Fonthill Lodge Independent School

Plaster or Disaster?

Teacher: Mrs Hilary Rowberry
Scientist: Mr Ken Sneddon, Consultant Maxillofacial Surgeon, Queen Victoria Hospital

The ‘Plaster or Disaster Project’ 2010 originated during the pupils’ evaluation of a previous Partnership Grants project. They indicated they wanted to spend more time investigating the use of Plaster as a material in medicine and more widely.

Pupils with their model plaster fingers.

The project involved visits to Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead. The first area was the Plaster Laboratory where pupils made models of their fingers, made moulds and were introduced to the properties of Plaster of Paris. Next pupils visited the cosmetic surgery department where they saw slides and equipment which set the scene for the use of materials in modern medicine and for spare parts surgery.

“The thing I liked best was meeting the scientists and the doctors when they told us what they did in hospital.”
Pupil.

Finally the pupils were invited to visit the Resuscitation section where they measured their own pulse rates, heart monitoring and used manikins to practice resuscitation techniques. Pupils met workers who use materials science in modern medical technology, learning the ways in which science is vital to our present lives.

"Finding out how plaster heats up and changes was brilliant! I liked making the models and casts of the fossils too.”
Pupil.

Back in school pupils investigated how to set plaster in alginate moulds and were instructed in safety due to the heat release and the story of a girl who was burnt by setting plaster. Then pupils were able to explore reaction times, temperature rises, and how atmospheric conditions and proportion of water affected hardening.

Other investigations pursued textures, weight changes and strengths of set plaster. Pupils then used Plaster of Paris to make casts of coins, shells footprints and also to model fossils.

“Amberly Chalk Pits was interesting and I didn’t know there were all sorts of plasters. The old kilns looked hard places to work in.”
Pupil.

They went on to more generally investigate Calcium Plasters in forensic materials, geology and wider medical usage. The wider pupil request for investigating structural materials was an unexpected bonus as it allowed discussion of different but related materials, more chemistry and materials extraction. This lead to discussions on the differences between Lime Plaster on walls and Plaster of Paris and a planned visit to the Natural History Museum was switched to the Amberly Chalk Pits Museum to look at lime kilns and the wider uses of lime and gypsum materials.

To showcase what they had learned during their project, pupils gave a presentation during School Assembly, and also held an open day, where parents and partners were present.