Several months ago I’ve got a letter with a question: “Artem, would you like to visit our school in Montenegro and hold a master class for our children?” Of course, I agreed. Moreover we decided to start on such an interesting journey with my whole family!

Lessons, the program and the result

The private school turned out to be the inviting side. I was asked to prepare a five-day program for students of the 7-12 years old. One of the demands was holding a consistent course and helping children to know about some of physical subjects. After a little thinking I worked out a program which lessons were based on:

A WEEK OF FUN PHYSICS

(molecular physics)

Monday

Lesson 1. Where do scientific discoveries come from?

During the dialogues we’ll find out how a person discovers surrounding world, how discoveries are made and moreover how to make them yourself. The lesson is accompanied by funny experiments which young scientists will explain by themselves.

Lesson 2. What does everything consist of?

At the lesson children will try themselves as experimenters. While making fascinating researches we’ll figure out that even an empty bottle can contain air – gas that consists of different molecules. There will be chemical experiments, foam and children’s excitement.

The study won’t be over in class. Children will be offered to continue experiment at home with their parents. Don’t forget to make soda and vinegar!

Tuesday

Lesson 3. Gas – liquid – solid state

We learn the distinctive features of different aggregate states of substance. We start talking about the way molecules move and interact with each other. We conduct an experiment and watch interesting video clips. We’ll make special liquid and even water at room temperature boil right in our hands.

Lesson 4. Watching molecules.

We can’t see molecules simply with our eyes, but their existence is proved by such phenomena as, for example, diffusion and Brownian motion. So we’ll hold such a kind of experiments. Children will get the tasks and continue their studies at home.

Wednesday

Lesson 5. Pressure in gases and liquids

After several demonstrations, experiments with our own hands and discussions we’ll figure out how much the air presses down on us, how we can see it, whether it’s possible to compress gas or liquid and what the result will be.

Lesson 6. Hot or cold?

With the help of paradoxical experiment each child will make sure that the same temperature can be both cold and hot for him at the same time. Let’s discuss what the temperature is and how to define it. At home children will make their own air thermometer.

Thursday

Lesson 7. Heats up and enlarges!

Having made an air thermometer children made sure that while heating gas enlarges. We’ll continue this topic at lessons and figure out how this knowledge can be used in the modern world, and also learn how to make several interesting scientific tricks.

Lesson 8. Who can walk on water?

We study such physical phenomena like wetting, surface tension and capillarity effect. We’ll make a paper flower revive. Children will continue their experiments at home.

Friday

Lesson 9. Will it float or sink?

We will get to know about solids’ floating cause. We’ll discuss solidity, compare fresh water with the water from the Dead and Adriatic seas. We’ll find out more about submarines and conduct several interesting experiments.

Lesson 10. It’s just the beginning!

At the last lesson children will make their first step into the world of science and knowledge. The lesson doesn’t have any strict format. Children will be able to ask all sorts of the questions they didn’t have time to ask or were too embarrassed to do it earlier. We’ll sum up the learnt material.

The lessons were funny, the children were interested. It’s very nice o the headmistress to allow the children from other schools to visit the lessons. The number of participants turned out to be so huge that we had to hold lessons in two groups.

One more interesting moment become the fact that parents rather than the headmistress turned out to be initiators of my visit to school. One of the mothers found out about my activity, told about it to the other parents and then took the whole organization of our trip.

Gratitude

On our way here and upon arrival we met a lot of good people who helped us in every way and I would like to thank them on behalf of our family for that. But there is one more person whose help I felt all the time, from the very beginning and till the end, whom I want to extend the greatest appreciation – it’s my wife. She took care of everything during the journey, helping with children and even preparing the lessons. Thank you, Honey!