Read, Learn Education

The Pont du Gard is the highest of the Roman aqueducts. It was built in the 1st Century AD to transport water to the Roman colony of Nemausus ( now Nimes ) in the South of France. The impressive bridge towers above the Gardon, a feeder river of the Rhone. It’s astonishing to think it was built before the days of the large cranes and machinery we have today.

What is an aqueduct?

Aqueducts transport water from one place to another, usually from a water source to a town or city. The water is carried either through underground tunnels or overground on a bridge like the Pont du Gard. The Pont du Gard is just a small part of the 50km aqueduct which the Romans built to transport water from the start of the Eure to Nemausus.

Aqueducts use gravity to allow water to flow. The slope has to

Make flying santa hats or snowmen for a fun, festive STEM challenge! All you need is an empty milk container, paper and tape.

You’ll sometimes see this activity called a rocket mouse, as traditionally the cone is made to look like a mouse.

You can theme the paper cones however you like. Reindeers would also work well for a Christmassy feel.

You’ll need

Paper or card

Felt tip pens

Scissors

Milk container

Tape

Instructions

Create a cone with the paper and tape.

Place the cone on top of the milk container.

Use both hands to squeeze the milk container and watch as the cone shoots up into the air!

Why does the cone shoot into the air?

When you squeeze the bottle, the air inside is forced out through the top. The force of the air against the rocket top sends it shooting upwards. The harder you push the

Poinsettias are lovely house plants often sold around Christmas time. They have dark green leaves and red ‘bracts’ surrounding the flowers in December and January. Bracts are specialised leaves. After January, the red bracts fall out and the plant is green until the next November/December.

Poinsettias need to be kept in bright conditions and not overwatered.

How to make poinsettia turn red

Poinsettias only form flowers when they don’t receive light for at least 12 hours a day, but they also need bright light during the day so they can make enough energy to grow.

Poinsettias are photoperiodic. The longer periods of darkness in winter stimulate the formation of flowers. The red bracts don’t contain much chlorophyll ( responsible for the green colour of leaves ) but contain pigments called anthocyanins, giving them their bright red colour.

To encourage a poinsettia to turn red, you must ensure it is

Sometimes instead of being cheeky, our Christmas elf leaves the kids a fun science investigation to try. The elf brings everything the children need for the experiment and printed instructions for them to follow to make it as simple as possible.

If your elf is looking for inspiration, they might like these elf-themed science experiments!

Grab your FREE elf experiments booklet from the link above.

Elf Themed Science Investigations

Frost on a Can

Make a Frosty the Snowman and learn about the cooling power of salt at the same time!

Frost forms on the outside of the can making it look like a snowman!

Skittles STEM

All you need for this activity is a bag of skittles and water! Pour warm water over the skittles and watch as the colours spread out.

If you’ve got a white coffee filter or filter paper hanging around, you could try some candy