Today Year 2 were really excited to finally get their (very careful) hands on our eggs. We have 24 eggs, a mixture of Peking and Silkie Chickens, and it was our job today to become real scientists.
After learning all about the difference between a drawing and a scientific diagram, we observed our eggs, representing our observations through a scientific sketch. We also looked at the timeline of chick embryo development, deciding that our eggs were between 5 and 7 days old.
We then entered the dark den, and used a candler, to identify which of our 24 eggs were fertile, and which were not. It was clear to us quite quickly, how to find the air pocket, and how to locate the embryo and amnion in the yolk sac. In some of our eggs (the more developed) we could easily make out the darker network of blood vessels.
We are looking forward to seeing whether our predictions are correct, we identified 21 fertile eggs, and 3 non fertile, which we have marked so we can keep track.
We are very excited to observe them again next week to see how the embryos have developed, and how our diagram skills have improved.
You will soon receive a link to observe the chicken eggs online (once they are closer to hatching) so that nobody misses out if they hatch out of school hours.
Above: A comparative scientific diagram – one from an chick embryo diagram, and one from their own eyes! We discussed how we could see much less detail when we used the candle, because the shell was in the way.
Below: These are our predictions – 21 fertile eggs, and 3 unfertile eggs.
Year 2 Science at Gurnard Primary School 