STEM News
Year 12 Physics Excursion to Luna Park - Student Report
On Friday 8 March, 63 Year 12 VCE Physics students attended the annual Luna Park Physics Day.
The Pharoah's Curse, Dodgem cars and the Enterprise were amongst our favourite rides as we put our understanding of circular motion into real-life action. It was a really fun day. -
by Vrinda, Dante and Hoorad
Year 12 Chemistry
Year 12 Chemistry students have been studying electrochemistry in recent week. To develop a deeper understanding of the chemical concepts involved they made an aluminium-air battery, constructed various combinations of galvanic cells to determine a reactivity series, and electrolysed water into hydrogen and oxygen gases.
Year 9 STEM
Year 9 STEM students have been learning about the Stanford Design Thinking Process in product design – Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test. Students were introduced to the process by designing ‘the ideal wallet’ for their partner. They are now working on designing ‘an ideal school locker/jacket/laptop bag/drink bottle’ using the design thinking process.
The STEM classes will continue their focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in the upcoming module of Clean Water and Sanitation, where they will incorporate the design thinking process to construct a water filter.
One of the mini STEM challenges undertaken by students was to have the highest number of paperclips suspended in the magnetic field of a magnet.
Arduinos Workshops
On Wednesday, 50 students from Year 7 and Year 8 participated in a free workshop run by Robogals Melbourne. Robogals Melbourne is a student-run, global organisation who aim to inspire students, particularly females, to pursue STEM degrees and careers.
During the workshops, students were introduced to robotics and electronics using the Arduino microcontroller and took part in a series of challenges, such as programming flashing LED lights.
Grand Prix Excursion
On Thursday 21 March, 60 students from Year 10-12 attended an excursion to the Australian Grand Prix.
Students listened to industry leaders in the technology space with the Tech Talks, and they had the opportunity to experience the Innovation Hub showcasing new and future technologies emerging from Australia’s leading companies in Artificial Intelligence (AI), FORMULA 1®, automotive, Defence, aviation, aerospace, education institutes and start-ups.
Students really enjoyed their day out at the Grand Prix and their experiences at the Innovation Hub and meeting some of the F1 drivers.
The day was well attended by many other schools, and it was reported that they were among 65,000 visitors, the third highest attendance for several years.
Sally Polidano
Leading Teacher Science/STEM