Teacher experience:

The Year 8 La Trobe STEM camp provided students with an opportunity to experience a glimpse of university life to begin their thinking of later years pathways. Students were exposed to scientific laboratories, lecture theatres, study rooms and access to many of La Trobe university's facilities. Students participated in activities where they:

Used university-grade equipment to conduct experiments and create things like shampoos from scratch.
Undertook tour visits through the wildlife sanctuaries
Conducted archeological digs to understand how ancient tools and technologies are uncovered
Investigated different pathogens and how they spread among a population
Explored different forensic techniques to discover how DNA can be found in different places and used to identify suspects.

Additionally, throughout their time at La Trobe university, students also completed a research task on an issue relating to one of the experiences they have at La Trobe university. They investigated this issue to create a presentation to deliver in the lecture hall to their peers. All groups performed fantastically, and it was a great day to see all the students in the lecture theatre presenting.

The Year 8 La Trobe STEM camp experience was a wonderful opportunity for students to experience life at a university and may begin their thinking into pathways for the future.

Marc Pesavento – Science leader at RHS

Student experience:

On arrival at La Trobe campus, I and the rest of Year 8 were extremely excited. Due to the size of La Trobe and the enormity of the campus, the thought of getting lost was on my mind. I was looking forward to all the activities that we were informed about, and I also looked forward to sharing the experience with my friends. The first day was especially fun as everything was so new and different to the familiar routine of RHS.

We started with a talk about the scheduled activities for the day ahead and were introduced to our guides. Our first activity was archaeology, where we learnt about the topic before going outside for some practical work on a “dig” to observe and document what we discovered.

After recess we made shampoo, which was extremely interesting. After lunch, we returned to the lecture theatre where our guides, who were University students themselves, informed us about their experiences and insights into what University might hold for us.

My personal favorite activity was making shampoo. What I loved about it was being “hands on”, learning something new. It also provided some insight into what it was made from and to how it was made. The process of making something that I use every day really stimulated thought for something I previously taken for granted.

What I liked most about the excursion was how completely different it was to what I’d been exposed to before. It opened my mind to the many opportunities open to me for the future. It was great how we all got to try new things and learn about areas that we had not yet been exposed to in the school environment. I also really enjoyed the independence we were given throughout the day.

At the conclusion of the week, we had to present a topic in small groups to the rest of the Year 8 cohort. The topic that my group and I chose was “How do Vaccines Reduce Infection?”. This exercise was extremely rewarding as it was great to research and learn new information and I loved working with the group challenging each other with ideas. I also enjoy every opportunity to practice and refine my public speaking skills.

The La Trobe STEAM Camp was an amazing excursion and opportunity to learn all about university life and see what my future might hold. I really enjoyed the whole experience; it was a fantastic week and one to remember.

Aiden Turker

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