“Why does that happen?” “I want to try it again!”
Science is the subject that sparks children’s curiosity and keeps their spirit of inquiry alive.
At YBS Middle School, based on the Cambridge Lower Secondary Science curriculum, students explore science through hands-on experiences aligned with international standards.
Science at the middle school level requires more specialized knowledge and deeper understanding. That is exactly why, at YBS, we focus not first on how to teach, but on how to create moments of Wow!!!—moments that ignite genuine curiosity and motivation.
Throughout this unit, students investigated the properties of solids, liquids, and gases, as well as the processes involved in changes of state.
At the beginning of the unit, students were given a mission:
“Would you like to explore these concepts through experiments”, or “Would you like to express them through cooking?
They chose the latter—understanding science through cooking!
The Teacher’s Vision
Behind this choice was the teacher’s guiding belief:
“Even within limited environments, learning can be rich with creativity. By using the school kitchen and basic cooking tools, I want students to connect science with their everyday lives.”
By learning through the familiar context of cooking, abstract scientific concepts become tangible and relatable. This approach closely reflects the Cambridge philosophy of understanding and applying scientific concepts in real-life situations.
Learning Begins with a Question
The lesson began with an unexpected question:
“What kind of recipe allows us to observe changes between solids, liquids, and gases?”
Using their textbook knowledge as a foundation, students selected ingredients, planned processes, formed hypotheses, and designed their own recipes. This required more than memorization—it called for critical thinking, courage to experiment, and creative problem-solving.
By whisking liquid cream into solid butter and then heating it until it melts back into a liquid, students were able to observe reversible changes of state.
As sauces simmered and steam rose into the air, they experienced firsthand how liquids change into gases through all five senses.
Ice cream melts into a liquid.
Cupcake batter (liquid) becomes a soft, fluffy solid when heat is applied.
Through these observations, students began to notice something important:
“Some changes can be reversed, while others cannot.”
This realization deepened their scientific understanding to a more advanced level.
When Experience Becomes True Understanding
Through these hands-on activities, students develop key scientific skills emphasized by Cambridge—observing, predicting, and explaining—while connecting science directly to their everyday lives.
When knowledge is paired with experience and emotion, science shifts from something to be memorized into something that truly belongs to the learner.
Balancing academic rigor with meaningful, engaging experiences.
Transforming students’ Wow!!! moments into the driving force of learning.
That is the YBS approach to science education.