Issue 8 | Autumn 2025

Thank you to all those who attended our Halloween Workshops last week! We hope the kids had a wonderful time. We sure did!

And for all those that missed it, don’t worry. We have a few more exciting things planned for the holiday season, so be sure to keep a close eye on this space.

SCIENCE BEHIND THE WAND

You may think of all the spells, Lumos would be the easiest for science to recreate, but illumination isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Until the advent of LEDs, light required making something, like the gases above burning fuel or the filament in an incandescent bulb, so incredibly hot that they glowed bright. But there was another, more “magical” way. Using chemiluminescence, the process that powers everything from fireflies to glow sticks, we will concoct potions of luminol, a chemical that breaks down to produce cool light, to bathe the lab in the ethereal glow of many colours.  

MYTH BUSTERS

Despite being the most familiar of forces, gravity is ripe with possible myth. Do heavy objects really fall faster than lighter ones? Would a fired bullet really hit the ground at the same time as a dropped bullet? Could a coin dropped from the top of a skyscraper really be lethal? And is there really no gravity in space? The greatest scientific minds earned their names by answering questions like these, and we will do the same as we drop various objects through different media and discover the nuances of gravity, air resistance, and terminal velocity, ultimately building a parachute that can even save a falling egg from a messy end.

PERIODIC PIONEERS

We move across to oxygen, everyone’s favourite element, and with good reason. Without it, it would be a challenge to release all the energy locked away inside chemicals. From the glow of candles to the calories hidden in food, without oxygen, our lives would be cold, dark, and weary. But there are living things that have learnt to do without, and it is one of these that we turn to this week. Using yeast, we will unleash the oxygen trapped within hydrogen peroxide and create the foamy, bubbly mess that is the ever-popular Elephant Toothpaste experiment.

Issue 7 | Autumn 2025

Welcome back! We hope you all had a lovely break and are recharged for the last half of the term.

And to mark this spooky month, we are hosting a special Halloween workshop on Friday, the 24th of October. With eerie experiments, terrifying tricks, and tasty treats, it will be an hour of hair-raising fun!

• Workshop 1 | 15:00 | Ages 5 & 6

• Workshop 2 | 16:30 | Ages 7+

AED 175 per child. (VAT exclusive)

Sign up here.

SCIENCE BEHIND THE WAND

Since even Aparecium wasn’t enough for Hermione to unlock the secrets of Tom Riddle’s diary, we will be turning to science to make and reveal a whole palette of invisible inks. Acids, such as lemon juice, have long been the go-to choice for a quick, DIY invisible ink; however, the heat needed to reveal them poses a significant fire hazard. So we turn to base instead. By writing our secret messages in a baking soda solution, we can use turmeric’s ability to detect pH by changing its colour to reveal them with just a spray. But for total secrecy, we need to turn to ultraviolet light. By shining this invisible light onto messages written in bleach and UV-reactive ink, even Professor Snape won’t be able to reveal our secrets. Mischief managed!

MYTH BUSTERS

Imagine you’re sailing the high seas with pirates in hot pursuit. With their faster ship, it’s only a matter of time before they catch up, so you need to find some extra speed. In your desperation, you and your crew take big gulps of air and start blowing into your sail. Would that work? Can you really blow your own sail? By building mini rafts, hoisting sails upon them, and using fans to blow at them, the myth will soon be put to rest. But by doing some further testing with fan cars on dry land, while getting to grips with Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion, we may find a better way to leave those pirates in our wake.

PERIODIC PIONEERS

It’s on to another vital element for life! Without nitrogen, proteins, the building blocks of life, would not be possible. Despite nitrogen gas making up most of our atmosphere, bioavailable forms of nitrogen were so scarce that nitrogen-rich biological matter, like the “stuff” we all leave behind in toilets, was at times more valuable than gold. Just as chemistry eventually found a way to split the strongly-bonded N2 gas molecule and feed the world, we will work on super-cooling that gas to -196 degrees C (as cold as Uranus and Neptune!) so that it stops being a gas altogether. With this liquid nitrogen in (well-protected) hands, we will freeze roses and marshmallows and smash them to smithereens, cook up dragon-breath popcorn & unleash a massive explosion of fog!

Issue 6 | Autumn 2025

Since next week is Half-Term, there will be no classes from the 11th to the 17th of October. Classes will resume from the 18th onwards.

However, we will be running our ever-popular holiday camp during this time (13th to 17th), where we make the most of the extra free time the children have to go even deeper into the science. That means more learning, more experiments, and a whole lot more wonder!

With limited spots available, these camps fill up fast. Sign up here and don’t miss out.

SCIENCE BEHIND THE WAND

Impedimenta. Arresto Momentum. Petrificus Totalis. Even Stupefy. The wizarding world has many spells to slow and even stop motion altogether, but for us mere Muggles, we just need to master Newton’s Laws of Motion. Despite being the foundation on which much of modern science was built, these rules are so simple that we can rediscover them for ourselves using a few blocks and rubber bands. By racing and crashing these blocks, we will gain an intuitive understanding of heady concepts like inertia, force, and momentum. Then, with that same momentum on our side, we will use launchers and cannons to fire tennis balls at ever greater speeds to bring dauntingly big foes to a screeching halt.

MYTH BUSTERS

Things get microbial this week as we investigate some germy myths. Are chopping boards more germ-ridden than a toilet? What about door handles? Or, heaven forbid, our devices?! And is the 5 Second Rule really a rule? Answering the last of these will be easy. By dusting the floor with a special fluorescent powder that simulates germs, we can shine a light on how long it takes different types of dropped food to be contaminated. But to answer the rest, we will need to get farming! By cooking up and plating a nutrient jelly that microbes won’t be able to resist, we will provide the perfect home for some single-celled pets. Then, we will swab these supposed havens for germs, incubate them, and watch our colonies grow.

PERIODIC PIONEERS

We should be grateful for carbon’s ubiquity, as this element forms the chemical backbone of all life on this planet. The complicated molecules that allow something as complex as life to thrive, everything from the proteins and fats that build and regulate our bodies to the DNA that encodes its information, wouldn’t be possible without strings of carbon atoms and their ability to bond with up to four atoms at a time. Even sugars, the universal fuel for metabolism, are nothing without their carbon chains. And it is from these sugars that we will demonstrate carbon’s chemical prowess. With a little help from fire, we will witness carbon rise like a charmed serpent from a pile of sugar before we use glucose to create a chemical traffic light that changes colour with just a shake.

Issue 5 | Autumn 2025

Last chance to claim your early-bird discount for our Half-Term Camp!

Sign up here using the code OHT10 to get an additional 10% off the week.

We have both morning and afternoon sessions available, all packed with experiments that will fire up your future scientist’s curiosity and make for an awesome half-term!

SCIENCE BEHIND THE WAND

Ascendio is the perfect spell to get you out of any undesired situation. Ascendio, and you launch out of the water before your gills seal up. Ascendio, and you leap up and reach the top shelf. Ascendio, and you leave that awkward conversation down in your dust. Simple elasticity, like the type used to power our pogo sticks and cup launchers, could get us some of the way there, but for some much-needed oomph, we need to turn to proper propulsion. By pressurising gas and using it to force water into jets, we will launch rockets up to the ceiling and beyond! Then, using nothing but the force of hot gases, we will propel matchstick rockets and water bottles ahead of their fiery trails!

MYTH BUSTERS

Can you walk across a pool of oobleck? Before we break out the cornflour and water and make this thick ooze, let’s finally settle what separates liquids from solids. While Newton thought this was straightforward enough to warrant a law, the discovery of non-Newtonian fluids proved he was a bit hasty. Some, like mayonnaise and toothpaste, act solid until a force is applied. While others, like ketchup and paint, become more runny when you do the same to them. But oobleck is where things get really weird. Gently mix it, and you have a liquid on your hands (as we quite literally will!). But strike it and watch as it turns resolutely solid under your might. After releasing all of our stress on the stuff, we will fill up a pool and run, hop, and skip our way across the surface of a liquid like no other!

PERIODIC PIONEERS

Some elements are so vital that they need an entire session. But carbon is going to need two! We start by exploring carbon in its many forms. It can be as brittle and lacklustre as pencil lead and as hard and dazzling as diamonds. But we are most familiar with it as carbon dioxide. Previously, we used it to make fountains of fizz, but this week, we will go subzero! Usually, when a gas is cooled enough, it will condense into a liquid. However, when CO2 is cooled to just about -80°C (colder even than Antarctica!), it skips being a liquid and freezes solid. And as it melts, the released gas rapidly cools the surrounding water vapour and condenses into fine droplets of liquid water. Our chemists will do just this as they turn the lab into a real-life potions class filled with eerie fog and bubbly mess.

Issue 4 | Autumn 2025

Registration is now open for our October Half-Term Camp.

Join us as we select the best hands-on activities and experiments from our Modules, and then make the most of the free time children finally have to take it all to the next level!

The camp is suitable for children aged 5 to 12, with both morning and afternoon sessions available.

And if you book before the 1st of October using the code OHT10, you will get an additional 10% off the week!

SCIENCE BEHIND THE WAND

Arguably, the most famous spell is Wingardium Leviosa (that’s leviosa, not leviosaaa!), and it’s one that science has well and truly covered. Electricity and magnetism have been making objects levitate long before Dumbledore grew the first hair on his chin. After swapping Hermione’s feather for our own flying teabags, we will use the power of electrons to levitate plastic at the behest of our static wands. But just as like charges repel, like poles do too, and magnetic levitation can be orders of magnitude more powerful, lifting whole trains off their tracks. So, we will summon up this force to hover magnets and bolts, pencils and brooms in nothing but thin air!

MYTH BUSTERS

Would we really sink in quicksand? And if yes, is it actually dangerous? What even is quicksand?! When water-saturated sand is agitated, once solid ground can quickly turn surprisingly liquid. By making it for ourselves, we will witness the dangers of liquefaction as it sinks objects and settles the first of our myths. But to answer the second, we will need to get dense! By pouring and floating different liquids atop one another, we will explore density and buoyancy until we are confident that quicksand won’t pull us down to the bottom any time soon (just don’t panic!). While some would love the chance to test this with real-life quicksand, the higher insurance premiums would hardly be worth it. So, we will pump air rather than water through fine sand to give you the next best thing - fluid sand!

PERIODIC PIONEERS

Categories help us make sense of the world, but nature doesn’t always play ball. Solids, liquids, and gases may seem like useful ways to describe materials until you meet materials that don’t fit neatly into either group. And elements can be just as rebellious! Chemists would like to divide them into metals and non-metals, but then came the metalloids, which were a little bit of both. This week, we will use boron, the lightest of these metalloids, to make a material that blurs the line between solid and liquid. Using the boron in household Borax powder, we will link PVA glue’s long-chain molecules together to turn it into slime. But what strength of borax solution makes the stretchiest of slimes? That’s a question our chemists will answer for themselves after the slimiest of experiments!

October Half-Term Camp 2025

Question, explore and experiment your way to a science-packed, wonder-filled HALF-TERM

Each day, your future scientists will explore a theme that could take them from the microscopic worlds of chemistry and biology, up through the invisible fields of forces and energy, and out to the astronomical realms of planets and stars. Through jaw-dropping demonstrations and mind-blowing experiments, they will get hands-on in a way that will leave them with a thorough, conceptual understanding and a lifelong love for Science.

Kids will be split into similarly-aged groups that will work their way through the day’s activities at a level best suited for their ability. Some will have their curiosity sparked, others will have it nurtured and fuelled, and everyone will have so much fun, they'll never want to leave!

All kids need to bring is a small, healthy, nut-free snack and plenty of curiosity!

Sign up now using the Online Registration Portal below

Please note:

• All prices are exclusive of VAT.

• A Sibling Discount of 10% is automatically applied to the total when signing up two or more children for the week.

All prices are exclusive of VAT.

Issue 3 | Autumn 2025

Classes are now in full swing, and we are already off to a flyer with lots of fun learning being had.

We have also introduced a new offer!

Receive a free class off your next package when you refer a friend and they sign up for the term. While we are at it, your friend will get a free class too!

SCIENCE BEHIND THE WAND

Nothing is ever too far out of reach for a good wizard. Clear your mind, focus only on the object, cast the spell - “Accio *insert object name*”, and watch it fly into your waiting hand. And while science may not be able to summon your flying broom from the other side of Hogwarts, magnets can exert magical attractive forces from a distance, as seen by our DIY magnetic toys. Sure, the other object needs to either be a magnet or have some amount of magnetic material in it, but that’s where static comes to the rescue. It has no such limitation. Balloons, cans, water, bubbles, they will all be summoned to our electric wills!

MYTH BUSTERS

While there are many good reasons to avoid unhealthy treats, can certain combinations cause our stomachs to explode? Pop Rocks and Coke? Or perhaps, Mentos and Coke? Now, we can’t risk our gastric (and overall) health by testing these the easy way, so it’s time to break out the labware. A whole lot of fizz later, we will be down at the microscopic level, looking at the sweet surfaces of candy with all its nucleation sites - places responsible for the formation of everything from soda bubbles to clouds in the sky. Using these sites to our advantage, it will then be time to paint our ceiling with fountains of fizz!

PERIODIC PIONEERS

Two classes in and still on element 2 of 118 - it’s time to get a move on! Elements with the same number of electrons in their outer “orbit” belong to the same Group and have properties so similar that we can examine them as a whole. For example, the Group I & II metals behave like no metal we have ever encountered  before. They are soft, dull, and highly reactive. So reactive, in fact, that the pure sodium we will drop into water will explode, and the magnesium we will burn will burst into brilliant white flames. And using their ability to form bases, we will concoct some milk of magnesia and use it to neutralise vinegar and make a chemical rainbow.

Issue 2 | Autumn 2025

Thank you for the great response to our first newsletter of the term!

Going forward, we will be posting these at the start of each week. This will give you a sneak preview of what your kids will be learning in the days to come and provide you with time to prepare for an enthusiastic science chat with them on the drive home.

So here's what we have in store for your future scientists this week...

SCIENCE BEHIND THE WAND

If the fires of last week weren't enough to ignite excitement for the term ahead, then this week's spell - Confringo - will surely get us going with a bang! Building on last week's knowledge of the fire triangle, we will take great fuels, like rubbing alcohol and lycopodium, an energetic powder made from the spores of a moss, and thoroughly mix them with oxygen to create explosive fuel-air mixtures. Flames will rise, fires will whoosh out of flasks, and dragon breath will be unleashed. However, by trapping all these hot gases and building enough pressure, we will create mini-explosions that will send ping pong balls flying through the air.

MYTH BUSTERS

As we make our way back from the Sun, we will slow down this week to answer a few myths about Space. More specifically, myths about Space's supposed hostility to life. What actually happens to human bodies in the vacuum of Space? Would they explode? Could they shout for help? Before we answer these pressing questions, we will investigate the nature of sound and how it travels through solids, liquids and gases, as well as experiment with the air pressure within us and around us to gravity-defying results. Then, it's time to fire up the vacuum chamber to recreate a tiny bit of Space within the lab and sort fact from fiction.

PERIODIC PIONEERS

Hydrogen, being the simplest of the elements, makes up 90% of all the atoms in the Universe. It is so prevalent that much of chemistry is a dance where hydrogen atoms switch partners. We get hands-on with one such dance this week as we use the pH scale to admire hydrogen's moves and identify acids and bases. At the extremes of pH, these chemicals can be deadly, but moderate ones are found all around us. By squeezing the juice out of some red cabbage, we will extract an indicator that will use colour to sort household chemicals by their pH. Then, using colour as their guide again, can we find the right mix to neutralise these acids and bases?