What protects our brain? Students were exposed to the fragility of the brain through a demonstration of an egg being shaken in a container. Without any protection, the egg quickly became a soup within the container. The students then questioned how their brains were protected in the skull if a simple shaking could turn the egg into mush. This led to their discovery of the Cerebrospinal Fluid which surrounds the brain inside the skull and protects it. However, as they discovered through another demonstration, this time with water acting as the Cerebrospinal Fluid, the brain is still susceptible to damage if the impact is strong enough. The Cerebrospinal Fluid only acts as a cushion, not a forcefield. With this knowledge the students were challenged to create a brain helmet that would protect their egg from any damage. Employing the scientific method, students identified a problem, created a hypothesis and a plan, built a helmet, tested it, wrote down their observations and drew various conclusions.

Qu’est-ce qui protège notre cerveau? À travers une démonstration d’un œuf brassé dans un contenant, les élèves ont été exposés à la fragilité du cerveau. Ils ont appris que le crâne seul ne protège pas le cerveau, mais qu’il le protège avec l’aide du Liquide céphalo-rachidien qu’entour le cerveau à l’intérieur du crâne. Toutefois, ils ont appris que le cerveau est quand même susceptible au dommage. Avec ces connaissances en tête, les élèves ont été donnés le défi de créer un casque pour leur cerveau (œuf).

Source:: GRADE 3 & 4 Blog