SCIENCE
Year 8 Enhanced Class
Our Year 8 Enhanced class recently put their engineering skills to the test with the Marshmallow Tower Challenge, a hands-on activity where students had to design and build a lookout tower sturdy enough to spot rescue helicopters! With only marshmallows, spaghetti sticks, and BBQ skewers to work with, students were challenged to think creatively about how real survival structures are designed.
Over 45 minutes, teams aimed to build the tallest and most stable tower possible. Once complete, each structure faced a ‘wind test,’ where a book was waved to recreate a gust of wind.
The activity explored key science and engineering ideas, including forces, stability, balance, and structural design. Students discovered that sturdy structures often have a low centre of gravity and rely heavily on triangular frameworks, the same principles used by engineers when designing towers, shelters, and bridges!
The room buzzed with collaboration, problem-solving, and plenty of marshmallow fuelled creativity, making it a memorable and engaging way for students to see science in action!
Year 7 CAT 'Let's Build a Boat'
A particular student in 7K – Daphne Cordova made a fantastic entry for her final science CAT ‘Let’s Build a Boat’.
Daphne went above and beyond to ensure that her boat was not only structurally sound, but also fashionable.
The science team is extremely proud of Daphne’s contributions throughout this year.
Year 8 Science: Hair-Raising Fun with the Van de Graaff Generator!
Our Year 8 students have been electrified—literally! as they explored static electricity using the iconic Van de Graaff generator in science this week.
The lesson introduced students to how static charge builds up on surfaces and how it can be transferred from one object to another. After learning the theory behind conductors, insulators, and electric fields, the real excitement began: the hands-on demonstrations.
Students watched in amazement as the generator made their hair stand on end, paper scraps dance across the table, and small sparks jump through the air. These demonstrations helped them understand how electrons move and why objects with the same charge repel each other.
Beyond the fun, students were encouraged to think scientifically making predictions, observing the outcomes, and explaining the effects in terms of charge movement. The activity sparked lots of curiosity (and plenty of laughter) as students experienced physics concepts in a memorable and engaging way.
It was a fantastic opportunity for Year 8s to see science come alive, and we’re looking forward to building on this with more electricity and energy investigations in the coming weeks!
