STEM Update

SPACE Explorers – Year 5/6 Excursion

Last Monday, our Year 5/6 students became true space explorers on an excursion to the Victorian Space Science Education Centre. They took part in the Expedition to the M.A.R.S. Base program, a scenario-based learning experience where students explored science through collaboration, teamwork, and problem-solving. Working in pairs, they completed hands-on science tasks, observed astronauts at the Mars Australian Research Station (M.A.R.S.), and communicated their results back to Mission Control using interactive software. It was fantastic to see students experimenting, learning about Mars, and discovering whether humans could live there.

Students also explored The Size of Your Sol, a program designed to help them understand the relative sizes of the Sun and planets and their orbits. Using an 8-metre-diameter model of the Sun and scaled planets, they calculated how many times each planet fits across the Sun, estimated orbital positions, and gained a hands-on understanding of our solar system.

It was a day full of curiosity, discovery, and hands-on science! Here are some photos of our space explorers in action. 

Specialist Teacher | Joe Frazzetto