Discover Virtual Excursions for your students
Today Questacon launched the Science As a Human Endeavour Virtual Excursion programme by visiting Australia’s own Heavy Ion Accelerator…and we’re going back next week! Go to the Virtual Excursions Australia Calendar for details on how to jump on board the virtual tour.
Time: 10-11am
Date: Wednesday 26th March, 2014
Audience: Years 7-10
Cost: $150
On the morning of Thursday 27 February, the Powerhouse Museum’s Mars Lab team linked up with eight Australian high schools and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California to speak with Vandi Tompkins, driver of the Mars rover Curiosity.
There was quite a bit of excitement around this event. The Minister assisting the Premier on Western Sydney, Executive Director Public Schools for the Department of Education and Communities and the Powerhouse Museum’s director, Rose Hiscock, all gathered at Casula High School (one of the schools joining in the video conference) to watch the event unfold.
From here at the Powerhouse in the Mars Lab studio, the Mars Lab team chatted with Vandi and invited young people at the participating schools to ask her some questions. Vandi told us about the latest news on Curiosity, having recently crossed Dingo Gap, a region on Mars named after a place in Western Australia, and heading over to a steep rocky region called Kimberley (also named after an Australian region!).
Vandi spoke about her dreams as a young girl in India to one day work in a space related job, to studying robotics and finally ending up working for NASA. She shared some of the maps and planning tools they use to prepare for each drive, showed us images of Curiosity and told us about what she does in her free time – drive motorcycles and rock climb (you know, the usual!)
One of the most memorable questions came from a year ten student: “What if I want to pursue a career in science and am not smart enough”. It made us realise what an important role we play at the Powerhouse Museum in building confidence and career paths for young people, and of course anyone smart enough to want a career in science has taken the first step!
Vandi then connected to our Museum’s Mars Lab rover, Mawson, via the internet and drove Mawson around the Mars Yard. She performed a few manoeuvres as she giggled excitedly saying how much fun it was to drive a rover in Australia through a web browser. She made a few comparisons between Mawson and Curiosity, saying that many of the functionalities were very similar.
The experience was a truly inspiring and memorable one, not only for the lucky young people who participated in the video conference link up, but also for everyone all over the world who watched the event live online as well.
2014 is set up to be an exciting year for videoconferencing at the Powerhouse Museum! We are launching a whole new suite of regular programs starting Friday February 14th. Book your Powerhouse Museum virtual excursion on the DART Connections website.
Here’s a snapshot of what the Powerhouse Museum has to offer:
For Good Measure: Fun with measurement and standards
MATHEMATICS: Stages 2-3
What do ‘Peter Piper’ and ‘Jack and Jill’ nursery rhymes have to do with maths and measurement?
What are gills, bushels, pecks and the smoot? Find out in this special hands-on maths video conference! JoinPowerhouseMuseum Curator Matthew Connell on this mathematic adventure which includes access to the measurement collection usually kept locked away from the public. Students interact throughout the session with fun hands-on activities in your classroom. Get your students experimenting with measurement and mathematics!
Sustainable Solutions Workshop
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: STAGE 3
Put on your eco-designer thinking caps and take part in this hands-on workshop!
Babbage & his Difference Engine
MATHEMATICS: STAGES 5-6
Celebrate International Pi Day with an exciting session on the inventor of the computer, Charles Babbage!
Powerhouse Museum’s Principal Curator, Matthew Connell, introduces students to one of the first computing machines ever invented, the Babbage Difference Engine No. 1.
Transport: Past & Present (Available from May 9)
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY & HISTORY: Stages ES1-2
A unique character-guided tour through Sydney’s transport history and future options. Using objects from our PowerhouseMuseum collection as well as archival images and footage, students will be transported back in time in this engaging and interactive program.
Visit the PowerhouseMuseum’s page on DART Connections website to book a session and for full details of upcoming sessions.
If you would like to participate in a session on another time that is not listed, or have any other questions, pleaseemail video.conferencing@phm.gov.au
ClickFest is an annual video conferencing festival run in November each year. Clickfest highlights the diversity and scope of video conferences available to schools across Australia. To celebrate ClickFest the PowerhouseMuseum is offering a diverse range of free and reduced cost programs spanning a whole range of topics from sustainability, mathematics, technology and design.
Sustainable Solutions Primary (yrs5&6)
Friday 08/11/13, 11am
This hands-on workshop encourages innovation as we explore alternative design solutions that considers the environment.
Discover the properties of plastics and polystyrene foam, analyse their lifecycles, then explore innovative solutions to create more environmentally-friendly materials. Pull up your sleeves — make your own creation using an eco-friendly, sustainable material to ensure a better future for the planet.
Book: http://dartconnections.org.au/DART-excursions/sustainable-solutions-workshop?ItemID=2913115
Babbage and his Difference Engine Secondary (yrs 10-12)
Friday 15/11/13, 11am
PowerhouseMuseum’s Principal Curator of Physical Sciences and IT, Mr. Matthew Connell, will introduce 19th century British mathematician Charles Babbage and examine his Difference Engine No 1, the first computer. Babbage’s extraordinary machine used the method of finite differences to make the process mechanical accurate and quick. Matthew will explain the maths of the difference engine and how to use it to generate successive values of a polynomial function by simple addition. He will also look at one of Babbage’s favourite polynomials — because everyone should have a favourite polynomial!
For Good Measure: Fun with measurement and standards Primary (yrs 4-6)
Friday 22/11/13, 11am
JoinPowerhouseMuseum’s Principal Curator of Physical Sciences and IT, Mr. Matthew Connell and venture underground into the Museum’s basement to take an exclusive peek at the measurement collection usually unseen by the public. Matthew will show you unique and interesting scaled instruments used in the past and today and tell you the stories of how they came about and what they were used for. Learn about gills, bushels and pecks. Find out about unusual standard scales including the barley corn and the smoot. Discover why the imperial system of measurement may seem tricky to use but is actually very easy. Matthew will have you doing some fun hands-on activities in your classroom to get you experimenting with measurement and mathematics.
Design Day: Magic of Materials
Friday 29/11/13, 11am
This workshop explores the innovative application of materials, where students learn about how materials are influenced by Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Students view unique materials, investigate their composition and see how they have been utilised in seemingly unlikely applications and diverse design fields. Students also complete a hands-on design activity exploring the material selection process.
Book: http://dartconnections.org.au/DART-excursions/magic-of-materials?ItemID=2914796
Virtual Excursions Australia is please to bring you the first in a series of provider profiles in which we will showcase each of or excursion providers and demonstrate what they have on offer for you and your students. The videos below give you just a sample of what Fizzics Education can bring to you via video conferencing.
Additional videos of Fizzics experiments can bee seen at their Viemo channel
We encounter Slime in our environment everyday. Some animals use slime for movement, others for protection, to catch food and to keep their skin hydrated. You will be amazed about the variety of animals that need slime to survive. We all know about snails and slugs, but have you heard of slime moulds?
Have a look at the Hagfish one of the slimiest animals of the all
We are running video conferences for schools for Slime Day on April 9 2013. Join the Australian Museum to explore slime made by animals. You could try some kitchen chemistry to find out how you can make slime. Join Fizzics Education as they investigate the chemical properties of different slime. You can also take a journey into our waterways with Professor Pufferfish to explore the role we play in the future sustainability of marine environment in Slime doesn’t pay!
What are you going to do for Slime Day on April 9 2013?
Clickfest is an exciting initiative from education organisations across Australia. It highlights the diversity and scope of video conferences available to schools across Australia.
Now in its second year, over 20 organisations are delivering free or reduced cost events to schools from Monday 5 – Friday 30 November. Each day multiple sessions will be available on a variety of topics from content providers including:
These sessions are being hosted by the Distance and Rural Technologies (DART). DART connections help us by providing a booking system, technical support and marketing to teachers. They make running an event like Clickfest much easier.
Video conferencing provides a great opportunity for schools to participate in special events and programs without leaving the classroom. Distance is no longer an obstacle.
