Y2 Winchester Science Museum Trip

In this 50^th anniversary year at Dolphin we have named our classes to commemorate events from fifty years ago. Our Year Two class is named after the Apollo moon landing and we have been learning all about the mission to the moon and our place in our solar system. The children have been inspired to write space poetry, designed 3D planets to create their own solar system as well as having a talk about Mission Control from Paul Martin.

With all our extra knowledge we set off for the Winchester Science Centre. Our first experiences were a series of hands on activities to explore the science of space travel from how to make water in space to finding out if sound travels through space.

Later we relaxed in the comfortable reclining chairs of the Planetarium to go on a journey across our solar system visiting each of the planets on the way. We enjoyed spotting craters on the Moon and seeing the rings around Saturn. Our journey around the night’s sky also explored the tales and legends which led to the naming of the constellations. We were all surprised by how few stars make up complex constellations like The Great Bear.

In the afternoon we became space rocket engineers designing our own rockets using plastic water bottles and sponge shapes. Using methylated spirit as rocket fuel we had an explosive time! We had a chance to improve our designs and then try to include a Lego astronaut for the flight. Tricky problem-solving challenge as gravity tended to make our astronaut fall to back to earth. We were imaginative and resilient scientists.