Workshops

Kindergarten – Year 2
Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths

This 60-minute workshop for up to 30 children, begins with students investigating what different scientists look like and the tools they use. Once they come to understand that we are all scientists, students will interactively investigate their own scientific tools, their senses! Sound, sight, touch, and smell will all be investigated in a fun way that is designed to stimulate and provoke interest and excitement.

Note: Taste will be discussed, but not actively investigated due to hygiene and safety reasons.

REQUIREMENTS: Four (4) tables are required.

Reception – Year 3
Light, Sound

In this 60-minute workshop for up to 30 students, we ask “How do you see?”, “How do you hear?” Find out about lenses, reflections and vibrations in this popular workshop. Students will be enthralled with the practical demonstrations and various workstations which will help them to explore the phenomenon which many of us take for granted – light and sound!

REQUIREMENTS: This workshop has 2 sets of interactive workstations, (one for sound, one for light) for the students to rotate around, timing determined by the presenter. Each set will require 2 desks or tables plus one more for the presenter to use, so a total of 5 in all.

Reception – Year 3
Physics, Forces, Energy

By means of an interactive story, students will be introduced to the six simple machines: the lever, wedge, screw, inclined plane, wheel and pulley. By learning how these simple machines are used every day to make our lives easier, students will discover that they are the basic building blocks for all other machines. This 60-minute workshop introduces the concept of forces and shows how machines enable us to do work more easily.

REQUIREMENTS: This workshop has 5 sets of equipment for the children to use, where each of the 6 simple machines is examined and investigated concurrently and sequentially, as determined by the presenter. Five (5) desks or tables will be required, plus one for the presenter to demonstrate on.

Reception – Year 3
Chemistry

In this 60-minute workshop for up to 30 students, students will learn about the different kinds of chemicals through demonstrations and experiments. This workshop has a range of spectacular chemical reactions and we’ll make slime, lava lamps and more while exploring the world of chemistry!

REQUIREMENTS: Each student will require at least quarter of a desk as working space, so for 30 students, a total work space equivalent to eight (8) desks will be required. Access to water and a sink is also required.

Years 4 – 7
Chemistry

In this 60-minute workshop for up to 30 students, experience reactions like never before in this hands-on Chemistry session. Students will explore the concept of acids and bases by testing various liquids using pH indicator they make themselves! Students will be mesmerized as they discover that all chemical reactions are either endothermic or exothermic and they’ll even get to make slime! This is an educational workshop which will make students love Chemistry!

REQUIREMENTS: Students will work in groups of 2 or 3, so the size of the class will determine the number of groups. Each group will require at least half of a desk as working space. Access to water and a sink is also required.

Years 3 – 7
Physics, Forces, Maths

This 60-minute workshop for up to 30 students, is designed by our resident Rocket Engineer to teach students not only how to make and launch their own low-pressure rockets, but they’ll also learn about the dynamics behind rockets, forces – balanced and unbalanced, Newton’s Laws of Motion, air pressure and making predictions. Who can make their rocket fly the farthest? What factors affect the flight of the rocket? Find out in this workshop!

For older students some basic aerodynamics can be included if requested in advance.

REQUIREMENTS: This workshop requires some desks or tables for the students to work at while they construct their rockets, cutting out and assembling using scissors and tape. It also needs a large open area (roughly 10 m long, inside or outside) to fly their rockets. We will also require a large oval, outdoorspace (if available) for 15 minutes at the end of the workshop to release our high-pressure water rockets.

Years 4 – 7
Electricity

In this 60-minute workshop for up to 30 students, students will investigate electricity and find out what an electric circuit is, how current flows and the difference between series and parallel circuits. They will also Investigate what materials can be used as conductors or insulators, and have some fun with more complex circuits.

REQUIREMENTS: This workshop uses electronics kits for the students to assemble and operate some basic elementary electric circuits. Sufficient desk space will be required to accommodate up to 30 students working in teams of 2 to 4.

Years 3 – 7
Light

In this 60-minute workshop for up to 30 students, explore the science of light. Featuring exciting demonstrations from our ‘Science of Light Show’ as well as hands-on activities. Students will create the amazing optical illusion of a Benham disk where colours appear as if by magic, and they can take their disc home! They will learn the difference between reflection and refraction, and create a rainbow, investigate how light is a form of energy, and much more.

REQUIREMENTS: This workshop has 6 interactive workstations for the students to rotate around, timing determined by the presenter. Six (6) desks or tables will be needed plus one more for the presenter to use. If part of the area can be made a little darker, that would be ideal but is not essential.

Years 4 – 9
Robotics, Programming, Technology

In this 90-minute workshop students will learn how to program a Lego NXT Mindstorm EV3 Robot from scratch using an easy-to-learn graphical interface. By the end of the session, they’ll be amazed at what they can program their robot to do. Laptops, robots and programming lesson is included. Advanced Robotics workshops are also available upon request.

REQUIREMENTS: Students work in groups of 2 or 3, as determined by the teacher up to a maximum of 15 groups. Each group requires sufficient desk space for a PC and a robot. There is also the need for a large open floor area for the robots to execute their programs. Several power points are also required.

Years 4 – 7
Environmental Science, Energy

In this 60-minute workshop for up to 30 students, students will learn about renewable energy, including solar and wind power. They will investigate energy conservation and consider environmental issues such as water usage. There will be lots of hands-on activities and thought-provoking questions which will make students want to learn more about our environment and its sustainable future.

REQUIREMENTS: This workshop has 5 interactive workstations for the students to rotate around, timing determined by the presenter. Five (5) desks or tables will be needed plus one more for the presenter to use. Power points are also required.

Years 4 – 7
Forensics, General Science, Chemistry, Biology, Physics

In this 60-minute workshop for up to 30 students, students investigate “Who did it?” When the school garden is destroyed over the long weekend, the headmaster wants answers! Students will examine, assess and scientifically test 8 different clues and pieces of evidence. This hands-on workshop includes fingerprints, soil samples and other forensic science techniques. Solve the crime! We dare you.

REQUIREMENTS: This workshop has 8 workstations for the students to move around (timed), a desk or table is required for each one and the presenter will also need a desk or table. Access to water and sink(s) is required.

Years 2 – 7
General Science, Chemistry

In this 60-minute workshop for up to 30 participants, students will be asking themselves “Is this real, or just plain weird?” Follow the world of science at its best. Students will watch some amazing experiments and do some of their own. It’s about tricks and illusions, but always fascinating science. Students will be guaranteed to learn something new!

REQUIREMENTS: 4-6 tables depending on size and number of groups. Access to water.

Reception to year 5
Biology

This 60-minute workshop for up to 30 students will answer the question: how is food processed by our bodies to keep them healthy? In this exciting and interactive workshop, students will be guided through the digestive system and be enthralled as they simulate the way a common Australian breakfast (banana, weetbix and milk) is processed through the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine until we are hilariously left with a poo on a plate. Students will discuss what a healthy poo should look like and will be amazed by how saliva and stomach acid aids the digestive process.

REQUIREMENTS: Students will work in groups of 2 or 3, so the size of the class will determine the number of groups. Each group will require at least half of a desk as working space. Access to water and a sink is also required.