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Year 4 Scientists go to Manchester Museum of Science and Industry

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It was SUCH a good day! We set of to the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry at about 09:15, arriving just after 10.00. Alan our driver got us there safe and sound and even put Radio 1 on for us as we went.

When we arrived we were put into class groups and then we went our separate ways. Y4L went to have a look at the textile section before embarking on their activities while we had to rush to the 4D cinema to see a film about a robbery in a museum which also involved pirates, wind, water and seats that rock. It was brilliant but we won't give too much away - you'll have to go yourself to find out more.

Y4W

We saw Y4L in the distance as we went to the experiment floor where we could press buttons, play with water and light...and so much more. We enjoyed the exhibition because we could touch the exhibits - not like a museum at all!

Next we toddled off to the Steam Hall where we saw all sorts of steam engines, some of which were working. It was amazing to watch huge machinery working away - but no sign of any vibration from the machine...there was a coin stood up on one of the machines to show just how still it was.

Next was lunch - we went up the the fabulous Learning Suite where we were able to munch our vast supply of food (Mr Duncan's sandwiches were lovely - cos I pinched one to find out!).

We then went to the Learning Centre which was in the Station itself. There Hannah talked us through a pile of information about friction and forces. But enough of the talking....we were itching to have a go ourselves - so we did! There were four experiments to perform and they were gripping. The magnetism was my favourite and it was fun playing with magnetic forces. The boys all completed a sheet to record their results.

The Learning session finished after an hour and we had just about enough time to leg-it to the shop to spend some cash. I ended up bagging the items and sorting the money out as the queue was vast - one till for about 30 000 people (well it wasn't that many but you get the idea). There was a lot of tat bought by the boys but they seemed happy enough with their trumping putty and slime. Lovely!

Clutching lattes in takeaway cups, the staff led the boys back to meet Alan on the bus. We arrived back bang on schedule just before home time - perfect.

It was a fabulous day and the boys all seemed to enjoy the experience. There was so much in the museum and we only saw a fraction of what was available. Oliver Meadows was desperate to see the planes in the Aeronautic section - you'll have to get your parents to bring you if you want to see more. Here's some reports from the boys...

Paul Puthuran enjoyed his day - here's his report...

On the 14th of June 2011 year 4 went on a school trip to Manchester to see the Science Industry Museum. We were very excited and we hoped that we would really like it.

When we got off the coach at the museum, we were surprised to see a lot of kids from other schools too. I couldn't wait to get started with the trip inside the museum.

We first went to an arcade where there were some science related games.
We all had a go on them. My favourite was where I got my hand wet on a spinning granite ball. The other one, which I quite liked was being in a room with sensors and as I walked under these it would play a musical note, so you could actually make some music just by walking in that room.

The main attraction was when we had to go in a 4D ride in which were acting as the robbers and were aiming to steel a jewel from a dead pirate which surprisingly came alive with all his other minions. We had to go through a lot of running and it also involved getting sprayed with water. This bit was not just on the screen as we did actually get soaked. I was so scared that I crouched my self into a ball. When we got out we were all soaked but luckily it was really hot outside and we got dried quickly.

We went for a snack and set off to the train museum. It was really amazing to see all sorts of old trains. There were a lot of controls in the engine and Josh, who is the tallest boy in our class could barely reach the wheel. Olli said the had been here before on a simulator of the worlds fastest train and so everyone was following him. Sadly we never found this ride so it was a waste of time.

After our lunch break, we went to another part of museum where Hannah told us a little bit about Friction. We did several games and experiments related to friction. We were taught about gravity and how to measure in the unit called Newton. We found out how gravity was discovered by the scientist Isaac Newton.

I had am awesome day at the museum and will definitely be pestering my mum and dad to take me there again very soon.
- Paul Puthuran

Josh Johnson's Report

On the 14th June 2011 J4 went to MOSI for the day.

We were very lucky with the weather when we went, as it was 20oc. We left school at nine o'clock on the coach. The journey was for an hour it was not a very good journey as it was very boring, with nothing to see out of the window. At 10:00 we arrived! When we got in we put our packed lunches away in a cupboard for later, our first activity was a 4d Cinema it was absolutely amazing! You had wind and water coming out at you from the chairs, which made you feel that you were experiencing the scene. Then we went to the games part were we could lift a mini, play music with a ping-pong stick, have a hand reflection and finally the best activity was where you could make a hurricane. There were a lot of other activities to but I have mentioned the best ones. After that we went to the train museum were they had put a one penny coin on a running engine and it stayed still! After that we ate our lunch I had a ham sandwich, an orange and a chocolate bar. After that we went to the experiment room and did some experiments, on one of them, you had to roll a marble down and time it, then you placed a block on the ramp and rolled the marble again timing it. We did this 5 more times and found that when you put more blocks on it got quicker.
Then we did one where you had to weigh a plastic fruit, and then we had to weigh it again on the top of the water. When you weighed it on the top of the water it got lighter.
I really enjoyed our trip to the science museum as I learnt so much about friction.

Matthew Marsh's Report

On Tuesday 14th June 2011 Merchant Taylors Junior Boys' School Year Four went to Manchester Museum of Science & Industry. Lets just call it MOSI for short. We left around 9:00 am and it took us an hour and a ¼ to get there.
Once we got there we started looking around. We saw a motorbike and people started getting there cameras out for some snapshots. About ten minutes later our class (J4W) were called into the 4d cinema which was a total blast. In it you were a robber trying to steal something but there was twist and special effects zipping around the room was totally awesome.
Once the 4d bit was done we headed over to some sciencey things. This involved an air cannon, a mini??!! And lots more other things. After ½ an hour it was time to go to the engine room. This was about discovering how engines work. One engine was so steady it didn't even knock over a 1pence piece!
After our packed lunch we were told we didn't have time to go to the planes and that displeased lots of people. We had a 1-hour Friction workshop with a lady called Hannah. In this workshop there were 4 four activities which involved forces. We had fifteen minutes in the shop and we didn't stick around we dived straight in. Finally we had to go but we all had a FAB time!

Alex Sweeney's Report

We went to the Manchester Science and Industry Museum. When we arrived, we had to wait while Mr Wardle had to check us in. After that we went to the 4d cinema. It had water that sprayed you and bubbles!
After we had put are lunch away upstairs in the lockers, we went to the second floor to play some games. They were amazing and fun while we did that we had to pick partners - mine was Tolu. There was a really good thing called a friction ball that was really hard to push because it had water on it, and there was an air cannon and they were my favourites through the day. Just before lunch we went to the powerhouse it was fantastic. Sadly the train simulator wasn't here, but there were other different things like a water wheel.
After the powerhouse we had lunch. After eating my tasty sandwiches we went to a friction workshop. The instructor's name was Hanna and she set us different things to do like with marbles, magnets and a grip. I was with Rob and it was so fun!
The last thing we did at the museum was go to the gift shop. It had some amazing things in there and a massive queue to pay as well! Finally Mr Wardle said we had to go, so we got back on the coach and left. That was the end of our trip!

Oliver Meadows' report

On Tuesday J4 went to the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry. We came into school with our packed lunches and went into class. We had a little talk about what we were going to do. There was a 4-D cinema, power hall and much more at the museum. Then Mr Wardle told us to line up so we could make our way to the coach.
The journey was about an hour. We arrived at MOSI at about 10: 15. The teachers had to find out where we were going first so they went to the front desk. Our class then had to hurry to a big building where we were going to watch the 4-D show. We arrived there just in time and picked up our 3-D glasses. The show was about you being a museum thief and you had to find a diamond. You went down air-vents and nearly got sliced in half by a sharp fan! There was a statue that came to life and battled against you but you won, eventually. The End!
We had our packed lunches with us when we got out, so we were allowed to have a snack while we were walking. We went to a cloakroom where we could store our lunches and then we toddled off to the experiment area. There was a beach ball sized ball on a podium, covered in water. We had to spin the ball one way then spin it the other way. It was really difficult to stop it. There was also a vortex cannon and a mini tornado which were really great fun to play with.
Next up was lunch. Lots of boys wanted to trade Tom for his toffee biscuits and Percy Pigs. I managed to trade half a Kit-Kat for a Percy Pig! I had sandwiches, crisps, a drink and some strawberries!
After that we went to the power hall (train hall). Lots of boys followed me because I said there was a train simulator in the hall last time I visited. I looked round the whole hall but I couldn't find it. Apparently the staff had taken it out! There was a machine where you released water which would turn the water wheel but this didn't make up for not seeing the simulator!
Mr Wardle then led us to the learning centre. When I looked inside it looked fascinating. There were four activities: magnetism, marbles timed down shoots, weight, and friction. Hannah (the teacher) had a little talk with us about friction and forces. We then started at different stations. George and I started at the friction table. We had to see which material had the most friction by lifting a ramp up and measuring the height of it until it dropped. Foam had the most friction! We moved onto the magnets table and had to count how many iron washers needed to put on the two repelling magnets to make them touch. We had to add 20 washers! George and I moved onto the marbles; there was one block with a ramp and we had to time the marble to the bottom. Then we added another block and measured the time to the bottom again, so on. The time our marble took to reach the bottom reduced every time we added another block. Finally, we moved to the last activity and learnt that when we placed wax fruit in water it was lighter on the scale than it was in the air. This was because gravity was pushing the wax fruit down and the water was pushing it up. I found that interesting.
We said goodbye and thank you to Hannah and then we left because we were promised we could go into the shop but we only had five minutes to buy anything. I bought sound putty and a slinky. I really enjoyed my visit to MOSI and I want to go back in the summer holidays. If I was a teacher I would definitely take my students there!

Tom Gokcen's report

We arrived at school dressed in our own clothes and with a packed lunch at about 8.30am. We were all excited because we were looking forward to having a day out of school! We got on the coach and I sat next to Tim for the journey which took about one hour.
When we got there, we saw the massive buildings of the museum which were very impressive and we couldn't wait to get inside.
Our first activity was the 4D cinema which means that apart from just the animated film in 3D, we had smells, noises, movement, sprays of water and tickling on our legs! It was really good and everyone loved it.
Next we went into a big room and there were a few different things to look at. I went straight to a big marble ball which weighed 86kg but I was able to spin easily because it was being pushed up by the water. In the same room we were able to play with magnets, build and construct rubber shapes which were like a giant 3D jigsaw. We spent about half an hour in the activity room before we left to have a little snack before the next activity.
We went to the area where all the trains were kept. They were all very old and powered by steam which used coal to heat up the water and then the steam made the engine work.
We were all ready to eat our lunch after that and get our energy ready for the next activity which was all about friction and forces. We have been doing this at school so it was interesting to see it for real. There were actual experiments such as weighing, timing and looking at different materials to see which would grip the best and had the most friction. It was good to practice what we had been learning.
After chance to look in the shop and take away a souvenir, it was time to get on the coach for the journey back to school after a long, fun-filled day.

Max Sumner's report

Year 4 recently had a school trip to the Manchester Mosi Museum ,when we arrived at the museum we were paired up with our classmates, i chose to be with Robbie ( Horrocks ).
The first thing we did was to go into the theatre room,were we were shown a 4D film, this was really awsome. Next we were allowed to have a play in the play area,where we played with a friction ball and lots of other fun things.

After this we went to look at the old trains,this was really fascinating and Mr Wardle took a picture of a wheel going really fast,that was shaped like a fan.
Hanna one of the staff at the museum got us laying blocks on top of each other so we could test the speed that the marble fell,we also had a thing called a Newton stick which showed how diferent thing move and weighed. After doing this Hanna set us a challenge , the challenge was to move a toy car but without touching it ,this we did by using the magnets that were there.

Then we had our lunch in the cafeteria of the museum,which was on the second floor.

After lunch we went to the museum gift shop , it was here that i bought some goo , a wumpy putty ,and a slingey for my big brother.

Mr Lyon them took us back onto the bus for our trip back to Merchants,we had great fun and i want to go back again soon.

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Year 4 Scientists go to Manchester Museum of Science and Industry

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