We rather raced to finish our term 4 MakerSpace project. The class did brilliantly especially with adapting and refining their models as they went on. We could have really done with a little more time, but this reflects the real world.
Month: June 2024
Buzzing with the bees
On Wednesday it was the Biggies turn to work with Meik and the beehive.
First we got suited up: Trousers inside wellies, Fully zip head mask, no gaps, gloves.
A tip: Don’t push face mesh onto face cause a bee could sting you!
If a bee gets in the mask you stay calm and squish it with your gloves.
At the hive we learnt about bees. We pulled the frames out to check on the bees and make make sure the queen was there.
What we learnt
Meik told us a lot about bees, this is some of what we remembered:
Juliet
- The different colour of the cell things on the frames you could tell the flower the pollen was from
- If there was a new queen the queen would get some of the hive and swarm
- You need to destroy the queen cells
- If you take the queen away for 2 or 3 minutes and bring her back they will kill her and raise a new queen
- They try to clean the queen after she’s in the cage on the hive
- Only smoke calms the bees
- There is a strap around the hive so it doesn’t blow over.
Chloe
- We pulled out all of the frames to see the buzzy bees
- To make honey bees take nectar the digest it vomit it up then an other bee takes in and vomits it up till it makes honey!
- He destroys the other queen been eggs so that they don’t develop to bees and take away the other bees to start a new nest
- The nectar that is in the middle are different colours because it is from different flowers
Olivia Rose
- Only one drone mates with the queen.
- The queen mates once in her life.
- Different colour of cell – different flower.
- The paint on the queen depends on how old she is.
- Drones don’t do anything but eat the food.
- Bees eat the nectar and vomits it up, another bee eats it. It keeps going until honey is made.
- The hive is really clean, you could eat your food out of it.
- If a new queen is born the queens swarm.
- Bees dance to communicate.
Harry
- Different coloured pollen depending on the plants
- The queen will be killed if left for only 2-3 mins
- The queen bee cells grow on the side of the honeycomb
- The drone bee cells grow on the centre of the honeycomb
Rory
- I learned that the queen does not control the hive
- I learned that the different colours of pollen cells can tell you what flower was used.
- I learned that bees vomit into each others mouths to make honey
- I learned that they have to destroy the queen cells to make sure no more queens are born.
- I learned that bees dance to communicate.
Outdoor Learning day June 2024
Photoblitzer
The first thing we did was Photoblitzer. At it’s core, photoblitzer is a website that Mr. Johnston gave all of us. The web page had a small list of photo ideas, then we had twenty minutes to take pictures going along with the list.
Nathaniel
Capture the flag
Next we had a game of capture the flag in the playground. This is a new game for the Biggies and went down really well. Lots of running, laughing and thinking.
After our photo blitz challenge we did a game of capture the flag, I had never played it before but it was really fun. Mr. Johnston split us into two teams team red, & team yellow. My group started off as team yellow, my team had me, Olivia, Lexi, Alexia, Rory & Tony. In the first round most of them came sprinting and I tug Juliet, Harry, & then Xander. Team yellow won the first round
Chloe
Dow’s Wood
After the interval we headed down to Dow’s Wood. We started by searching the wood for new creatures to add to our collection at the Banton Beasties. This is a new site that well will make public soon. We found quite a few interesting ones and a few more got away.
One Beastie was not very welcome. We were attacked by swarms of midges. This made our other activity in the woods more difficult than usual, we stopped to spend some time writing and drawing. It is a credit to the Biggies that they got some done!
In the woods, a thick tree canopy shades mossy rocks. In the woods, big blue flys lurk uncatchable. In the woods, midges bite continuously and with no mercy. In the woods, ferns are everywhere. In the woods, there is no escape from midges. Juliet
King of the Forrest For he is king of the forest He has a centurion of bugs For he is king of the forest There’s a smile on everyone’s mug For he is king of the forest He cares for the children For he is king of the forest He has a crown of ferns Placed on by a hern Nathaniel
The Nature Poem Deep down in the woods, Through the lush leafy forest At the heart of the woodland, This is how it starts. Xander
Pendulum Painting
We constructed some painting pendulums in the playground in the afternoon. This was messy but fun and gave some interesting results. The next day we took our art, edited it in Snapseed to boost the colours. We then but it on a virtual gallery wall and added ourselves as a visitor.
