Science: Science & technology at Portslade Aldridge Community Academy

Unlocking Potential

In preparation for the Christmas fair, we have been busy making bath bombs and lip balms. The Social Enterprise team have been carrying out market research and are brimming with ideas. It’s wonderful that we are experimenting with applied science in such a creative, fun way. The plan is to grow our own produce and extract the essential oils (with the help of our lovely science teaching assistant, Jess, who is herself also a qualified science teacher).

I have to confess, though, to having never made lip balm before, and I was getting rather stressed out after having broken a glass bowl… and then the microwave.

But then something happened that just made me stop in my tracks and go ‘wow’! In a flap, I had gone into the staff room with my second batch of lip balm so that I could use the microwave there. I was just telling a member of staff that I was having a meltdown over lip balm when the cover staff sat next to her said; “I make and sell my own lip balm, and keep bees too”. I mean, what are the chances? If the microwave and bowl hadn’t broken, if I hadn’t gone into the staff room, etc, etc. So, thanks to some expert tips and advice, we now have a product to be really proud of. Thank you Jenny, for appearing from nowhere, and sharing your tips about bees and ‘Sparks Family Products’.

“The plan is to grow our own produce and extract essential oils”

On another note, the telescope for our Observatory has arrived. So we are all pretty excited about that, too. Next week we hope to capture some good star pictures. Pretty topical around Christmas time, I would say. No pressure, Astronomy Club, but it would be great to get a snap of the ‘Star of Portslade’!