STEM, Smoke, and Sheep: A Curious Day at Moreton

Academic

If science is, as they say, the art of asking questions, then Moreton played the perfect host this week to 88 very curious minds. Year 4 pupils from local schools descended on the Science Centre for the STEM Challenge 2025, an exuberant morning of rockets, rabbits, and the occasional chemical bang.

The Chemistry team opened proceedings with a touch of forensic flair: a suspicious break-in, a trail of clues, and pupils-turned-detectives who used science, not guesswork, to catch the culprit. In Physics, the mood was more Apollo 11. Rockets were built — and in the case of Mr Ferrington’s grand launch, actually flown.

In the Engineering labs, small hands built tall towers — ambition measured in centimetres and rewarded with certificates. Meanwhile, Cornflower Farm offered something rather softer: a chance to pet guinea pigs, quiz school sheep Eddie and Shaun, and name two Polish bantams with culinary flair. “Oreo” and “Gingernut” were the winning choices, one hopes inspired by plumage, not recipes!

Then, sunshine. The Kitchen Team, tireless and cheery, served up a delicious barbecue. And as the pupils settled in the Holroyd Community Theatre for the Science Spectacular — part cabaret, part classroom — they were treated to an enthusiastic finale of colour, combustion and collective gasps.

Miss Dooley compèred with verve. The Science staff took to the stage like seasoned performers. There was an experiment on reaction times, another on sound, and plenty of good-natured noise in between.

By the time the children climbed back aboard their coaches, faces flushed with sun and sulphur, the hope was clear: that a few left with more than just barbecue sauce on their T-shirts — perhaps with the first sparks of a scientific life ahead.