This year’s theme for Black History Month is ‘Standing Firm in Power and Pride’ and the purpose is to emphasise the remarkable impact of Black leaders, activists, and pioneers whose contributions have played a vital role in shaping history. At Firs Farm we decided to focus on significant Black people in Science. Every year group had a different person to focus on. The children have been very busy learning about their chosen person.

Some of the people and science we focussed on were:

• Reception made a rocket inspired by the book look up 
• Year 1 wrote a fact file about Dr Lonnie Johnson 
• Year 2 created portraits of Mae Jemison
• Year 3 wrote a diary entry as Mary Seacole 
• Year 4 wrote a non-chronological report on Guion Bluford 
• Year 5 wrote a Biography on Dame Elizabeth Anionwu

Here is what the children had to say about their learning.

• “We learnt about Dr Lonnie Johnson. He made super soakers and go-carts. I like that he made a go-cart. The police stopped him in his go-cart because he was going too fast.” Eva 1SR

• “We were learning about Mae Jemison. She was the 1st African American to go to space. She was even a doctor that’s why they call her Dr Mae Jemison. I liked writing about her because she’s interesting” Talia 2MR
• “Mary Seacole is famous. She helped people in the Crimean war” Kenzo 3C
• “I was learning about Guion Bluford. He was the 1st African American man to travel to space. I enjoyed researching him and writing a non-chronological report about him” Amelia 4D
• “I enjoyed learning about Elizabeth Anionwu; her life and her struggles with her dad. We also read a book called ‘young and black’ it was about famous black celebrities” Ry’leigh 5P
• “I learned about Maggie Aderin Pocock. She’s dyslexic and a famous space scientist. People didn’t believe in her because she’s black and a woman. At the age of 9 she was inspired to become a space scientist by a book that she read in the library. She even saved up to buy her own telescope” Darcie 6S