Scientists in Residence Visit YCIS 

Written by John McEnhill, Primary Curriculum Coordinator 

Last week we were excited to have a visit from Hong Kong based scientists, Sue and Cyrus. They work with our foundation as Scientists-in-Residence, sharing their love of Science with schools throughout the YCIS family. Sue and Cyrus came to work with some of our older Primary students, in Years 5&6, and some of our youngest students, in K4. This was a great opportunity to get hands on with practical Science, complementing the work done as part of the curriculum. Students were guided in conducting experiments with water. K4 learned about chromatography. It was great to hear such young children using scientific language in conversation with their teachers, with one student explaining how “the ink went to the bottom because it is heavier”. Year 5 carried out an experiment on water tension, which focused on changing one variable, while keeping all the others the same. The activity offered invaluable practice in carrying out the scientific method. Finally, Sue and Cyrus went to work with Year 6, conducting an experiment on water density. This provided preparation for the upcoming Year 6 Science Fair. Year 6 students were very excited to see the rainbow effect caused by mixing water of different densities, dyed different colours. 

Our next Science event is the STEM week at Century Park campus, with a range of Science themed activities for our Year 6 and Secondary Students. We hope that this, along with our regular curriculum, and events such as our Scientists’ visit, develop an appreciation and love of Science in all of our students.