National Science Week in schools

The Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research is committed to science activities in schools and as such has engaged the Australian Science Teachers Association (ASTA) to support the coordination of National Science Week activity in schools across Australia. ASTA provides advice on how to grow and improve National Science Week activities in schools and operates as an advocate for National Science Week to schools and school related bodies.

The schools theme for 2010 is Australian Biodiversity, in keeping with the International Year of Biodiversity.

ASTA is contracted to coordinate and distribute grant funding to schools; to produce a National Science Week Schools Kit and Resource Book which is distributed to all Australian schools, pre-schools, and TAFEs with science departments; and to evaluate National Science Week in schools.

The 2010 ASTA National Science Week school grant recipients have been announced.

Below are just a few examples of how schools got involved in 2009!

Healesville High School, Victoria

Healesville High School in Victoria got involved in National Science Week 2009 - forming a giant outline of 'The Emu in the Sky', an Indigenous constellation, to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy.

Charters Towers State High School, Queensland

National Science Week was celebrated at Charters Towers State High School with the construction of an Outdoor Science Laboratory. The week long event allowed students and staff to participate in hands on science activities.

The inaugural CTSHS 'Reach for the Stars' Astronomy night was a huge success with over 80 students, staff, parents and community members in attendance. The night commenced with a sausage sizzle put on by the school administration, followed by telescope viewing of major items including Saturn, Mars, the Southern Cross, constellations, Jupiter and three of it's moons. Other activities on the night included a laptop interactive zone where students could research topics about astronomy and the Universe, a data projector display, Big Aussie Star Hunt, quizzes, games and puzzles. The local newspaper, The Northern Miner, reported the event.

It made an impression on me; it made me more interested in astronomy. The videos in the multimedia presentation were short but also really in depth and made me realize how immense our Universe is. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'm an 11.5 on the 'excited about astronomy' scale."
Kai (age 11)

"Astronomy night was fun, we looked through the telescope and I saw the Southern Cross. When can we have another astronomy night?"
Adam (age 14)

"I saw the rockets at the outdoor laboratory and I saw a lot of students getting involved and getting along, they were all sharing. It was a really good thing to do and to get everyone involved. It showed what they actually do in science."
Patricia (age 16)

Other actvities included growing bacterial cultures using rhodospirillum rubrium, extracting DNA from strawberries and bananas, making water powered rockets, completing fitness tests, building electrical circuits and testing a range of products to observe if they conduct electricity, the development of a native garden, a farmers market to sample the school's Ag farm produce, wine-making and forensics.

A total of approximately 250 students participated in the activities, including students from the Special Education Program and 'at risk' students.

Science Expo @ Chatswood Hills State School, Queensland

National Science Week at Chatswood Hills State School was celebrated with a whole school two-day Inaugural Science Expo.

As a multi-age school, the focus was on engaging students from P-7 in collaborative hands-on interactive activities showcasing what they had been learning in Science over the last term. Many classes had been studying astronomy, which was the theme of the Expo. Classes organised a roster so that students had the opportunity to share their understandings with their peers over the two day Expo.

Springwood State High School Year 8 students, supported by their HOD Science, came along and brought microscopes, dry ice and other science equipment to give students a taste of Science in the secondary school.

A tertiary focus was provided by Griffith University students who provided hands-on investigations around the space theme.

A local science club also contributed by teaching students how to build and operate motorized mini vehicles. Students were given the opportunity to experience the stars moving across the night sky, the planets and the moon as well pictures of the zodiac constellations and the Southern Cross in the Starry Night Planetarium.

During the afternoon classes gathered on the oval to witness a spectacular rocket demonstration and in the evening Year 4 and 5 students came back to school to look through the Starry Night telescope to view the Moon, Jupiter and stars. While this was the first Science Expo that the school has organised, its success has prompted discussions about plans for an annual event.