KitKat's Adventures: Woolsthorpe Manor and Isaac Newton

In the previous post, I said I went to Woolsthorpe Manor with Tilly and learnt a bit about Isaac Newton.

We watched a film about Isaac Newton as a child and a young man

Isaac Newton, a very famous scientist was born and grew up in Woolsthorpe Manor near Grantham over 350 years ago.The Manor is only 20 minutes from my house! Isaac was born prematurely on Christmas Day 1642 and his mother said he was so small he could "fit in to a quart pot". We saw a quart-pot on our tour of the manor and it was pretty small!
Isaac was a loner and a bit of a recluse but he was very, very clever and discovered lots of important things including the laws of motion, calculus, the secret of white light, and (his most famous discovery) Gravity!
Isaac's family were sheep farmers, but from an early age it was obvious that Isaac was not going to be a farmer; he was far too busy asking questions and doing experiments. Isaac's uncle, recognised his talent and paid for him to go to University in Cambridge. However Isaac had to return home because of the Great Plague from 1665-1667. Isaac spent 18 months back home at the manor carrying out experiments and this is when it's said the famous apple fell from the tree and Isaac went on to discover Gravity. Isaac valued this time at home where he was able to work on his own and discover great things. This is when he had some of his best ideas.

Making dinner in the manor house kitchen

The house was amazing and it was set out just like it would have been when Isaac lived there. There was a parlour with a huge fireplace and a cauldron full of meat and vegetables and the large wooden table was set, ready for the farm workers returning to the Manor for dinner. The workers who got back first would get the best of the stew, the meat, from the pot over the fire. Those that came later would only have what was left; vegetables and stock. That's where the saying "taking pot-luck" comes from!
Isaac's bedroom was full of science books and science equipment. He liked to blacken the windows and let in beams of sunlight. Than he would try to bend and split the light with mirrors and glass prisms. He was so fascinated by light that he stared at the sun for so long, he went blind for three days!

Making "white" light

The most interesting parts of the manor were the scribbles and graffiti on the walls on the staircase and in Isaac's bedroom.There were numbers and letters and sometimes doodles of people! Isaac would write anywhere he could, including the walls, if he had a good idea.
From Isaac's bedroom window you could see the famous apple tree. It wasn't very big considering it's hundreds of years old.

The Apple Tree

Which falls faster? A feather or a ball?

After we saw the house we went in to the Discovery Centre next door. There was so much to do! There were all sorts of Newton's experiments for us to try. Tilly and I were struggling with some of the challenges but the staff were very helpful. We weren't going to stay long but we were enjoying ourselves so much that we stayed much longer, and we still didn't get to try everything! I liked the Gravity Bean Bag challenge and playing with the prisms and lenses.