.
We could only use fifty sheets of paper maximum and it would have to hold a cup full of marbles. If it was the tallest and the strongest we would have found our winner.
Egg Challenge:
Each group was given an egg and some materials to protect the egg such as starw, foil, tissue paper etc. Our final product of the egg would be rolled down a steep ramp to see which egg was protected the best. None of the groups eggs cracked however a couple of eggs fell off the ramp!
Diwali Cookie:
in this experiment we had three mystery ingredients to find out which ingredient was used to make th e diwali cookies.
Baloon Rocket:
In this experiment we had to design and make a ballon rocket.we had to thi nk n