Science Engagement

Healthy Bodies has been the theme of this term’s Science engagement practicals, and it has been wonderful to see so many of the new students getting stuck into Science and learning more about how their bodies work.

Students have made ‘blood’ from kitchen cupboard staples, finding out the purpose of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma along the way. Heart dissection is always a hit, and students learnt that each side of the heart carries a different type of blood. It has been wonderful to see and hear students running and jumping to discover the effect of exercise on heart rate, and then calming down just enough to view cell slides under the microscope. Next week we will be carving pumpkins just in time for Hallowe’en…

If you would like to make ‘blood’ at home you will need:

• Cheerios dyed red with food colouring (red blood cells)
• Small white marshmallows (white blood cells)
• Rice crispies (platelets)
• Water dyed yellow with food colouring (plasma)

Add all the ‘dry’ ingredients into a glass, then add the ‘plasma’, and watch what colour the blood becomes!