Year 5 and 6 children recently enjoyed an exciting and highly memorable visit to the National Railway Museum, where their science learning came to life through hands‑on exploration and engaging workshops.
The visit included science workshops in the Discovery Zone, with a clear focus on forces, friction and air resistance. Children explored how these forces affect movement and speed, making strong links to their current science learning and to trains and transport more widely.
One of the highlights of the day was exploring the interactive exhibits, particularly the popular “lazy scarves” activity, which helped children clearly see the effects of air resistance in action. The children were fully engaged, asking thoughtful questions and enthusiastically testing their ideas.
“The lazy scarves were amazing because you could really see how air resistance slowed them down,” said one child.
“I liked how we could test things ourselves instead of just reading about it,” added another.
In addition to the workshops, children were fascinated by seeing real trains from different time periods. They noticed how designs, materials, powering methods and fuels have evolved over time, deepening their understanding of how science and engineering work together to solve real‑world problems.
“It was interesting to see how trains have changed and how science has helped make them faster and more efficient,” commented one child.
“I didn’t realise how much forces affect transport,” said another.
Mrs Henderson was extremely proud of the children’s enthusiasm and engagement throughout the day.
Mrs Henderson said:
“The children were brilliant ambassadors for our school. They asked excellent questions, made thoughtful scientific links and showed real curiosity throughout the visit. It was wonderful to see them applying their understanding of forces and friction to real‑life examples, particularly through transport and engineering.”
This visit perfectly reflected our school vision of Love, Learn, Shine:
- Love – working together, supporting one another and sharing excitement for learning
- Learn – deepening scientific understanding through hands‑on, real‑world experiences
- Shine – showing curiosity, confidence and enthusiasm beyond the classroom
A truly inspiring day that brought science to life and left many children keen to learn even more aboutforces, engineering and transport.
