Science literacy programme delivers hands on learning to Whanganui schools

Nickson Ryan, Campbell Wilkins, Hadrian Lee, and Cian Murphy working with Alison Hollard from House of Science and teacher Alex Wood at St John's Hill School. Photo / Bevan Conley

New science kits are being introduced to some Whanganui and Rangitīkei schools in a bid to improve scientific literacy.

"What does the cranium protect and what does the pelvis protect?" teacher Alex Wood asks.

Wood was asking the year 5 and 6 pupils in her classroom at St John's Hill School about the skeletons in the kits delivered to their school that morning.

The Dem Bones Ngā Kōiwi Tuahiwi kit contained plastic skeletons, x-ray images, and fossilised animal bones set in perspex.

On the other side of the room, pupils were working with principal Darren Torrie using the Who-Dunnit? Nā Wai i Mahi? kit containing fingerprinting, handwriting, fibre identification, and powder tests.

Pupils were mixing powders such as citric acid and baking soda with water and testing the ph levels with litmus papers included in the kit.

"It would be hard for us to set up and maintain this equipment at school," Torrie said.

"The kit has everything included for basic forensic analysis so it provides a really good introduction."

The kits are supplied by House of Science - a charitable trust with a vision that aims to see every child in New Zealand become scientifically literate with a clear understanding of science concepts and processes encountered in their daily lives.

Branch manager Alison Hollard said House of Science was launched in Whanganui on September 1 and six schools had already subscribed to the programme which operates on a library lending system.

"The reports back from school staff and pupils have been overwhelmingly positive," she said.

"The Dem Bones kit contains 14 skeletons so a class of 28 can work in pairs. The accompanying booklets included with each kit are bilingual with text in English and te reo Māori."

Wood said she had worked with the kits at her previous school in Northland.

"I was so pleased to discover that they are now available in Whanganui," she said.

"They are so well designed and very user friendly for children and teachers."

Cian Murphy examines a lizard skeleton from the science kit delivered to St John's Hill School this week. Photo / Bevan Conley

Fordell School had also been using some of the kits this week and teacher Tom Abraham had been using the Lift Off, Kua Rewa rocket kits with his year 3 and 4 pupils to learn about balanced and unbalanced forces.

"What's great is that the experiences fit really well with recent studies we've been doing and sometimes it is hard to provide those practical demonstrations without a lot of extra time and resources," he said.

"The kit came with everything we needed including safety glasses."

Abraham said the kit included components for two miniature rockets. The outdoor, water-powered version had exceeded expectations by shooting more than 12m into the air.

"It was really exciting and I'm looking forward to trying other kits after the holidays."

Hollard said there are currently 15 kits designed in line with all strands of the New Zealand education curriculum and covering the five science capabilities.

"They support other learning areas such as literacy and numeracy," she said.

"We don't have all the kits available in Whanganui at the moment but we will keep distributing new ones as they become available."

The kits are developed with the help of science organisations such as MacDiarmid Institute, MPI, and AgResearch.

Hollard said local kit sponsorship pays for the purchase, maintenance, delivery, and upkeep of each kit and she said Whanganui businesses are welcome to get involved.

"The Electric Future, Anamata Hiko kit will be available here soon.

"It would be great if some local electrical businesses would like to sponsor that one."

House of Science was founded by Tauranga teacher and biochemist Chris Duggan in 2013 in response to her growing concern about the lack of science knowledge students had when arriving at high school.

Duggan decided something needed to be done when she read an Education Review Office report stating that more than 70 per cent of New Zealand's primary and intermediate schools were without effective science programmes.

The project has some renowned supporters with microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles and environmental scientist Joel Rindelaub as House of Science ambassadors.