Blast off at February Half Term Event with Shoe Lane Library!

This February half-term, the Salters’ Institute collaborated with Shoe Lane Library in the City of London to celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The event highlighted the work of female chemists and scientists for our youngest learners. Our Outreach Ambassador Lauren shares experience of the day:

Participating in the International Women and Girls in Science Day at Shoe Lane Library was a great experience for the families! Kickstarting the session, we discussed what knowledge the children had about women and girls in science. They had some great answers, including some I hadn’t heard of! We then discussed what they knew about chemist Gloria Long Anderson, her work on rocket fuel and how rockets work. The children were keen to get stuck in with designing and building their rockets. They were excited as they picked out the colours and designs. Seeing how engaged they were with the activity was wonderful, and they loved showing off their rockets. The children’s favourite part of the activity was next: the launch zone. The children were encouraging of each other’s rockets as we drum rolled in anticipation. Success! We had blast off for every rocket! I loved cheering with the children as the rockets headed for the ceiling of the library.

Although calmer, the next activity on polymath Mary Sommerville and kaleidoscopes showed the children how using mirrors reflected the images that they were colouring to create symmetrical patterns. It was interesting to see the children explore using the materials available to see what patterns they could create. At the end of the session, the families expressed how delightful it had been taking part in building the rockets and kaleidoscopes. The children left happy with their creations and excited to try out the rockets more at home to test the limits of how high they could get them!

The Salters’ Institute holds an event every half-term and school holiday for families. Look out for upcoming events on our Events page or by joining our Instagram, X, or newsletter. Can’t make it to one of our outreach events? Make your own rocket with our Experiment of the Month resource: https://saltersinstitute.org/resource/fizzy-fuel-rockets/

If you have any questions about our public programmes, please contact our Public Programmes Manager at [email protected].

Photo: Shoe Lane Library