Written by Dr Latham, Head of Science (Prep)
On Friday 24th January, ten Prep and Senior pupils participated in the Wychwood School STEAM competition. The theme for the competition was Food for Thought and all of the pupils designed projects, carried them out and produced posters about their work. These posters were displayed at the event and the pupils had to discuss their work with judges, parents and other participants. Our pupils answered questions and discussed their projects eloquently and confidently.
Although we didn’t win in any of the age categories, the quality of work was excellent (and all completed independently). I really loved the fact that the pupils came up with such amazingly creative projects, including…
- Which type of eggs (chicken, duck or quail) make the best meringues?
- Which bread moulds slowest?
- Does the colour of yoghurt affect its taste?
- Does the perceived appearance of the food change the perceived taste of the food?
- Symmetry in nature
- Invisible ink
- Dancing raisins… will other fruits also work?
- Could Insect-Containing Food Sources be a Sustainable Source of Nutrition for the Future?
The pupils enjoyed talks from David and Catherine Christensen from The Oxford Cow – who spoke about their use of technology in dairy farming and how they make their own ice cream. Everyone was very excited about getting to try several flavours of the ice cream and I can confirm that all of them (yes, I tried multiple!) were delicious!
We also had a talk from Dr Helen Pilcher – Chief Dunking Officer for McVitie’s biscuits. We learned about her research into the optimum dunking times for different biscuits and then had our own dunk-off. It was a very fun (and, at times, tense) competition!
Thanks to Ruth Humphreys and the team at Wychwood School for organising such an engaging and inspiring event.