STEAM News
Grand Prix – Driving Learning Excursion
On Friday the 15th of March, a group of MGC girls headed off to the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix held at Albert Park. We arrived around 9am where we proceeded through the tight security. Every single pocket on every single bag was thoroughly checked for things such as glass and explosive goods. After everyone had safely gotten through security we headed towards the innovations and technology section dedicated to steam related activities and challenges. There were people holding a variety of different “stalls” promoting/encouraging particular careers, e.g. the Australian Army or information on areas of Science/STEM/Technology. Some of the experiences included:
Learning about ooblek
Making diy “mini-smoke cups”
Paper rockets (which we got to shoot afterwards)
Many VR rides
Furthermore, there were countless workshops encouraging women into careers associated with technology and even aerodynamics. Many educational seminars and informative speeches were held, hosted by race car engineers, who described their career and what they did every day at work. We even got to ask a few questions and receive prizes for it!
Another huge part of the day was obviously, the cars. There was a car showcase displaying many unique vintage cars as well as brand new sports cars and a helicopter. One of the many interesting activities included getting a ride in a Range Rover up and extremely steep track (it was almost like a slow baby roller coaster). Unfortunately, our tickets didn’t allow us to get up onto the stands, but there were many locations where we could watch the cars do practice laps around the track. When we weren’t watching the cars or exploring the grounds there was unlimited ice tea and noodles we enjoyed together.
A huge thank you to Ms Munro for taking and supervising us on the day and another big thank you to Mrs Keen for coordinating it.
Overall, we had a great day and experienced many new things. It was great fun with something different for everyone and I look forward to next year’s Grand Prix.
Jess Liu (Year 10)
Green Hat Workshop
On Wednesday 8th of May, the Green Hat workshop visited MGC and bought thousands and thousands of little planks of wood. Students in Year 8 got to design, create, build and destroy their creations. Research by the Institution for Engineering and Technology (IET) found that toys with a STEM focus were still predominantly targeted at boys and this may impact future career choices (read the article here). We are hoping to give our students the opportunity to build and play and, you can tell from the photos, that they had a great time.
Year 7 RoboCup
We are hoping to enter RoboCup for the first time in 2019. This competition requires students to build a robot and program it to follow a black line, navigate obstacles and finally rescue a Lego person from a chemical skill. If you are interested in participating, come along on Wednesdays to room 332.
2019 FIRST Lego League
MGC is planning to enter the Lego League competition again for 2019. The theme this year is City Shaper – Designing the buildings of the future. The season officially launches on the 1st of August, but we are encouraging teams to get started now to hone their skills. Come along to the STEAM room on Mondays to start learning.
Global Rocket Launch
On July 16, the U.S. Space & Rocket Centre plans to set a new Guinness World Record by simultaneously launching 5,000 Estes rockets.
While not everyone can be in Huntsville for the Guinness event, you can join the celebration by participating in the Centre’s Global Rocket Launch that will also be held on that day. The world held its collective breath 50 years ago when the magnificent Saturn V rocket launched. We want to salute that global spirit by having alumni around the world launch a rocket and participate in a group rocket launch.
Melbourne Girls College is looking into participating in this event, so stay tuned for more information.