Mr. Russell’s 5th Class 2024/2025 did a very interesting science experiment over 2 weeks as they learned about life in the solar system. The idea came from Blackrock Castle Observatory and ESRO and involved testing different surfaces looking for microscopic life. The boys used bread and tested 4 different surfaces. They started out with a “control slice”, which was taken straight from the pan of bread and sealed in a zip locked bag. Then they tested the top of one desk, the door handle, and the floor right inside the door, as it is used so often during the day as the class go in and out to breaks, and the glue sticks that had seen a lot of use for Art in the previous few weeks.

It took a little time but as the days went by, the boys watched with great interest as the bread began to show that there were microbes living on all the surfaces that they tested. It was very surprising to see the colours and amount of microbes that they discovered around their classroom! See some of the boys and the bread slices at the end of the experiment in the photos below!