Year 3/4 Bulletin
Scienceworks Excursion
Our Big Idea
We see the combination of forces and energy acting all around us and we play a role in using these to create a better future
To support our current Big Idea, students visited Scienceworks on Wednesday morning to discover more information about energy sources, inventions, innovations, and sources of light.
The Lightning Room was our first stop when we arrived. It was a fantastic way to engage the students in making connections to our Big Idea in a real and exciting (but safe) way. Students were treated to a spectacular display of how different forms of energy are around us. These included light, sound, thermal, movement and gravitational energy forms. We were introduced to a Faraday cage (ask your child what this is and where we can find it in our own homes), and a Tesla coil that spat out electricity at over 2 million volts. It was loud!
Next, we entered the Think Ahead zone. This is where our connections to Design and Technology came to the forefront of our learning experiences. It was a mix of the past, present and possible future technologies. From computers the size of rooms, to how engineering has developed throughout the decades. Students were most interested in how transport has changed over time and how scientific advances will change our world for the future.
Beyond Perception:
Beyond Perception: Seeing the Unseen was our last exhibition exploring the imperceptible worlds of science and technology. This exhibition looked into the effects of sound and light waves throughout the universe. It encouraged our students to feel simulated gravitational forces, how sound can move through different mediums and the effects of light can be manipulated to different wavelengths, which changes colours we see.
When we returned back to school we were all exhausted by the over stimulation, creative curiosities and the wonders we have for the future. It also was a great place to help us with our designs for our ERPs. Overall the day was incredibly fun and beneficial to our connections and real life applications of the technological world we will grow up in. Together as a year level, we had an opportunity to create a WOW (wins, obstacles, wonderings) about our experience at Scienceworks. Students first had a conversation with their peers, before sharing collectively. We collaborated these into a table.
Discuss and unpack innovations and inventions that you see throughout your world in your day to day life.
Allira, Mr Cornell and Ruby
Year 3/4 Team
Allira.Zeneli@education.vic.gov.au