Year 5 Go Star Crazy!
On 26 September, Year 5 left the confines of the Saar campus and ventured out into the unknown, boldly going where few had gone before. Except those who frequent Ramli Mall.
With ‘Space’ as our first science topic of the year, we were all delighted to hear that the Nahtam Planetarium from Abu Dhabi would be visiting Bahrain. As our school budget would not stretch to a trip into outer space – even if we had managed to secure sponsorship of Mr Richard Branson – this was as close as we were likely to get to seeing earthrise.
The children of Year 5 took turns to ensconce themselves in the cuddly black cocoon of the inflatable planetarium – looking for all the world like a big black bouncy blancmange. Wriggling through the doorway, which was challenging enough for some of us, revealed an inner chamber that might have been purposely designed for a St Chris class. The children lay down on comfy carpets supporting themselves with rows of Bedouin cushions.
The show lasted about half an hour. The focus was very much on the Earth and its history. In an entertaining way, we learned much about what the earth looked like at various points in its turbulent history: witnessing the demise of the dinosaurs, volcanic eruptions and ‘visiting our home planet during the last ice age. Lying down in our darkened bubble, the domed projection was accompanied by cool narration, soft music and the occasional child’s scream as asteroids impacted and ferocious dinosaurs snarled and snorted their way over our heads.
For the children, this was a fantastic experience, and all agreed it was a novel retelling of a story that began over four billion years ago…
