Today Pod 6 started looking at their new science investigation topic.
They were exploring some different kitchen chemistry experiments and using their OBSERVATION skills to GATHER EVIDENCE.
They will use their observations and evidence to work out what a PHYSICAL CHANGE is and what a CHEMICAL CHANGE is.
Sunday, 26 July 2015
Sunday, 19 July 2015
Student Science Survey
If you are a student at Wanaka Primary can you complete this survey to let Jennie know what you think about science at Wanaka Primary.
Remember you must be a Wanaka Primary student to complete this survey and you will need your Google login.
Remember you must be a Wanaka Primary student to complete this survey and you will need your Google login.
Sunday, 3 May 2015
It's Science Week!
It's National Science Week this week and the theme is Light!
This theme was chosen because it is the International Year of Light.
Who knows what our main source of light is? Is it electricity? Is it something else?
Light comes in many different forms - there is white light - which is the visible light we can see, but there are also other types of light - one of these is UV light. UV is the light that causes sunburn but you can't see the it.
Did you know that you can get sunburnt even when it is cloudy? You can also get sunburnt in the winter - especially if you are up at a skifield!
Have a look at this video:
It says that UV can't go through glass or sunscreen. What about clouds? I wonder if there is UV light when it is dark? Where does UV light come from?
How could you test these questions out? What evidence can you find to help back up your thinking? It's like when the police send someone to court - they have to have evidence that shows what they did wrong - scientists have to have evidence that supports what they think.
We have some UV beads at school - they are special beads that can tell you when you are exposed to UV light. How could you use these UV beads to find some evidence to answer these questions?
Take photos of you finding out the answers and email them to Jennie L and she will put them on a blogpost. Comment on this post with your evidence - what did you find out?
This theme was chosen because it is the International Year of Light.
Who knows what our main source of light is? Is it electricity? Is it something else?
Light comes in many different forms - there is white light - which is the visible light we can see, but there are also other types of light - one of these is UV light. UV is the light that causes sunburn but you can't see the it.
Did you know that you can get sunburnt even when it is cloudy? You can also get sunburnt in the winter - especially if you are up at a skifield!
Have a look at this video:
It says that UV can't go through glass or sunscreen. What about clouds? I wonder if there is UV light when it is dark? Where does UV light come from?
How could you test these questions out? What evidence can you find to help back up your thinking? It's like when the police send someone to court - they have to have evidence that shows what they did wrong - scientists have to have evidence that supports what they think.
We have some UV beads at school - they are special beads that can tell you when you are exposed to UV light. How could you use these UV beads to find some evidence to answer these questions?
Take photos of you finding out the answers and email them to Jennie L and she will put them on a blogpost. Comment on this post with your evidence - what did you find out?
Monday, 20 April 2015
Remember to enter the skink competition!
Super Skink Science Competition
This is your chance to be a scientist for a day! Join Jennie L for a day in Alexandra, riding in a 4WD, meeting the skinks and finding out what it is that some scientists do.
How do you enter?
You need to complete 2 tasks from the Wanaka Science Blog - http://wanakascience.blogspot.co.nz/
1) Read the blog posts and answer 2 questions that Jennie has written - write your answers in a comment on each post.
2) Go to the “Identifying Skinks” post and use the photos to identify the skinks in the photos - write your answer in a comment - remember to include your first name only and room number.
The competition closes at the of Science Week (Week 3 -May 8th) so get investigating now!
Sunday, 19 April 2015
Tracking Tunnels
I have been working up at Macraes Field Base recently - last week we had A LOT of snow and got snowed in!
Luckily the snow cleared away by Thursday and I was able to get out and do my work.
I was working on checking the tracking tunnels in the reserve predator-proof enclosures. We use the tracking tunnels to make sure there are no animals we don't want in the enclosures e.g. rats, mice, stoats etc - predators.
The tracking tunnels also help us to see where the lizards are by showing their tracks.
I use a map with all the tunnels marked on it to find my way around the reserve and make sure I have checked all the tunnels.
Each tunnel is marked with a blue triangle so I can find it. Can you find this tunnel on the map above?
The tracking cards are kept in a tunnel that directs the animals over them
A blob of peanut butter is placed in the middle to attract the animals over the ink.
The black stuff is a non-toxic, natural ink. The animals walk over the black ink and then over the white card at either end and leave their tracks.
This card has a mixture of skink and gecko tracks on it. Each type of lizard leave a unique print that we can use to identify what species it is. There were no predator prints on any of the tracking cards, which is awesome!
While I was checking the tunnels I saw lots of lizards - if you look closely at this picture you will see a gecko sleeping - geckos are nocturnal so don't come out in the sun like skinks do.
I managed to get really close to the skinks sunbathing! It was really exciting seeing so many.
These are two quite young skinks. It is unusual to see skinks sunbathing close together unless they are young siblings.
Sunday, 29 March 2015
Identifying Skinks
I do some of my field work up in the Mokomoko Dryland Sanctuary, near Alexandra.
This is a small predator fenced area. Several grand and Otago skinks were released into this area and some of my work is searching for them to see if they are still there!
When we find a skink we have to try to get some photos of them - which is easier said than done! Ideally we would get a side-on photo of each side of the skink.
We use these photos to identify the skinks. Before the skinks were released reference photos were taken of each skink - left side and right side. We use those reference photos to see if we can identify the skinks we are seeing in the Mokomoko sanctuary. Each skink has a unique pattern around their head - kind of like our fingerprints.
When I get back to the DoC office I download the photos I have taken and see if I can identify which skink is which. I look carefully at the patterns around it's eye and along to the vent (hole on the side of it's head)
Have a go - can you tell which skink this one is? Is it A, B or C?
How about this one? A, B or C
Reply in a comment below - Skink 1 is:
Skink 2 is:
Remember to leave me your name (first name only!) and room number so I can reply to you and put your entry into the competition!
This is a small predator fenced area. Several grand and Otago skinks were released into this area and some of my work is searching for them to see if they are still there!
When we find a skink we have to try to get some photos of them - which is easier said than done! Ideally we would get a side-on photo of each side of the skink.
We use these photos to identify the skinks. Before the skinks were released reference photos were taken of each skink - left side and right side. We use those reference photos to see if we can identify the skinks we are seeing in the Mokomoko sanctuary. Each skink has a unique pattern around their head - kind of like our fingerprints.
When I get back to the DoC office I download the photos I have taken and see if I can identify which skink is which. I look carefully at the patterns around it's eye and along to the vent (hole on the side of it's head)
Have a go - can you tell which skink this one is? Is it A, B or C?
Skink 1
Skink A
Skink B
Skink C
How about this one? A, B or C
Skink 2
Skink A
Skink B
Skink C
Reply in a comment below - Skink 1 is:
Skink 2 is:
Remember to leave me your name (first name only!) and room number so I can reply to you and put your entry into the competition!
Thursday, 5 March 2015
Collaboration
Science is all about working together and with other people. For scientists to work well they need to talk to other scientists. They share the work they are doing and help each other out. If groups of scientists work together it helps them to have a better understanding of the complex problems they work on.
Here at DoC (Department of Conservation) they work closely with Landcare Research to make sure they are doing the right things for the grand and Otago skinks. The Landcare scientists share their knowledge of skinks and the DoC scientists share their knowledge of predators and the habitat to work together to make sure the skinks are safe and protected.
Scientists work with each other all over the world - they share their research and they discuss other scientists research. Scientists learn a lot from each other and they all have different ideas to bring to a project.
It's the same at school! Working with others can help you have a better understanding of the work you are doing.
Think of the times when you have worked with other people - what new ideas did you learn from them and what did they learn from you? Did you do a better job of the task because you all shared your thinking?
Have a look at this video from the Science Learning Hub talking about scientists collaborating in Antarctica.
http://sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Icy-Ecosystems/Sci-Media/Video/Collaboration-in-Antarctica
What different scientists are working together? Why is it important for them to work together?
Here at DoC (Department of Conservation) they work closely with Landcare Research to make sure they are doing the right things for the grand and Otago skinks. The Landcare scientists share their knowledge of skinks and the DoC scientists share their knowledge of predators and the habitat to work together to make sure the skinks are safe and protected.
Scientists work with each other all over the world - they share their research and they discuss other scientists research. Scientists learn a lot from each other and they all have different ideas to bring to a project.
It's the same at school! Working with others can help you have a better understanding of the work you are doing.
Think of the times when you have worked with other people - what new ideas did you learn from them and what did they learn from you? Did you do a better job of the task because you all shared your thinking?
Have a look at this video from the Science Learning Hub talking about scientists collaborating in Antarctica.
http://sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Icy-Ecosystems/Sci-Media/Video/Collaboration-in-Antarctica
What different scientists are working together? Why is it important for them to work together?
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