Junior Boys’ Year 5 Catalyst Museum Trip

Year 5 went on an exciting trip to the Catalyst Museum in Widnes at the end of April. After a few wrong turns due to Widnes’ road closures we arrived at the museum.

The day was split into two workshops; the first workshop gave our pupils an introduction to some surprising chemical reactions. They then used their investigative skills to have a go themselves at mixing some ‘potions’ and seeing how their potions behave.

The second workshop of the day was a “Find out with Forensics” session. This was a great way to combine practical science with collaborative skills. Pupils worked in small groups collecting evidence to enable them to solve ‘The Mystery at the Manor’ using a variety of forensic techniques. The session was held in the Catalyst Crime Lab and areas covered by the clues were: scene of crime observation, using simple soil analysis, using a microscope to match fibres, testing unknown powders, separating colours using chromatography, lifting and matching fingerprints, constructing an electrical circuit to create a burglar alarm, matching footprints, blood testing and DNA matching.

The day was a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting learning experience for the boys.