STEAM News

Work Experience at GTAC

Five Year 10 students  - Riya Vyas, Aiswarya Franci, Jasmine Wendt,  Asmita Raj and Navneet Bataan  - went to GTAC (Gene Technology Access Centre) in the last week of Term 2. Located at The University High School in Parkville, they participated in SIRE (Science Immersion Research Experience) as part of the work experience program. Riya shares her experience of the program.

 

GTAC is a research centre that specialises in medical research and vaccine development and is situated alongside The University of Melbourne.

 

During the first two days of work experience we had to complete introductory workshops, run by some of the education officers at GTAC and scientists who were contributing to research in the topics we were going to be taught. The workshops introduced us to an abundance of background information such as what is DNA, how protein synthesis occurs, what part of a protein is eligible to incorporate into a vaccine, microscopy (including using an electron microscope), what are leishmania and how the immune system fights antigens. The importance of attending these workshops was to provide us with prior knowledge, which would help us to complete our final project which was to develop an idea for the vaccine of a parasitic disease known as Leishmaniasis.

 

To complete our final projects, we worked in groups of six to develop a PowerPoint presentation which included our unique idea for the vaccine, the process through which we developed that idea and why to fund our group's research instead of others. The final project also included creating a blog displaying all our research, information we learned and our reflection on the experience at GTAC (which will soon be displayed on the GTAC website). In order to gain further information on how to develop a vaccine for our projects we completed an array of experiments that included modifying the DNA of the bacteria called E. coli (Escherichia coli), building a spectrophotometer, isolating proteins and many more.

 

GTAC gave us a firm idea as to how scientists work and the procedures they complete in order to solve scientific queries using remarkably advanced technology. Working at GTAC substantially increased my passion for working in the science field and encouraged me to learn and research even more about scientific topics by myself. Furthermore, working in a group to research unfamiliar topics assisted us in developing our problem solving and collaborative skills as well.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at GTAC.  Not only because I loved science prior to going but, because it introduced me to a wealth of information and knowledge that would have been difficult for me to learn by myself. My utmost cherished part of my work experience was talking to the incredibly passionate and supportive staff and scientists at GTAC and asking them questions related to my science work at home and clearing up confusion about some uncertainties.

CONASTA 68

During the last week of the school holidays I had the privilege of attending the annual conference of the Australian Science Teachers of Australia (ASTA) as a sponsored committee member of the Laboratory Technicians Association of Victoria (LTAV).

 

Darwin during NAIDOC week offered sunsets and beautiful warm weather - what a great way to escape the cold Melbourne weather! The conference was held at Darwin High School which is situated on the beach close to the famous Mindil beach and the Art Gallery and Museum of the Northern Territory. Welcome drinks were held at Mindil beach where we visited the Sunday market and watched the beautiful sunset.

 

We heard keynote speakers talk passionately about their work with indigenous students learning on country, the anatomy and behaviour of ants in savannah areas and the interactions between crocodiles and humans.

I attended a couple of workshops exploring the use of STEAM in the classroom and the resources that are available for us to use. Visits to the botanical gardens, the Territory wildlife Park and breakfast at Crocosarus Cove where  one of the delegates (not me!) was 'fed' to one of the crocodiles, were just a few of the highlights of my trip.

 

Suzanne Thornley

Laboratory Technician

Space Camp Scholarship

Mentone Girls' Secondary College will be participating in the CASE Space School with our partner Actura Australia in December 2019. The Alliance is offering participating schools the opportunity to nominate a student for a part scholarship in the Junior Program.  http://www.actura.com.au/case-junior-space-school/

 

There are guidelines for the scholarship and limited positions.  The nomination needs to be supported and submitted by the school.  Any families interested please contact me before 1 August to see if you are eligible at Gilbert.Diana.D@edumail.vic.gov.au

 

Diana Gilbert

Director of S.T.E.A.M.

Latest MGSC STEAM newsletter 

Issue Five (28 June) of STEAM News, a student domain leaders initiative,  was published at the end of term 2.  View it by following this link: MGSC STEAM newsletter Issue 5