Last Tuesday, the P4-7 class had a lovely visit from Mrs Pickles, one of the Ambassadors for STEM.

Fitting in very nicely with our Water topic, the pupils were given the chance to show off their knowledge about what they had been learning. Mrs Pickles was very impressed with their answers, especially the vocabulary the pupils were using!

Mrs Pickles had shown us different experiments that helped to reinforce our learning of the water cycle, and the states of water. We got to watch steam and condensation form from a kettle boiling, observe water as a solid (ice), liquid (water) and gas (aerosol room spray), and pretend to be different states of water.

One particular experiment we were very interested in was the ‘cloud in a bottle’. This involved a bicycle pump, 2L plastic bottle and some liquid solvent. Air pressure from the bicycle pump was pushed into the bottle (which contained the liquid solvent) and a tight seal was formed around the top. We counted to 30 and the pump was released – this created a very clear ‘cloud’ inside the bottle! It was fascinating to watch.

We also enjoyed creating our very own paper plate water cycles. This helped us visualise the water cycle being broken down into the different stages. They will make a lovely addition to our wall displays!