Science update
This week is Science week and we have been focussing on this year’s theme Glass: More than meets the eye.
Across both campuses our students participated in a range of activities including the production of Mock stained glass, producing jelly lenses, glass mosaic tiles, glass beaded necklaces and key chains, fantastic fun flying drones and a masterclass demonstrating that production of edible sugar glass used in the production of movies. They also participated in quizzes and our Year 7 classes were lucky enough to attend an excursion to the Melbourne Zoo on Wednesday. An update on the Zoo excursion will be provided in the next newsletter article.
It has been so wonderful to see so many students getting involved, and we are so fortunate to have the resources to provide these activities. None of these activities would be able to run without the hard work and planning of our fabulous support team and we thank Julie, Lisa and Bethaney for the work that they have put into these activities.
If you would like to learn a little more about how Glass is made, you may want to check out the link
Happy Science week everyone!
Leanne Attard and Fiona Trapani
Head of Science Broadmeadows and Head of Science Glenroy
Santos Science Experience
During the midyear school holidays, I participated in RMIT’s Santos Science Experience, where I was able to engage in a range of science activities under the guidance of scientists and students from RMIT. I performed experiments in laboratories, met and heard senior lecturers, visited the city campus and the Bundoora campus of RMIT and went to Werribee Zoo which included a safari tour.
I was informed of RMIT’s Santos Science Experience back in 2021, by Miss Attard. To apply I had to write 400 words as to why I would like to participate in the experience. I was 1 of 25 who received the scholarship.
On the first day, we met at the city campus at 8:30am and were then bused to the Bundoora campus. Both RMIT’s Bundoora and City campus have beautiful facilities, especially the city campus and its bright and vibrant interior design. At Bundoora, we participated in two workshops. One in which we learnt about how your surroundings, specifically the sounds in your environment, affect your judgment. We were identifying aromas, and all found it easier to identify Australia Native plants while surrounded by Australian bush sounds. The second workshop was distillation. We crushed up the leaves of a variety of native Australian plants which were then distilled to produce essential oils.
On the second day, we met at the city campus again. We started with making rockets out of paper and launching them. My team won! The aerodynamics of our rocket meant that it flew the furthest and we also won the best rocket design. We all got to try out virtual reality and play with robots who could copy your movements and actions, as if they were playing Simon Says. There was a scavenger hunt around the campus, where we learnt about RMIT and its history. We were also able to play around with the coding of the traditional game ‘Space Invaders’, adjusting the code to change the features of the game. We listened to lectures from past RMIT students about their education and how they got to where they are now. It was very interesting to hear about how your career paths can change so much, yet still lead you to something you love.
On the last day, we were taken to Werribee Zoo. We went on the safari tour and engaged in a workshop educating us about the Gorilla Doctors and their amazing work. On the same day, back at the city campus of RMIT, we watched a science show, run by RMIT science students, where they used liquid nitrogen to freeze objects and foods. It was insane how brittle the objects became and how easily they fell apart. We also got to try ice-cream frozen with liquid nitrogen, it was only 3 ingredients and tasted the same, if not better and smoother than original vanilla ice cream.
The experience was fantastic, I made new friends and learnt new and exciting things about science. I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to apply for this scholarship. I would like to thank Miss Attard for offering this to me and for teaching me the content, I was grateful that I had the prior knowledge to help me engage in this experience fully.
Kelly G, Year 11
