Year 5 – Designing, Testing and Improving 🛠️✈️🏗️

In Year 5, the children’s scientific learning was inspired by the story The Most Magnificent Thing, which encouraged them to think creatively, persevere and learn from trial and error. The story provided a powerful starting point for exploring design, forces and structural stability.

The children investigated air resistance, testing how different shapes and objects move through the air. They designed and created their own magnificent paper flyers, comparing how structure, shape and surface area affected flight and stability. After testing their designs, the children reflected on the results and made improvements, just like the character in the story.

Building on this, the children became engineers as they designed and constructed magnificent towers, exploring balance, strength and stability. They tested different structures, discussed what worked well and why, and used their findings to refine their designs.

Across all activities, the children developed important scientific and design skills including planning investigations, testing variables, analysing results and improving ideas. Using a story that celebrates curiosity and resilience helped the children understand that science and engineering are about experimenting, learning from mistakes and never giving up.