Big Bang success as Birchwood High School celebrates British Science Week

Students at Birchwood High School celebrated the 30th anniversary of British Science Week with events, speakers and trips.

On Monday, guest speaker spacecraft systems engineer Daniel English, from Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage, discussed his involvement in the Mars Rover project and the building of a new satellite used to measure climate change.

A team of STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) ambassadors from pharmaceutical company Charles River Laboratories visited to conduct a practical DNA extraction experiment with Year 10 students.

Year 7 and 8 pupils had the chance to experiment with paper speedboats. They raced them, powered by soap, and learned how the detergent affects water molecules.

Teacher Carlie LaLonge took a group of budding scientists to Herts and Essex High School, where they were award-winners in the annual Big Bang Competition.

The week, organised by Ms LaLonge and fellow science teacher Charles Cusumano, culminated in a Year 9 trip to the Science Museum in London.

*Photos supplied by Birchwood High School