Steam Power in Action!

As part of their Scientist study on George Stevenson, the children in Woodpeckers class have been learning about steam power.  We learned about how steam is different to smoke because smoke is from something burning, and steam is from liquid boiling. The children were able to demonstrate knowledge of the difference between steam and smoke through a sorting activity. We were then lucky enough to be able to demonstrate with a real antique model steam engine mechanism. Mrs Thornton demonstrated how a steam engine works in action on the playground.  The children were really excited to see the piston moving back and forth and hear the noises it made and the smoke and steam it created.

The children learnt that the burning coal boils the water, the water turns to steam inside the boiler, the steam expands and escapes to the piston compartment through a tube where the steam pushes the piston backwards and  then forwards- causing the train wheels to move! It was very exciting! The children also had a model ‘Stevenson Rocket’ replica so they were able to bring their learning to life by learning which part of the rocket was used to create the steam and move the wheels. What an exciting afternoon we had!