Scientists in Schools

As part of its commitment to primary and secondary education, NICTA is an active member of the Scientists in Schools program, a national initiative of the Australian Government and the CSIRO. NICTA has had an ongoing partnership with Earlwood Primary School since 2010, taking the form of annual Science Sessions and a weekly Science Club. The objective is to foster interest for science and engineering at Primary school level, and promote the image of science as fun and achievable by all. The program is proving extremely successful, with many students developing a strong interest for science and technology now.

Science Sessions

Density column experiment

Each year, the 600+ students at Earlwood Public School get the opportunity to receive an introduction to experimental science and engineering. A set of experiments and related discussions, aligned to each individual stage's curriculum, are provided to each and every class. Two to three experiments are typically carried out within half an hour, and usually involve students' participation.

Example of experiments include:

• Egg in the bottle: an introduction to atoms for Kindergarten;
• Cardboard and magnets eletrical generator: how to power plants work, for Year 5-6;
• Jelly lenses and more: introduction to optics physics to Year 3-4;
• Bi-carb soda and vinegar: chemical reactions and CO2 role in climate change for Year 1-2;
• And many more...

Science Club

Introduced in 2011, the Science Club is an elective for students to attend a weekly 50-minutes session for one term with the resident scientist and get to explore science activities with more depth. The sessions allow students to discuss scientific topics, carry out hands on experiments, research about famous scientists and follow up week-to-week as appropriate. The objective is to foster scientific curiosity in a range of domains and initiate the students to engineering practices and scientific methodology.

Example of activities include:

• Growing crystals, studying pH, recycling plastic;
• Building our own electrical quiz game;
• Learn about Newton, Pasteur, Darwin, Einstein and more famous scientists;
• Discuss on scientific issues and methodology.