Our Material Science workshops
This British Science Week we are looking at The Science of Materials. Science of materials, and particularly the properties of different materials, are really important aspects of recycling and resource use. One of the workshops we deliver to schoolchildren in Devon is about the science of materials. Using links to science in the National Curriculum, children get to become materials scientists, with white coats and experiments to perform on different materials.
Different materials are used for different purposes in packaging, for example, water bottles need to be a waterproof material and flexibility and cushioning are useful properties of packaging that keeps items safe and secure during transport. This also means that we end up with different items in our recycling collections at home, which have to be sorted out.
The introductory task
The first part of the workshop is a revision of the words used to describe properties of materials. Different words are placed around the room. The children must go to the word they think matches the definition that we tell them.
The definitions: “opaque” (doesn’t let any light through so you can’t see through it), “translucent” (let’s some light through / kind of see through), “transparent” (let’s all light through / totally see through), “rigid” (doesn’t bend / hard), “flexible” (bendy), “absorbent” (soaks up liquids), “magnetism” (sticks to magnets), “insulator” (doesn’t let electricity flow through it), and “conduction” (lets electricity flow through).
Now for lab coat time!
After this warm up task, the children put on their lab coats and are divided into six groups for six experiments. The groups are given small segments of seven different materials: glass, paper, plastic, steel, aluminium, wood, and cotton.
To conduct these tests the children must predict what will happen to each of the materials. Is wood absorbent or not for example? These materials are tested to see how they react. After which they record their findings on a whiteboard. The six different experiments are listed below:
- The transparency test: A flashlight is used to test if we can see through the material.
- The absorbency test: Water droplets are placed on the material to see if it soaks it up.
- The conductivity test: Using a circuit to check if electricity can pass through the material (don’t worry, it’s safe!).
- The hardness test: To see if the material gets scratched easily.
- The magnetism test: To find out if the material sticks to magnets.
- The flexibility test: To see if the material can bend without breaking.
Time for reflection
Children are asked to reflect on their findings in the different experiments, and the educators explain that material scientists use the properties of different materials to design sorting machines in material recovery facilities. All in all it is a fantastic way to engage with recycling science.
This activity is summarised in our worksheet here: https://zone.recycledevon.org/materials-worksheets/properties-of-materials
For more activities all about different materials, check out our Science of Materials Worksheets – Zone (recycledevon.org)
For more on British Science Week, there is a dedicated page: Homepage – British Science Week
The conductivity test
The absorbency test
