Today, Crew Godley explored gravity, researching the famous scientist Isaac Newton, who helped us understand gravity. He discovered that gravity is a force that pulls objects towards the Earth. Gravity is always working, even though we cannot see it. We also explored the work of Galileo Galilei. His most famous observation was that two objects of the same size but slightly different mass (how much “stuff” they are made of) hit the ground at the same time, as far as he could tell, if they are dropped from the same height. This happens because the acceleration due to gravity is the same for both objects.

To test this idea, we carried out our own experiments. We dropped bottles at the same time and carefully observed what happened. The children noticed that they hit the ground together!

We then explored forces in active ways:

• Running downhill to feel the pull of gravity.
• Observing how gravity pulls us back down.
• Dropping objects at the same time to see how they fall.
• Identifying pushes and pulls in everyday movements.

Today, Crew Godley took part in an exciting Balloon Rocket Challenge, exploring ‘Our Place in Space’. They put their scientific thinking to the test as they explored how rockets travel through space and the forces that make them move.

The lesson began with a crew discussion about rockets and space travel. We shared our ideas about how rockets launch and what helps them move. We then worked together to construct balloon rockets. As the balloons were released, children observed how air rushing out created a force that pushed the rocket forward along the string.

We measured and recorded the distance the rockets travelled, comparing results, noticing that rockets travelled different distances depending on how much air was inside the balloon. This led to thoughtful discussion and excellent use of scientific language.

We concluded that a stronger force created more motion, helping the rocket travel a greater distance.