On 28th and 29th September 2015, Declan Holmes (Science Ireland) paid his annual visit to St. Pius X G.N.S. Each year, through his show and workshops, Declan has encouraged the girls to embrace Science, to always question, always wonder and to help them to realise that Science is worth exploring!
There was great excitement as the Infants headed to the Science Show and Declan didn’t disappoint. There were squeals of laughter and delight and gasps of disbelief as Declan delivered a fun and interactive show with balloons, wind machines and lots, lots more, covering many strands of the Science curriculum.
The older girls had a brilliant workshop on rockets. Declan explained all about rockets and how they work. He demonstrated how to streamline the rocket shape to try to make it travel really far. Breaking into groups, each one designed a rocket with two plastic bottles, masking tape and cardboard fins! Once the rockets were complete, each group named their rocket and we headed out to the yard to launch them. Water was placed in the plastic bottles. We all stood back as Declan used a pump to launch our masterpieces! As he pumped the air through the water, the pressure inside the bottle built up. The water rushed out of the bottle in one direction whilst the bottle pushed back in the other. This resulted in our rockets shooting into the air! They reached incredible heights. We were so impressed! We had a competition to see which rocket shot furthest and highest!
Thanks Declan for a fantastic few days and we look forward to welcoming you back in 2016.