04.03.2008

Cranes and Access in Science

A television programme for the Discovery Channel has teamed up with the Royal Docks Community School in Newham, East London, to work with pupils on their GCSE science course.

In one experiment the children had to work out in the classroom how many balloons it would take to suspend their bodies in the air. Those whose calculations were the closest were allowed to perform the practical experiment at the Alexandra Palace in North London.

Two of the pupils were each strapped into safety harnesses and attached to the number of balloons they believed to be correct and then jump off of a scissor lift some 12 metres in the air. Both pupils successfully drifted slowly towards the ground for a soft landing.
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A pupil jumps from the scissor lifts and drifts slowly downwards

The two scissor Lifts, both Skyjack RT models, were rented from AFI.

In another experiment the pupils were taught how to make glue in the classroom. They were then taken to London's South Bank where three of them were selected by the class to test the strength of their glue by being stuck to a board which was then hoisted around 20 metres in the air and the board tipped forwards to allow gravity to do its work.

If they had correctly formulated their glue, they would have remained suspended. It turned out that all of the children, aged 13, had miscalculated and fell off the board, to be caught by the harnesses they were wearing which connected them to a frame. Two of the pupils lasted just seconds before the glue gave way, while a girl managed to stay attached for ten minutes before the glue gave way.
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The crane lifts the three children to test their glue

The unusual experiments were part of an attempt by leading British scientists to show that the subject can be fun and interesting. Their efforts are to be screened in a six-part series called The Big Experiment on the Discovery Channel.

The experiments were devised with the help of specialist companies and tested by special effects experts and stunt coordinators prior to filming. A health and safety consultant also monitored every stage of development and filming.

At the end of the process all 16 pupils had passed foundation-level science GCSE 18 months early and with marks well above the national average.

The series is due to begin broadcasting from this Thursday at 21:00 UK time.