Science is Fun

 

A group of Year 10 pupils from the Aim Higher group at Saint Paul’s Catholic High School in Newall Green took part in the Evolution and Natural Selection event organised by Manchester Museum which is part of Manchester University. The event was to focus on revision but in the form of a game.

Staff from Manchester Museum visited Saint Paul’s to involve the pupils in the “Clippy Island” activity which involves students observing the process of natural selection on a population of birds called ‘Springbeaks’ over four seasons of breeding on an isolated environment called ‘Clippy Island.’

The pupils simulated feeding in a timed exercise to illustrate how a limited food supply and the introduction of genetic variants can lead to natural selection and adaptation. They also examined whether or not beak size affects the ability of a Springbeak to gather food and how this variation can affect successive generations in the population. The final activity was to calculate the population ratios in successive generations on the island.

During the visit  the museum staff trained the school’s science teachers in how to run the activity themselves in the future.  

“The workshop on Charles Darwin and evolution helps the students understand the mechanisms of natural selection so they can apply this to their GCSE exams,” explained Lauren Furness, Lead Science Educator at the Manchester Museum.

Lauren then went on to say how pleased she was with the attitude of the pupils from Saint Paul’s “I also wanted to say how impressed both my colleague and I were with not only the knowledge of your students, but their participation and enthusiasm.  They certainly represented Saint Paul’s with their exemplary manners and welcoming demeanor.  It was an absolute pleasure to work with them!”

 “This was a fabulous opportunity for our pupils,” commented Science Teacher Anita Keegan, “They had great fun but also learnt a lot from the activity.”