Four days of free, hands-on science at the Ran'aa Child Welfare Organisation. The Bloomfield Hall Science Society was the lead organiser, working alongside the Bloomfield Hall Philanthropy Club - built for kids who'd never held a microscope.
Who was involved, and what actually took place across the four days.
The RCWF STEM Outreach Programme brought together the Bloomfield Hall Science Society and the Bloomfield Hall Philanthropy Club to run a free, four-day science programme for children at the Ran'aa Child Welfare Organisation. The Science Society was the lead organiser and handled the science: activity design, stations, and volunteer training. The Philanthropy Club handled fundraising.
Over four days, 29 volunteers ran 19 different hands-on activity stations, from DIY volcanoes and chromatography to circuits and microscopy, for children in grades 4 through 7. Every session was free. Every station was designed to be touched, not just watched.
Who turned up across the four days, and what it took to run.
Every station was built to be handled rather than watched. Open one to see what it involved.
Baking soda and vinegar inside a moulded cone - an acid-base reaction that releases carbon dioxide fast enough to push the mixture over the rim.
Iodine solution dropped onto food samples. It turns blue-black where starch is present and stays amber where it is not.
A dot of ink on filter paper with one edge in water. The water climbs the paper and pulls the ink apart into the separate colours mixed to make it.
Two cups joined by a taut string. Speaking into one sets the string vibrating and the sound arrives at the other end.
Everyday liquids tested with indicator and sorted by where each one falls on the pH scale.
The pullback cars pulled across different surfaces, comparing how hard each one resists the pull.
Catapults built from popsicle sticks. Changing the arm length or the tension changes how far the load flies.
Batteries, wires and bulbs assembled into working circuits.
A balloon dropped from height with whatever padding the team can build around it - a first look at spreading an impact out over time.
Slides under magnification - leaf root, human blood, human vein - at a scale the naked eye cannot reach.
A nail, a coil of wire and a battery, turned into a magnet that switches off the moment the circuit is broken.
Biuret reagent on food samples, turning violet wherever protein is present.
Cornflour and water: firm under a fast hit, liquid when left alone. A non-Newtonian fluid you can hit but not squeeze.
An acid and a base added together until the indicator settles in the middle and neither one is left over.
A lit candle covered by an inverted glass standing in water. The flame goes out and the water climbs into the glass.
Naming each organ and what it does.
Pressure-launched bottle rockets, where the angle and the amount of water change how high and how far they go.
A chassis built from odds and ends, driven by a wound elastic band or an escaping balloon, then raced.
Hydrogen peroxide, potassium iodide and dishwashing liquid : decomposition fast enough to throw a column of foam out of the bottle.
Measured per day rather than per station, so no single activity stands in for the rest. Engagement is the share of children actively taking part; questions is the share asking their own. Engagement averaged 82% across the four days.
29 student volunteers gave 249 hours across the four days.
Anam, Huzaifa, Abeera, Zahra, Mufti, Essa, Unais, Amina, Shireen, Eshal, Hawwa, Fahad, Inaamullah, Wazha, Wajdan, Azaan, Minhaj, Dua, Shaheer, Inshaal, Abdur, Faraiz, Ayaan, Rohan, Adeen, Rahima, Laleena, Rabia
Photos and video from the four days.
Photos and video from the camp will be added here once they're ready.
If you want to help plan, run, or fund the next science event, the society would love to hear from you.
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