Science Week

Science Week Highlights 

From bubbling experiments to brain-bending puzzles, this year's Science Week was packed with excitement, curiosity, and plenty of “Aha!” moments! The theme of our Science Week this year was "Decoding the Universe". Students explored the following activities:

Parachute Drop Challenge

Our budding Students took to the skies (well, the stairwell!) in the Parachute Drop Challenge. Students designed and tested parachutes for maximum airtime and safest landing.

Students had to build their own custom parachutes from scratch and change one aspect of its design. “It was hard” said Manuel, “but it worked out”. For one class, the test day was rainy so it was difficult to record results. “I didn’t see it coming” said some Year 7 girls.

Manuel E

The aim of the experiment was to find out if a parachute that had longer string length would fall quicker or slower. The focus was to investigate what forces acted on the parachutes as they floated to the ground. To find out what string length would be quickest, 3 parachutes were made with 3 different string lengths (30cm, 60cm, and 90cm). The parachutes had to be all exactly the same except for the string lengths, but a limitation was that the string on one of the parachutes was different to the others. The parachutes were tested by being dropped from a bridge 3 times each and then the average was calculated. It was found that the longest string (90cm) took the longest amount of time to fall. The pattern was incorrect as it was unexpected that the 30cm string parachute was slower than the 60cm parachute, which was the quickest. There was an error in the experiment as the 30cm should have been the quickest. This was due to the rain weighing down the parachute and wind affecting the air resistance on the parachute. The hypothesis was correct that the longer the string, the longer the time taken to fall, but it was also rejected because the 30cm wasn’t the quickest. This experiment could be taken further or done better by testing the parachutes in a controlled environment where the air resistance was all the same.

Extract of Parachute KLT Report (Conclusion) from Rose O

Bubbles & Chives 

No Science class is complete without our favourite green tree frogs, Bubbles and Chives. Between munching cockroaches and exploring their surroundings, they remind us all that observation is the first step in science.

Catapult Creations

With rubber bands, spoons, and a lot of imagination, students launched projectiles and tested the physics of flight. We had everything from textbook-perfect arcs to impressive mid-air spins!

Escape Room Challenge

Critical thinking was put to the test as teams cracked codes, solved riddles, and unlocked the mystery behind the Science Week escape room. It was a race against time and tension!

Science Week Quiz

Did you know how many moon's Jupiter had? Or that Newton was all about gravity? The Science Quiz Showdown was full of surprises and fierce (but friendly!) competition that was fun and engaging at recess.

Science Staff Morning Tea

Even the staff got into the spirit, with a science-themed Morning tea featuring molecular lollies, “neuron ” cake, "radioactive" sauage and cheese stick and a periodic table of cupcakes.

Anna Vella & the Science Team