A group of Year 7 pupils were invited to Keele University for the annual Salters' Festival of Chemistry on Wednesday 13th May.
The lucky four chosen were Brodie Mellor, Mark Johnson, Liam Stanton and Nadine Tomkinson.
The theme for the day was 'Plastic Fantastic'; a fun and interesting insight into the manufacture and uses of polymers.
The first task investigated hydrogel and the pupils had to devise their own experiment to see just how much water a nappy will hold.
We all agreed the next task was our favourite - making Slime! A fun but rather messy introduction to polymers. The University staff showed us how the film industry make fake snow and alien blood and we were amazed to see nylon being made.
The afternoon session was all about different types of shopping bags. The pupils tested the strength of the bags, set them alight and plunged them into hot and cold water. Then they had to design their ideal shopping bag taking into account everything they had learnt, along with the cost of the material and the environmental impact.
The day finished with a prize giving ceremony and Team Chesterton did extremely well and were awarded second place overall.
Miss J Harvey
Science Department
