Industry Experience

A number of Industry Experiences were completed during Camps and Pathways week including the following:

• Melbourne Art Centre
• Melbourne Museum
• Melbourne Zoo
• Swinburne University
• Civil Engineering - Seymour White 

MELBOURNE ART CENTRE

On Tuesday 18 March, Year 10 students attended a number of career immersion activities, both in and out of the city. One of these activities took place at the Art Centre and Hamer Hall, both central locations in the Melbourne art scene.

To begin the day, after our arrival at 10:00am, students were given time to roam about the art precinct, visiting locations such as the National Gallery of Victoria, as well as places such as the nearby ballet school. This gave us time to broaden our knowledge of the arts in Melbourne, which proved valuable in the Art Centre immersion activities!

Following this, we met back up outside Hamer Hall for the first activity; a front-of-house tour of both Hamer Hall and the Art Centre. The insights and experience of the workers, combine with tours of the theatres and other rooms, created an amazing experience of both locations and helped us understand concepts of acoustics and colour schemes, and how they better the experiences of both performers and the audience.

After the tour, and a quick break, we were taken into the Australian Music Vault. The employees took us on a tour of the display area, showing us the impressive outfits, accessories, and instruments used by famous Australian musicians, as well as explaining their histories and what they did after ‘making it big’. 

On top of this, we were challenged to use our creativity to come up with rhymes and attempt to write our own lyrics to a beat. Gaining insights into the humble beginnings of now famous musicians was fascinating and helped us develop a deeper appreciation the arts in Melbourne!

The final activity of the day involved us splitting into two groups to undergo a pair of workshops on podcasting and character-building. In the character-building group, we practiced our improv and acting skills through several fun activities, even putting on costumes and performing on a small stage! The opportunity to use The Channel facilities in Hamer Hall proved valuable, and served to boost our confidence as well as our theatre skills.

Overall, the career immersion at the Art Centre was an amazing experience, leaving us with deep insights into the art scene, as well as furthering our skills in several areas. 

Hopefully, as school returns to normal following camp and pathways week, we will get to use these skills to further our learning, especially in English and Theatre.

By Wolfgang Livett

On Tuesday during pathways week, some year tens and I had gone to the Melbourne Arts Centre. We started off with a tour of the Arts Centre, with our tour guide explaining the history behind the building. 

Then, we had a tour of the AMV where we even had activities like song writing. And finally, we were tasked with deciding between going into a workshop that encompassed creating a character and building a podcast. I chose building a podcast with a few of my friends, and we ended up making an 11-minute podcast full of us speaking about different topics. Overall, it was a very fun experience, and I would definitely do it again!

By Adwyn Woody

The Arts Centre Immersion Day was full of engaging activities that allowed the students to explore further into the field of theatre art and music. We started off with a front of house tour, where I heard many new things about the staging performance, like the pulley system. 

After this tour, we were given 4 activities at the AMV, through which we learned more about cultural music history. Finally, we got to choose between 2 workshops, where I chose the character building one. We wore various costumes and acted out as the character we built, with everyone else on stage. I feel that all my peers, myself included, had loads of fun overall. It was a great learning experience, and I would love to go through it again!

By Mia Kim

"I loved going in and looking at the different theatres and learning their history. I also liked the workshop we did at the end of the day; it was really engaging and interesting."

MELBOURNE MUSEUM

Mind Maps

These Mind Maps shown below on Biodiversity and Evolution were created by our students. Museums Victoria will select one or two as examples in their report to the Department of Education, which funds the Victorian Challenge and Enrichment series.

These artworks include the following:

• Adaptation
• Biogeography
• Coevolution
• Convergent Evolution
• Divergent Evolution
• Transitional Fossil

"This event was very engaging, and I learnt a lot of things regarding science and science related topics. We did a research task on the different types of evolution, and this was a very eye-opening lesson."

MELBOURNE ZOO

Melbourne Zoo was an enjoyable experience for our immersion group. Starting with some free time, we all enjoyed the sights around the zoo & looked at the various animals they take care of. 

We were split into two groups; The first group had an earlier informational session, so we – the second group – walked around the park. During this time of the day, some of the animals were still in view, with the most prominent being the Lion pride striding along the window of their enclosure, giving the visitors a sight of their fashionable fur. 

The information session was fascinating, as it introduced a lot of jobs that many wouldn’t think of at first. They showed us behind the walls in the ‘staff-only’ area, where we were introduced to their rehabilitation and sustainability practices through their veterinary section – where they nursed both their own animals and wild animals back to health, releasing the wild ones back in their habitat – and their ash machine, which turned herbivore poo into fertilizer for the plants around the zoo. 

Ultimately, going to the zoo was not only a fun experience, but was also informational and truly demonstrates the level of care that jobs within the facility require to make it enjoyable.

By Thomas Neylan

"I learnt that there are many different jobs within a zoo. For example, cleaners, feeders, veterinarians, accountants, etc. Even jobs that you may not think would be available in a zoo setting."

"I learnt about the various careers on offer in animal care and zoology. It was a great experience to walk around with my friends and enjoy learning more about the zoo."

"My favourite aspect was seeing diverse animals and learning about the various careers that are possible in the zoo."

"Visiting Melbourne Zoo was an insightful experience. I learnt a plethora of invaluable information about zoology and the careers that it takes to maintain a zoo. There is so many different roles and responsibilities that people have to take on, whether for conservation efforts, infrastructure of the zoo, or for the public’s enjoyment. My friends and I took a particular interest in the seals and the marine exhibit. We were fascinated by the variety of pathways within just that one area – zookeepers, trainers, designers, writers, engineers, architects, and cleaners – to simply name a few! It was an extremely informative and lovely day."

SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY

On Wednesday 19 March we had the opportunity to experience the dynamics of Forensic Science at Swinburne University. The excursion involved solving a crime scene and delving into the intricacies of the scientific methods behind it. 

During the day we were exposed to numerous forms of data collection such as fingerprint testing, blood grouping, DNA grouping, fibre and soil analysis, Polygraph methods and many more. For me the most enjoyable experience was fingerprint testing to different powders (UV, white, black) and being able to create my own mini fingerprint souvenir!

By Divya Mujoo

During the KIOSC Swinburne Forensic Science program, we were able to experience what forensic scientists do when examining a crime scene through the process of solving a cold case. From the fieldwork, which included searching for different pieces of evidence, to the lab, where we learned about the instruments that are used to examine the evidence that we collected, this was an incredible and really fun experience.

By Methuki Bogahapitiya

"I learnt how to collect different kinds of evidence and different ways to do it. I also learnt the process of a forensic scientist. My favourite moment was probably the lie detector."

"During the KIOSC Swinburne Forensic Science program I was able to experience what forensic scientists do when examining a crime scene. From the field work, which included searching for different pieces of evidence to the lab where we got to learn about the instruments that are used to examine the evidence that were collected."

"My favourite part of the Swinburne Forensics excursion was the different, new activities we got to try out such as fingerprinting, testing different samples, and exploring the actual crime scene."

"The most significant thing I learned is the large variety of occupational opportunities and pathways into engineering and projects. There are many different aspects of a project like land surveying, safety, environmental management and quality checking. The best moment was physically seeing the processes of the Clyde Road expansion works to see what goes into increasing our quality of life."