STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Years Three and Four were very lucky to have a lesson delivered to us by Mr. Butler, a volunteer STEM Ambassador who has lots of experience in this field and has visited many schools to help inspire and enthuse children in this field. He certainly did this today!
We started thinking about all the different electricity appliances we use all the time, and how these things are powered. Then we did some investigations into making an energy stick work! (A low-voltage appliance) We discovered that if we held both ends, we could safely create our own human circuit and make the energy stick light up and buzz. We also found we could keep adding children to make bigger circuits, as long as we were holding or touching hands. If we didn’t, then we were acting as switches, stopping the flow of electricity.
We used all this knowledge to apply to a variety of circuits, to work out if they would work, and if not, why not?
This session was a great opportunity for expanding not only our knowledge and vocabulary but also our thinking skills as the children had time to consider different investigations. They are all looking forward to putting this new found knowledge into practise as they begin their Science topic on ‘Electricity’ and in ‘Design and Technology’ when they will be making a reading night light.
