Children and staff returned to The Royal Prep School after half term, full STEAM ahead, joining together in socially-distanced bubbles for an energetic Water Aid charity challenge to preserve water whilst transporting it over a distance. 'Water' was the theme the Prep School’s first ever STEAM Week: a fusion of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. Mrs Kerrie Daunter, Head of The Royal Prep School, said, “It was a perfect opportunity to learn more about how children can be innovative, creative at the same time as being socially and environmentally responsible; all vital skills for the future.”
On Monday 7 June, pupils and staff were privileged to attend a Zoom event with Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut to enter space! Mrs Daunter commented, “We were all blown away by her description of how water interacts in space, forming beautiful spheres. Helen explained that the cost of sending just one small bottle of water into space is a staggering £1000 so every effort is made to preserve water - astronauts understand the preciousness of this and manage to recycle about 75% of the water they take with them on space missions. It was such a brilliant experience for the children and we were delighted to be able to share in this experience through outreach with several local schools.”
Other highlights of the week included water rocket experiments with the visiting Dr Mee, the water buoyancy marine engineering workshop run by the Sea Cadets, creating beautiful artwork such as iridescent bubbles, ice gardens, water shadows, making water glockenspiels, writing ocean poetry, constructing devices to collect water and in Prep 6, they even made a link to the ancient Egyptian method of getting water from the river Nile, by making their own shadufs.