Yes, as the title suggest the day was all about EGGS! The Biology, Chemistry and Physics of eggs. All the children in the prep school took part in a circus of activities in the lab that enabled them to study every aspect of eggs.
Why does an egg have a pointed end? A wonderful range of hypotheses were proposed, perhaps the making of a PhD for the future!
What is the density of an egg? Everyone enjoyed making their eggs float.
Balancing an egg on a heap of salt looks easy but the pointy end proved much more challenging than the round one.
Some groups squeezed their eggs in the right way (four people all squeezing and still the egg didn’t break) BUT others ended up with egg on their faces (not to mention the walls, the ceiling and the floor) when they squeezed it the wrong way.
Did you know that if you spin an egg you can tell whether it is raw or hard boiled? (the raw one will continue to spin after you have ‘stopped’ it due to the momentum created by the yolk).
The chemistry of egg shells provoked some stimulating discussions as bubbles of gas were given off by the eggs in vinegar.
Each group enjoyed the challenge of standing a member of their group on a tray of eggs (and not a single one was broken).
Whilst all of this was going on three little chicks hatched in one of the incubators. ‘Wilbur’, ‘Nick’ and ‘Henny Penny’ are Pekin X Black Rock and they were joined a few days later by six Indian Runner Ducklings, ‘Dibble and Dabble’, ‘Puddle and Splash’ and ‘Jemima and Chance’.
Our thanks go to Dr Tristan Bunn, Educational Outreach Officer from the Norwich BioScience Institutes (NBI) School Engagement, for organising all the activities and bringing literally hundreds of eggs to school.
NBI consists of The John Innes Centre, The Institute for Food Research, The Sainsbury Laboratory and The Genome Analysis Centre. The Outreach Department’s aim is to inspire young people and raise awareness of career opportunities within the field of Science.
November 26th sees the return of the eggs for ‘Egg Landing Project’ Day.
Can you design a crash protection system that will protect an egg from a fall of 3m onto a hard floor?
