Learn how squash, bend, twist and stretch change the shape of materials, by testing dough, sponges, rubber bands and more in Ollie's workshop.
Year 2 science · 1
Year 2 science · 1
Year 2 science · 1
Year 2 science · 1
Year 2 science · 1
Year 2 science · 1
What the chapters cover in the national curriculum in England:
Squash, Bend, Twist and Stretch is an interactive science game that teaches children aged 5–7 how the shapes of solid objects made from some materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching. It follows the Year 2 science curriculum for England.
Guided by Ollie the octopus, children drag objects on a workbench to change their shape themselves. Dough stays flat, a sponge springs back, a stone is too hard to squash, and dry spaghetti snaps instead of bending. Along the way they sort objects into baskets and answer quick picture questions.
Later rooms ask whether a new shape springs back or stays changed, introducing the word elastic. Children then work like scientists: they predict, test each object in four ways and record ticks and crosses in a results table.
The four ways are squashing, bending, twisting and stretching. Squashing presses or squeezes, bending makes a curve, twisting turns the two ends opposite ways, and stretching pulls something to make it longer.
Soft or flexible materials such as dough, sponge, rubber, fabric and thin foil can change shape by hand. Hard, stiff objects such as stones, bricks, glass and wooden blocks do not change shape when children push or pull them.
Objects made from elastic materials, such as rubber bands and sponges, spring back to their old shape when you let go. Others, like dough, clay and scrunched foil, keep their new shape until they are changed again.
It is made for children aged 5 to 7 and matches Year 2 science in England, where pupils find out how the shapes of solid objects can be changed. Year 3 children can also use it for a quick recap.
The game has a short warm-up, six hands-on rooms and a 10-question final challenge, taking about 40 minutes in total. Each room ends with a quick three-question check, so children can play one room at a time.
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