“When I mentioned this to some of my colleagues, we decided it’d be better if the children could come to the College labs where we already have all the equipment, instead of us packing up the equipment and going to the school. It sounds a bit like ‘if the mountain won’t not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain' but this way, we felt we could involve more children and they would all have get an opportunity to see and do more.
“When young children see that science can be fun, it can spark an early interest in the subject and maybe even encourage them to go on and study science when they are a bit older.”
Over 50 children took part in the Chemistry, Biology and Physics workshops at the Coleraine campus. They created (and named) their own bubbling ‘lava’ mountain using vinegar and baking soda, can create. Other experiments included water distillation and creating electricity.
Primary 4 teacher, Mrs Kiera McDonald, said the campus visit was a great success.
“It was an opportunity for the children to get involved in science in a fun way and they all really enjoyed their new learning experience.
“We’d already covered all these topics in school but because we don’t have access to the same equipment as the College, the children don’t have the same opportunities to do experiments so they really enjoyed their visit.”
