Fifth Class STEM

Science

Environmental Awareness and Care – Gardening
Mr Dwyer’s 5th Class pupils took on the challenge of enhancing our school environment by planting some beautiful flowers and ensuring to extract all of the weeds and stones. Mr Dwyer’s class will continue to care for the garden for the remainder of the year.
Energy and Forces – Heat Conduction
5th Class pupils explored heat conduction while they were baking. They compared the melting process of chocolate on a number of different materials such as metal, glass and ceramic. Metal proved to be the best heat conductor, as it helped the chocolate to melt the fastest. 
Materials – Making Butter
Mr Dwyer and Ms Farrell had great fun with their 5th Classes discovering an emulsion. The aim of this experiment was to make butter from cream. Following several minutes of vigorously shaking the cream, the mixture in the bottle separated into buttermilk and butter. The children poured out the buttermilk and were left with butter in the container. The children couldn’t resist but to spread the finished product onto some crackers and give it a try.
Materials – Mummification of an Apple
Mr Dwyer’s and Ms Farrell’s 5th Class are currently exploring how Ancient Egyptians mummified human bodies after death. The children cut apples into quarters and placed one piece into an empty cup and placed the other piece in another cup, while covering it with salt and baking soda. Salt and baking soda are desiccants, meaning that they remove water from any material that they come into contact with. Bacteria that causes rotting and decay needs water to survive. The baking soda and salt remove any water from the apple, making it hard for bacteria to survive and cause decay. Ancient Egyptians used a similar method to preserve human bodies after death. They used a naturally occurring desiccant to mummify bodies. Pupils carried out their experiments, recorded their steps, analyzed the results and formulated a conclusion.

Technology

3D Printing
5th Class had a fantastic talk on 3D printing. The talk was given by two very creative pupils. They discussed the process of 3D printing, the materials used and how to create files for printing. It was incredibly interesting. Here are some samples of their fantastic pieces.

Engineering

Engineers Week – Famous Buildings
For Engineers Week, Mr Dwyer’s and Ms Farrell’s 5th Class pupils worked as structural engineers in designing and re-creating some of the most famous constructions in the world. If you look closely, you will see the Titanic, Burj Khalifa, Big Ben, Shandon Bells, The Great Wall of China, The Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower, for example. The 5th Class pupils put an incredible amount of time and effort into their creations. Amazing work, 5th Class!
Buoyancy Challenge – Build a raft/float
The 5th Class pupils were challenged to build a raft/float with the best buoyancy. They experimented with materials such as paper, card and lollipop sticks. The pupils worked very hard and enjoyed taking on this challenge. Which material do you think had the best buoyancy?
Spaghetti Sculpture
STEM challenges are activities where students design and build solutions to problems using a combination of science, technology, engineering and math skills.

Ms Farrell and Mr Dwyer’s 5th Classes engaged in a STEM activity where they were challenged to make the tallest sculpture using only 10 pieces of spaghetti and 5 marshmallows. Like true engineers, the children developed a plan through discussing ideas and sketching models, before creating their sculptures. The children thoroughly enjoyed this challenge and we were very impressed by the variety of unique structures. Take a look at the pictures to see for yourself.

Maths

Maths games – Cards and Chess
5th Class have started playing cards. They are working on their problem solving skills, strategic thinking and tactics. They are also having fun too! 
They are continuing to enjoy chess and are putting all of Mr Harrington’s strategies into practice.
Measures – Area and Perimeter
5th class used a trundle wheel to measure the area and perimeter of the school yards.

STEM Show and Tell

Introducing 3D Printing to 4th and 5th Class
Two wonderful 5th Class pupils made a visit to 4th Class and Mr Dwyer’s 5th Class to talk about 3D Printing. The 5th Class pupils offered an in-depth insight into the world of 3D Printing – they were incredible! Following the talk, there was a superb Q&A session, which both the 4th and 5th Class pupils loved. There were amazing pieces of printing displayed, some of which were given away to the 4th Class pupils! We look forward to another visit later in the year.