Mad About Science Incursion
The Matter of Matter!
Can you name the 3 main states of matter? Do you know what sublimation means? Or a non-Newtonian fluid? Sounds pretty fancy, but our Year 5s and 6s were immersed in all kinds of experiments when the Mad About Science staff came to MECS!
The SP Teaching Team
Please enjoy the following reflections:
I lean forward on my toes. I'm filled with anticipation as I watch the dry ice fall into the beaker. This is the moment...I tell myself. I watch the beaker fill with a cloud-like foam. The candle flickers for a moment before extinguishing. That's when I realise the experiment is a success! The gas the dry ice is made of is carbon dioxide. The foam decreases and the beaker is empty again besides the hot water on the bottom and the extinguished candle.
Beth R
Fizz goes the dry ice inside the see-through beaker filled with boiling hot water and a squirt of soap. Bubbles instantly fill the container and erupt out the top. I fight the urge to touch the bubbles, questioning myself whether it would harm me but then the Mad About Science people said it was safe to touch. I feel the cool, cloudy, misty bubbles glide onto the palm of my hand. I puncture the bubbles with a slight touch and a white hazy gas spreads throughout my fingers.
Finn M
The 'Mad about Science' Incursion was a lot of fun and really awesome. On the day, (12th May 2026) we learnt about the 3 states of matter which are liquid, solid and gas. A way I remember the 3 is that the atoms in solids are married and are really close, liquids are just friends so they’re not as close, and gas atoms don’t like each other. A cool experiment we did was when there was a big tube and we added boiling water, then washing detergent and then dry ice. The experiment caused TONS of bubbles to come out, when you popped the bubbles, gas (Co2) would come out! Honestly, I thought it was an AWESOME incursion, I loved it.
Kem S
I can hear the excited chatter as we put some detergent and hot water into a beaker. Annie puts in some dry ice and then the bubbles come! I pop some bubbles and feel warmness on my hands. For the next experiment, we lit a candle and I felt the warm flame on my hands. We also put the candle in a glass and added some hot water. Then we added baking powder and vinegar. The candle goes out and I can smell the smoke from the candle while I see the smoke coming out of the glass. I can hear all the excited chatter again. It was very fun seeing all the chemical reactions and also popping the bubbles on my hands.
Ellie T
As I stare at my beaker, I look around the room with impatience. Time seemed to be going in slow motion. Finally, it was my turn - the instructor pulled at her pair of tongs and picked up some steaming cold dry ice! I quickly take 3 steps back and start counting down 3 2-, the reaction was so fast I couldn’t finish counting down! I was amazed by what I saw! The beaker was overflowing with bubbles! I quickly scoop up some bubbles and clap my hands… Poof! Just like that the bubbles turned to smoke but the instructor told me it was called “Gas”! And that was only one of the awesome experiments I did! This incursion was one of the most outstanding experiences I’ve had at school this year!
Henley B
Today some people came to MECS from Mad About Science for an incursion. They showed us multiple experiments and then they let us do some of them. In my favorite experiment there was a tube that had dry ice and some boiling water. It made a lot of bubbles. The bubbles were completely white and would make smoke if they popped. We mainly learned about the forms of matter, those being liquid, solid and gas.
Shepherd K
Enjoy some fun videos of the day