One of our 6th classes took part in the STEAM Science-in-a-Box initiative during the months of February and March this year, finishing just before Easter. We chose the box based on Human Biology which explored the main body systems.
We have to say that this was a fantastic opportunity for us, the resources we received, the teaching involved, that hands on lessons and a visit from our lovely scientist, Suzanne O' Brien made it all a fabulous learning experience for the children.
During Lesson 1 children looked at the respiratory system and how it works. They even made a lung model using a template, balloons, paper straws and loved it.
Lesson 2 focused on the cardiovascular system where children learned about the mechanics of the heart, it's different chambers, veins leading into and out of it and the importance of a healthy heart. Again the children made a heart model using blue and red plasticine and blue and red straws, a very clever and clear activity.
The musculoskeletal system was explored in lesson 3 and children examined the skeleton, the different bones, ligaments, muscles and tendons attached. Children made a hand model using straws, white card, string and tape.
Lesson 4 proved to be a very fun activity where children focused on vital signs of the body. They checked their temperature, heart rate, pulse, breathing rate and reaction time. Disposable thermometers are a very good resource to have in the classroom!
Our final lesson was delivered in person by our scientist, Suzanne O' Brien and she explored the world of DNA and genes with the children. The class loved hearing all about her work and she was excellent in her delivery of the lesson to the children. Please see below a selection of photos from our wonderful learning!
Going forward we plan to spend some of our seed funding on anatomy models to further our knowledge of the human body. These models of the heart, brain and skeleton come with step by step, photo illustrated assembly instructions. The class can accumulate what they have learned with new material and maybe teach their own lessons to the junior classes at some stage.
We hope to spend the rest of the seed money on valuable resources related to other areas of STEM (eg. chemistry...petri dishes, test tubes, pipettes, litmus paper). We are just so delighted to be able to buy such material for our resource room, thank you for the opportunity!

Action plan:

• We are hoping to introduce the STEAM -Science in a Box inititative to our school. The topic we hope to deliver to our 6th class children is 'Introduction to Human Biology'. This topic will cover human body themes including the respiratory system, circulatory system, musculoskeletal system, vital signs, and introduction to genetics & DNA! Our teachers and children are very excited about this.


• For the first phase a scientist will deliver the lessons. These lessons will be an hour a week over a period of 5 weeks. The project will commence in January.


• In the second phase of this initiative the teachers will undergo training in this area and teach the content themselves using the lesson plans, video support and resources provided.


• We hope that by the end of this project the children will have acquired a good knowledge of the human body and it's various systems and develop an interest in it for future learning.