Visit from Campbell Live

Today we got an unexpected visit from Dan and Billy from Campbell Live.  This week they are doing a series of interviews with kids from around Wellington who are entering the NIWA Wellington Science and Technology Fair.

Toby and Tim were interviewed about their  mousetrap catapult investigation.  The boys got to explain why they chose their topic and then got to fire their catapults across the room for the camera.  Nerves aside, it was fun and an interesting experience for them.

Dan also interviewed Bede who won our school competition.  He looked into the impact the Taputeranga Marine Reserve has had on the paua population and compared his results with the paua living outside of the reserve.

Science Investigations Continue

Everyone is well into conducting their own science investigations in the lead up to our Science Night at the end of the term.

Some of the classes conducted a fair test into what types of materials absorb oil the most.  We looked at the Rena and the impact it had on the local coastline.  It was a rather messy investigation but we found some surprising results!

We finished with a couple of experiments that I knew would appeal to boys - making film cannister rockets and finding out if expensive lollies taste nicer than cheaper ones!  It was lots of fun making the rockets, all you need is a little film cannister (the white ones work the best), baking soda and vinegar.  The boys were quite surprised at how high they went.

Surprisingly, and quite often the opposite to boys hypothesis, most classes found that Homebrand Jetplanes taste just as good as Pascall Jetplanes.   When we compared Pineapple Lumps, the results varied so we learnt that it's always good to try a  few different things as without repeat testing, we may not always get a true reflection of the results.

It's also been exciting to see students beginning to use our new 3D printer.  A couple of the senior boys designed a tower which will form part of their wind turbine that they are using in their science fair investigation.  Great to see it up and running!

Term three Evaluation

It was a very busy and exciting time in the science and technology room throughout term three.
Congratulations firstly, to the five senior boys who represented Wellesley College at the Wellington Science and Technology Fair. Special congratulations goes to Lachlan Sim who won three prizes, the Opus International Prize, First in Year 8 (Class 2) and the VUW Science Prize (first across Years 7, 8, 9 and 10). Ben Hawley also won the CRL Energy Prize.

As part of the school wide inquiry, Year 5P spent time in the technology room constructing models of Wellington Harbour, showing how it's topography has changed over time.

Year Seven also had a great time construction box cars to sell at the school gala. The boys spent time exploring ideas, using Youtube to get inspiration and then began the design and construction process. It was great to see lots of effort and care taken when it came to the final stages of painting and presentation. As a result, the cars sold very quickly at the gala!

The junior syndicate also enjoyed making periscopes and exploring what magnets are and how they work.

Term Two Evaluation

The second term has once again seen many classes actively participate in a wide range of hands on science and technology.
 The junior syndicate have been exploring building cars and toys for their classroom during the winter terms. Year Three have spent a few lessons using the new K'nex forces kit, allowing them to build gravity powered vehicles. They have been learning about the importance of fair tests and what makes a fair test. the boys have thoroughly explored modifying and testing their vehicles to make their travel the furtherest.




The Year 8 students have been busy making steam powered Putt Putt boats.
There is a fantastic site, sciencetoymaker,  which clearly, through a set of comprehensive video's, demonstrates how to go about making the motor using an old coke can, straws and glue -
This task has involved lots of attention to detail, carefully following instructions and taking care to complete each stage carefully and neatly. Most of the boys have been successful in creating their steam powered engine, and some have continued on to make a boat for their engine (although many are happy with the simple plastic tray to try their engine out with).



Year six are completed a unit on forces. This began with the use of the K'nex kits. These have proved hugely popular and the students are going to use these within their own class. Using hands on tasks and lots of equipment, students are exploring key points based around forces and are also looking at magnets and magnetism.

A  number of senior school students have also completed an independent science fair investigation.  Next term some of these will go on to represent Wellesley at the Wellington Regional Science and Technology Fair.