'From Sellotape to Fireflies'

Date: Wednesday 26 November 2008

I wish I were a Middle Fifth Scientist!

Today the whole year group had the amazing opportunity to attend a public lecture at the University of Kent, under the title of 'From Sellotape to Fireflies: Things that Glow in the Dark', and to be enlightened into the meaning of wonderful words like 'fluorescence', 'bioluminescence', and, 'triboluminescence'!

All four groups were very well behaved - as you would expect! - and, in a darkened lecture theatre, apart from the odd snore, remained engrossed in the peculiar properties of sellotape, disposable nappy tapes, washing powders, and fireflies.

Apparently washing powders trick us into believing that our clothes are 'whiter' than they really are - fluorescence; fireflies deploy concentrations of chemicals to glow in the dark - bioluminescence; and, if you rip sellotape off a package in the dark, you may see sparks - triboluminescence!

The whole of an illuminating afternoon concluded with an experiment in which our pupils took part in an attempt to time a sequence of 15 chemical reactions to the cannon fire in the '1812 Overture'. It worked!

Many thanks again to Miss Hummerstone, and the other science staff for providing this real 'extension exercise'.