Science & STEAM

National Science Week 2025

The theme for National Science Week 2025 in Australia was "Decoding the Universe - Exploring the unknown with nature's hidden language". This theme focused on exploring the fundamental languages of nature, including biology, chemistry, mathematics and quantum science, to understand the universe. This year for National Science Week the Yarrabing students had the opportunity to participate in a number of activities to suit their passion and interests.

The students had a fantastic time engaging in hands-on lunchtime activities that brought science to life in exciting and creative ways. From making their own lava lamps and experimenting with rainbow milk and oobleck, to building paper trebuchets, the activities allowed students to explore the fun side of chemistry and physics. Thursday’s escape room challenge and space-based cryptography task were a huge hit, giving students the thrill of problem-solving under pressure, while Friday’s explosive watermelon experiment brought plenty of laughter and friendly competition to round off the week. The variety of activities ensured that there was something for everyone, sparking curiosity and encouraging students to see science in action beyond the classroom.

In taking part, students developed a wide range of valuable skills. They practiced creativity and innovation when designing lava lamps and building trebuchets and used critical thinking and collaboration in the escape room and cryptography challenges. The practical experiments required patience, careful observation, and teamwork, while the competitions encouraged resilience and problem-solving as students tested and refined their ideas. Overall, the week not only celebrated science but also strengthened students’ abilities in communication, teamwork, logical reasoning, and experimental design—all key skills for both learning and life.

Cyber Security Competition Teams

We are incredibly proud to celebrate the achievements of four of our talented students who recently competed in the DownUnder Capture the Flag (DUCTF) cybersecurity competition at Deakin Burwood and online. This prestigious event challenges participants from across the world to solve complex problems in Cryptography, Open Source Intelligence, Web exploitation, and more.

Our students demonstrated outstanding teamwork, critical thinking, and technical skills throughout the competition, coming 24th out of 53 in the AU/NZ High School division and 789th out of 1667 across the entire competition.

Congratulations to our DUCTF team:

Juoiwyn – 7A

Luke – 7A

Sarthak – 7E

Manvir -7H

We commend them for their hard work and look forward to seeing where their cybersecurity journey takes them next!