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