Celebrating Badminton Day: Science Outreach Extravaganza!

The girls representing Science Outreach this Celebrating Badminton Day were Bea, Mimi, Alison, Hana, Jiya, as well as one of our Head Girls, Ankita.

The Science Outreach displayed some breath-taking experiments involving liquid nitrogen under the careful supervision of Mr Williams.

One of the most exciting moments was when Ankita put her hand into liquid nitrogen quickly. She described how this felt and was possible with an oven analogy: “It’s like when you put your hand in an oven. It’s really hot and you can’t have it in there for long or you will get hurt. You also shouldn’t touch anything inside the oven because then you’ll get burnt. This is the same way.”

It was very engaging and humorous whilst still maintaining a very professional and informative delivery, making it quite scientific yet still applicable for all age groups. The members of Science Outreach have truly worked incredibly hard to display these experiments despite the effects of COVID-19 granting them much less time to train effectively.

The Superconductor Experiment

If a superconductor is cooled with liquid nitrogen it can conduct a magnetic field; and because of the flaws in its crystalline structure, it can be pinned in place above magnets. The team showed how it could spin and remain frozen depending on the magnets. They even held it upside down, and it was all very thrilling, and interesting.

‘Science Outreach has been split into two stages for me: learning from the Lower Sixth when I first joined in Year 10, and then being able to teach others when I reached the Lower Sixth. Being able to teach others has been incredibly beneficial for me and supporting my growth as well as the growth of others.’ – Ankita, Lower Sixth.

The Banana Experiment

 In this very exciting and dramatic experiment, they first smashed a regular banana with a hammer, and it obviously became very squished and flat. They then placed a banana in liquid nitrogen and let it cool. When they took it out and tapped it on a bell it rang, showing how solid it had become. After that they placed it on the table and hit it with the hammer and it shattered. It was incredibly fun to watch, and the Juniors that had come up to watch it were delighted.

“I thought it was quite interesting seeing the effect liquid nitrogen had on the banana. It was amazing and really fascinating, I loved it!” – Megan, Year 5.

The Kettle Experiment

This experiment aimed to prove that liquid nitrogen could boil at room temperature. They used an old kettle which whistles when pressure is built inside it as that indicates boiling. They poured liquid nitrogen into this kettle and shortly after the lid closed the whistling noise began. Condensation formed around the kettle as the coldness from the liquid nitrogen (which boils at -196 degrees Celsius) condensed regular gases such as argon and oxygen, as they have similar boiling points.

“Science Outreach is a great way to break down different concepts in a manageable way and helps with understanding classes and learning through teaching.” – Bea, Year 10

The Balloon Experiment

 The team blew up two long balloons and using the basic principle that when particles warm up, they move faster, part of the balloon was placed into the liquid nitrogen. As it is cooled down it lost kinetic energy until the particles were not strong enough to push back against the pressure of the air in the balloons surroundings and it deflated!

“Just looking at the faces of those Junior School children was great. Being inspired is what it’s all about.” – Mr Williams

 Science Outreach members are meant to have a whole year of training but due to COVID-19, this group only received two months. The amount of hard-work and effort they have put into this is astounding and so very inspiring, especially for the Year 9s who will grasp at this opportunity next year.

Chelsy, Year 9

“I’m so proud to have such an amazing team, some of whom were presenting in this format for the first time and I’m so proud of what they’ve achieved today. Outreach is a wonderful opportunity for the girls to be able to learn more about science in ways they couldn’t before.” – Mr Williams