The Oakhill Science Club is an initiative aimed at furthering an interest and passion for Science by applying the Oakhill ethos and ‘having fun whilst learning’. It will run fortnightly on a Friday afternoon and is open to College pupils on a limited number ‘sign up’ basis and the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 to 7) pupils by invitation and as a reward system.
The inaugural Science Club session was titled ‘Smells and Smokes’ and was punctuated by a number of loud bangs. Exothermic reactions, stink bombs and rocket fuels were made and tested.
Future programs will include the manufacturing (from scratch) of a steam turbine powered car and the applying of design modifications to attain either speed, hill climbing or load carrying ability. The building and operation of a hydro/pneumatic kit car and the use of electronic kits to make certain projects. The Chemistry show will be repeated, with variations, roughly every six months. There are also plans ahead to include a program on bio-mimicry.
The next session will be a challenge, using the Rube Goldberg * experiment as a method of focusing on the development of creative thinking to solve a posed problem.
For example: www.rubegoldberg.com, 20 August 2012
*(Rube Goldberg: a comically involved, complicated invention, laboriously contrived to perform a simple operation. – Webster’s New World Dictionary)
For more information on Rube Goldberg please see above web-link.
Report: Andrew Meintjes
College Science Teacher
