Sacred Heart School Specialist Classes

🔬 National Science Week at Sacred Heart

Even the slightest spark of understanding can light up a lifelong love of learning — and that’s why we treat science not just as a subject, but as a way of thinking, seeing and problem-solving.

To celebrate National Science Week, our students became scientists for the day as they investigated the properties of matter through hands-on experiments. Across the school, students explored how materials behave, change and respond when different ingredients are combined.

Foundation & Year 1 explored colour and change while making playdough. They investigated how colours can be mixed to create new colours, making predictions and observing the results of their experiments.

Year 2 & 3 made fluffy slime and investigated its unique properties. Students explored its texture, elasticity and ability to stretch, pull and change shape. They discovered that slime behaves differently depending on how it is handled — providing a fun introduction to the idea that materials can have different physical properties.

Year 4, 5 & 6 created oobleck, a fascinating non-Newtonian fluid. Oobleck behaves like a liquid when handled gently but can act more like a solid when force is applied. Students experimented with squeezing, tapping, stirring and moving the mixture, observing how its behaviour changed.

Throughout the activities, students were encouraged to question, predict, observe, test and explain. Most importantly, they discovered that science is all around us — and that sometimes the best way to understand something is to get our hands messy and have a go! Why not have a go at making something at home?!

Oobleck

Fluffy Slime

Playdough

Ingredients

2 cups cornstarch

1 cup water

Food coloring

Ingredients

2/3 cup PVA

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4 Cup Water

2-3 cups Shaving Cream

1.5 Tablespoons Contact Lens Solution

Ingredients

2 cups All-Purpose Flour spoon, slightly packed, level up

½ cup Salt

2 tablespoons Cream of tartar

2 tablespoons Oil of choice I used coconut oil

½ teaspoon Food coloring

1 ¼ cup Boiling water

Method

Mix 2 cups of cornstarch to 1 cup of water into a bowl. Add colour at this stage if desired

If you find the mixture is a little too watery and not forming into a solid when you pull the oobleck out of your bowl then add more cornstarch.

Method

1. Add your white glue to a bowl.

2. Add you water and baking soda and then mix.

3. Add your shaving cream and mix.

4. Add your food coloring until you are satisfied with the color. Mix.

5. Now slowly add in your contact solution - add in 1 tablespoon, knead for 5 minutes and then add in the 1/2 tablespoon after kneading for some time.

Method

In a kettle or small saucepan, bring water to boil.

Measure the amount of boiling water required by the recipe and place it in a large bowl with salt. Whisk quickly to combine – not all the salt will dissolve, and that's ok. Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

In another large mixing bowl, combine the flour and cream of tartar.

Make a well in the center of the flour and pour the oil and hot water/salt mixture.

Stir with a spatula. The dough will be very sticky at first, and then it becomes difficult to stir, so use your hand to knead the dough. If it's still too hot, wait a few minutes to avoid burning yourself.

If the dough is too sticky, dust 1 extra tablespoon of flour and vigorously knead on a for 1 minute. As the dough cools down and absorbs the extra flour, it becomes super soft and less sticky.

When you manage to form a ball, transfer to a lightly floured work surface and keep kneading to cool it down, dusting extra flour if needed until it reaches your favorite texture.

Repeat the recipe to create different colors. Add sprinkles or essential oil if desired.

Celeste Oliver

Specialist Class Teacher