Step 5 - STEM Showcase
ESB SCIENCE BLAST 2023
On the first of March 2023, Ms. McCarthy’s Fifth Class went to the RDS to present our Science Blast project. Our research question was “How Do Fish Breathe Under Water?”. We were the first class from Pope John Paul II N.S. to take part in Science Blast. With the help of Ms. Hayden, our STEM teacher, we did lots of fun activities to help us research our question. We managed to put together a great presentation and we all had an amazing time.
To decide our question, we all came up with one question. Then we narrowed it down until we had three left. Finally, we had a vote and decided on “How Do Fish Breathe Under Water?” as our question.
To prepare, we made PowerPoint presentations in groups to compile our information. Then we brought it all together and put it on a a large sheet of paper. We had a Scratch interactive diagram, an experiment and even a robotic fish!
Our class took a bus to the RDS and when we arrived, we all looked at all the brilliant things that there was to do. There was a photo booth, some food stalls, science shows and lots more activities.
The first science show was “Smash Your Goals” sport show. It was about the science behind all your favourite sports. Mark, the science guy, was talking about lots of different things you can do to improve your sports skills. He showed us how to position your foot, so the ball goes a certain way. How to hit a knuckle ball, and how to hit a ball with “magnus” effect (when a ball curves).
The second show was “The Secret World of Gases”. It might sound strange, but it was very interesting. It showed us all sorts of gases in our ordinary lives and the incredible things that can happen. Have you ever used a banana as a hammer? This is just one of the incredible things you can see at the gasses show.
Other fun things to do at the Science Blast include a mini-space observatory and looking at other schools' projects from all over the country.
When the judges gave feedback to our stand, they said they were very impressed with how we presented our project and that all of us could talk about every area of the subject. They liked that we had done so much research and were impressed that we even went on a field trip to Sea Life Aquarium in Bray as part of our research. One of the judges was a marine biologist and he said that our project was his favourite! We were given a trophy which is now displayed on Ms. Mc Carthy’s desk.
Overall, we had an amazing time at Science Blast. From the great stands and the activities to all the fun in preparing our project, Science Blast was a brilliant experience. I would highly recommend it to everyone.
By Mary-Kate Kelly
