Year 1 boys made their way to the Senior School last week with much excitement. Year 11 students currently undertaking the International Baccalaureate (IB) ran a science experiment bonanza about Sound and Light, which supports the science unit ‘Look! Listen!’. The six Year 11 students completed 11 experiments overall in 5 minute rotations. Some of the experiments included revealing laser light with talcum powder, exploring cool fibre optics, making Star Wars light sabres, vibrating phones in boxes and slinkys and styrofoam cups making Star Wars sounds. By the end of the rotations, the boys were using scientific language such as ‘vibrations’ and knew about waves and air particles. The boys had visibly and audibly experienced how light and sound travel in the air. Follow up lessons back at Wyvern demonstrated the educational and motivational impact of these hands on experiments. The mentoring and modelling that the Year 11 students provided was part of the appeal. The experiments link closely with syllabus outcomes but we were able to extend the students’ thinking in this small group approach with mature student mentorship. The Year 1 boys cannot wait to go back.

We would like to thank the following Year 11 boys for working with the teachers at Wyvern to develop the program: Sam Wyrill, Angus Crump, Richard Ge, Jock Ferguson, Kenny Chen and Kelvin Du.

“I enjoyed teaching them about something as fundamental to science as light and sound. It was a great experience to see the boys’ eyes lighting up, when they finally understood their long standing questions about the world.” Angus Crump (Year 11 Student)

“I really enjoyed mentoring the Year 1 boys and guiding them in the right direction of thinking about light and sound. I believe the experience was valuable for Year 1’s and for me personally, and seeing them look so fascinated about what we had to show was really worth the effort.” Kelvin Du (Year 11 Student)

Lindsay Bosch, Aimee Parkinson and Jenny Yoon