Our Junior Infants had a great time last week being scientists. Each day, we carried out some cool experiments to mark Science Week 2021. They really enjoyed seeing if their predictions were right.
We spoke about how plants and flowers grow. We learned that flowers need water to survive which they suck up from the roots. We put this theory to the test by putting white flowers into coloured water. The children were amazed when they saw the petals had turned the colour of the water.
We predicted what would happen if we put gummy bear sweets in water overnight. It was impressive to see some of our students predictions come through that the bears would soak up the water and grow. 
Another experiment we carried out was an experiment to investigate the water cycle. We linked this to our rhyme of the week “Incy Wincy Spider”. We added shaving foam to a half filled cup of water. This represented the clouds. We added a few drops of blue food colouring to show how when the clouds get so full they burst and the rain comes down. 
We also investigated what happened to skittles when warm water was added.
We discussed why some objects sink and others float in water. We carried out the dancing raisins experiment then. This was a firm favourite of the week as the children were mesmerized to see the raisins dance in the sparkling water as the bubbles attached to them and made them less dense than water and when the bubbles burst the density increased and they sank again.
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We also observed what happened when mentos were added to Diet Coke as well as some messy experiments like when adding vinegar to baking soda to make a volcano. 
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All in all, our Junior Infant scientists made great predictions and enjoyed exploring and carrying out a range of experiments across the week. We look forward to our next experiment in class.
