Victoria University Roadshow

What do Aspirin, Bananas, "Deep Heat" and caffeine all have in common?

They are all things we use or consume. Recently our Year 10 and 11 students had a chance to make some of them and then analyse them, learning some experimental techniques along the way. This was able to occur because, during the first week of this term, Victoria University brought its annual Roadshow to WPSC.

The roadshow was a fantastic opportunity for our students to be inspired to become the next generation of Australian scientists. The program gave the students a valuable hands-on experience with otherwise inaccessible science equipment in our schools. The free program has been offered in regional areas for several years, helping students to experience science in action without traveling to Melbourne.

For the Year 10 students, being a chemist for a day allowed them to see what a chemist does and what type of career pathways are available. The VCE students had “hands on” access to a variety of equipment that chemists use to analyse consumer products (for example the amount of aspirin in a tablet) and then went through the whole process, preparing standards and then producing data and comparing the data to the manufacturer's claims.

It was a great opportunity for our students to experience "hands on science". A frequent comment heard from our students was "this is great; I didn't know you could do this. Now I know where these numbers come from.”

A huge thank you to Ian Goldrick, Sarah Beattie and Cate Eddy who identified an opportunity for our students, and to the presenters from VIC Uni, Dom, Daniel, Barbara and Rachel. The Roadshow was a three-day event hosted by WPSC. It also involved activities for VCE Physical Education and VCE Psychology, along with a series of presentations to Year 9 and 10 WPSC students about career pathways. Students from Benalla, Kyabram and Shepparton High School also took part in the programme.

The presenters from Vic Uni asked the following be passed on: “Please also pass on to your parents and students comments from our staff about the students that we met - they were co-operative, well mannered, engaged and genuinely a delight to work with. We wish them all the best for their future endeavors and hope to see some of them next week (at the Year 12 camp) and next year at VU.”