Science Through the Seasons

We were thrilled to return to Mark Rutherford School where six of our Year 12 students delivered an exciting STEM Day for 35 Year 5 and 6 students. The day was themed around the four seasons, with pupils rotating through practical experiments linked to Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. 

Spring – Flower Dissection 
Students began by exploring plant biology through flower dissection. They matched the parts of a flower to labelled diagrams before carefully dissecting lilies or daffodils using scissors and forceps. This hands-on activity allowed them to identify and understand the function of each part of the plant. 

Summer – Separating the Beach 
In the Summer-themed session, pupils were challenged to separate a ‘beach’ contained within a beaker filled with sand, pebbles, paper clips, rocks and blue water. Using a variety of equipment students worked collaboratively to separate the mixture into its individual components, developing their problem-solving and investigative skills. 

Autumn – Cabbage Juice Indicator 
The Autumn experiment introduced students to acids and alkalis using cabbage juice as an indicator. Pupils tested common household substances such as toothpaste, lemonade, vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to identify whether each solution was acidic or alkaline. They particularly enjoyed mixing the solutions and watching the indicator create colourful ‘rainbows’. 

Winter – Snow and Insulation 
The final session focused on Winter and insulation. Students made their own fake snow using conditioner and bicarbonate powder, creating snowmen and enjoying the sensory experience. One of the Year 12 students then demonstrated an insulation experiment using boiling water in different containers, encouraging pupils to predict which would cool the fastest. 

The day was a great success, providing younger pupils with an engaging introduction to STEM while allowing Year 12 students to develop confidence, leadership and communication skills through delivering practical science sessions.