Flintshire students explore scientific theories through fun practical sessions

Young students at a Flintshire high school learned about a host of scientific theories during a hands on session designed to spark their interest in the subject.

Each year 7 form group at Argoed High School had an opportunity to participate in a 55 minute workshop that focused on the subject of forces.  The workshops were delivered by David Crewe and Emyr Williams, both science communicators from Xplore! Science Discovery Centre, Wrexham.

The lively session brought the subject of forces to life through a series of volunteer-led experiments, investigating a range of topics including Newton’s laws, gravity, friction, and pressure.

A hair-raising demonstration of a Van de Graaff generator proved popular, showing students how charged hair strands repel each other, resulting in the hair standing straight up on end. 

David and Emyr both commented on how engaged the students were, with good interactions throughout the sessions. 

Summer said: “The crushing can experiment to demonstrate the effects of pressure in water was fun because it made everyone jump,” and Phoebe added: “I really enjoyed the workshop, but I was quite nervous when it came to sitting on a chair of nails!  It was interesting to see how increasing surface area decreases pressure.”

Gemma Perrin, curriculum leader of science, said: “Our students really enjoyed the session on Forces delivered by Xplore Science Discovery Centre.  Sessions like this really allow students to think about scientific concepts in fun and exciting ways.”