Today, Year Two visited the Centre for Life as part of their Exploration and Discovery topic. They had the opportunity to explore the exhibits, visit the planetarium and even took part in a Living in Space Workshop to find out what it is like to live and work in space.
One area the children visited was the Play Zone. Here they had the opportunity to explore some large building materials. They enjoyed making different structures with the resources as well as knocking them down. They also explored a ship and pretended to be on a voyage to somewhere new. Some of the boys and girls had a go at playing with hula hoops and even with spinning plates.
Another zone was the Light Box. In this zone the children had the opportunity to explore light and colour. They also experimented with sound and tried hard to be so quiet that the microphones could not detect them. This was very tricky! The boys and girls also explored pulleys and other mechanisms in the Wow Zone.
In the Planetarium, the children watched a show called ‘Little Bear’ which explored the different constellations in the night sky. The boys and girls also visited the Science Theatre in which they were treated to a range of science demonstrations including fire bubbles and smoke rings.
In the Living in Space workshop, the children first prepared an astronaut’s breakfast. They had to use their maths skills to ensure the food weighed less than 100g but was also nutritious enough to sustain an astronaut throughout the day. The boys and girls also looked closely at astronaut boots and identified which materials they were made from and why. Next, they tested their skills when wearing gloves and found out that it was much more challenging to complete tasks when wearing gloves than without. This is why astronauts spend lots of time wearing their spacesuits on Earth as part of their training.
In the Space Zone, the children explored a model of the International Space Station and pretended to work at mission control back on Earth. They also used technology to put themselves into a space suit and had the opportunity to touch a real piece of the moon.
