SCIENCE

YEAR 10 PHYSICS VISIT TO THE MELBOURNE PLANETARIUM

On Friday 1 November the Year 10 Physics classes visited the Melbourne Planetarium at Scienceworks.

 

The Planetarium is a fully immersive experience where students (and members of the public) can explore the night sky and discover some of the amazing science behind the familiar views of the sky.

The particular show that we saw was “Ticket to the Universe”. This show takes the students through a journey from near Earth satellites that surround the Earth through the solar system, out to the stars of the Milky Way and all the way to the edge of the known universe. The students can see how the stars of the night sky combine to create the familiar shapes we know as constellations and how these shapes are part of the much bigger whole of the Milky Way galaxy. Then the system moves out and shows how the Milky Way is only one galaxy among billions in the universe. The show describes how bigger and better telescopes have helped expand our view of the universe and led to some of the biggest discoveries of modern Physics.

 

After the Planetarium show the students had time to explore the rest of Scienceworks and the exhibits on display. Most popular were the interactive sport themed displays that allowed students to test their reflexes, strength and speed. From riding a virtual surfboard, jumping against a laser height measuring device or testing their sprinting starts against Cathy Freeman, the students had the chance to test their abilities.

 

The Planetarium is a great opportunity to take Physics out of the classroom and give everyone a chance to literally “see the Big Picture”.

 

John Liakakos

Physics Teacher

ENGINEERING WORKSHOPS FOR STUDENTS IN YEARS 9 & 10, 2020

Engage, Engineer is a new initiative brought to you by Robogals Monash and Female Engineers at Monash (FEM) aiming to expose high school students to the world of Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths (STEM).

 

This two day event held at Monash University, Clayton involves a variety of workshops and activities run by different organisations and student teams. The activities aim to take incoming 2020 Year 9 and 10 students on a journey to learn about the different types of engineering, and the future careers which exist for them in STEM.

 

 Hosting over 100 incoming Year 9 students across two immersive days, the event will be held on January 20-21 at Monash University, Clayton.  

If you would like to attend, go to  https://engage.engineer/  and register.

 

Therese Sweeney

Head of Science

YEAR 8 HEART DISSECTION 

Through the course of the past week [25 - 29 October], students across Year 8 participated in a heart dissection activity in order to understand more about the human circulatory system. This research is directly related to the upcoming “Body Systems“ test, which will take place in the following weeks.

 

The students were in groups of 2-6 where they examined and opened the heart of a sheep. This session went across two periods where students were encouraged to locate the arteries, veins and valves of the sheep’s heart while being able to use the scientific equipment confidently. Once students were able to successfully find the important parts of the heart, students then commenced a review activity where they compared the knowledge they gained in their book to the real parts in front of them. Students then used the last 10 minutes of their lesson to complete some questions related to the function of the studied topic. 

 

Om Wadhwa

Year 8 Student