Around the classrooms

STEAM

Year 10 Science

Mel Erwin's year 10 science class have been discovering and recording a Rube Goldberg machine at work. Students share their experiences.

A Rube Goldberg machine is a complicated contraption that uses one initial force to trigger many chain events. It completes one simple task, but in a way that takes many steps. I enjoyed making our Rube Goldberg machine as we were allowed to be creative and think outside the box. Jemmah Paton

Creating this Rube Goldberg relates to our current topic “Energy” because it shows how the forms of energy can be transferred from one object to another through collision, such as when the globe hit the ping pong, this transferred kinetic energy from one object to another. One thing I enjoyed about creating this Rube Goldberg was collaborating with others and adding in all our different ideas of what we wanted to do with the Rube Goldberg and creating them into one. Kayla Petta

The materials we were given to make our very own Rube Goldberg, were rulers, dominos, string, different balls (tennis, ping pong and golf), little bridges and anything we could find in the science cupboards (no, we were not allowed to use the Bunsen burner, unfortunately). We used all of these different materials to construct our own Rube Goldberg and lots of trial and error was taken into account to achieve what we finished up with at the end. Flip Leighton

We had 60 minutes in class to create our Rube Goldberg. We collected the materials and then experimented with them until we found a chain of events to make a golf ball land into the bucket. I enjoyed the creative freedom that we had in class to create this, as it was fun and helped me gain knowledge about energy transformation. Lior Stirzaker

Mel Erwin

VCE Psychology and Science Teacher

Australian Brain Bee Challenge

The Brain Bee Challenge is a competition for year 10 students to learn about the brain and its functions, learn about neuroscience research, find out about careers in neuroscience and to dispel misconceptions about neurological and mental illnesses.

In Round 1 students study neuroscience content through Education Perfect and then complete an online quiz to determine their understanding of the brain. Round 2 is the regional finals held at The University of Melbourne and includes a full day of activities of lab tours, demonstrations, lectures, and the opportunity to speak to researchers. There are also more competitions, with opportunities to win great prizes!

On Wednesday 31 March, eleven year 10 students completed Round 1 of the Brain Bee challenge. We will hopefully know soon who will progress to Round 2. The following students should be congratulated for their participation:

Aditri Vemula
Alex Arvanitis
Amelia Hall
Anuk Haesner
Candice Prior
Chloe Shovelar
Elloise Prior
Holly Grimmer
Kayla Petta
Maggie Zhong
Teah Harridge

It has been a great opportunity to participate in the Brain Bee Challenge. Round 1 included content about brain anatomy and functions, the human nervous system and many more interesting facts about the brain. I have really enjoyed learning the new content and all of the fascinating facts about the human body. For Round 2, I am really excited to go to a University and participate in activities revolving around the brain and the human body. It would be really cool to learn from professionals and gain experience towards a potential career. Aditri Vemula

Brain Bee is a competition hosted on Education Perfect, featuring topics about neuroscience. It has been a lot of work to study the given material, but most of it was enjoyable, particularly the lessons regarding the cerebrum, the sleep-wake cycle, and neuron functions. Round 2 definitely sounds intimidating after preparing for Round 1, but I’m sure it will be ok… and I am excited for it! Alex Arvanitis

For more information:

https://help.educationperfect.com/article/23-what-is-the-brain-bee-challenge

Ms Mel Erwin Year 10 Science teacher

Mrs Eva Bell Science Competitions Co-Ordinator