05 Feb Happy New Science Year!
UNE was the place to be in January 2021. We were very grateful to be able to host The Science Experience 2021 supported by ConocoPhillips and Santos in a COVID- safe environment on campus in Armidale. The Science Experience is a fun 3 days of science activities for Year 9 and 10 students, and enables students to do experiments in labs, meet and hear senior lecturers in the lecture theatres, attend site visits and walk around and experience what it’s like to be on the campus of a university.
On the first day of The Science Experience at UNE, students solved a series of crimes using forensic techniques before heading out to UNE’s SMART Farm, ‘Kirby’, for an exploration of remote sensing processes and insect ecology.
Day 2 opened a window into exercise/sports science, meat science and nursing, followed by a stunning evening at Dangars Falls, showing the students some of the beautiful scenery of the New England. The students had lots of questions during the sessions and it is wonderful to see such a level of interest and energy. We can see they’ll be working to solve problems across many different areas of life. Science never sleeps.
On the third and final day of the camp, the students ventured into the neuroscience realm. Inside the human skull is the most complex structure we know, and it was a treat to learn more about the structure and function of this incredible organ. Advice and stories from scientists in our annual career panel rounded out the experience before lunch with academics, parents and students.
Thank you to all our facilitators and academics for helping with another successful Science Experience at UNE.
Also in January, UNE welcomed eight inspiring National Youth Science Forum students on campus for the UNE program.
The National Youth Science Forum has delivered STEM experiences for 38 years in Australia. COVID has seen a full reinvention of the program, and with the help of Rotary, students have had the opportunity to explore regional education hubs. The students from the New England area, Wauchope, Port Macquarie, Grafton and Canowindra experienced what a career in STEM might look like for them, hearing from zoologists, precision agriculture specialists, exercise scientists, animal scientists, and agronomists.
This was the first time UNE has held a National Youth Science Forum event and the students commented on how grateful they were to experience science ‘in person’ when it has predominately been from behind a computer screen this last year.
The students are eager to make a difference to the world around them, and we look forward to seeing how their STEM journey evolves both here at UNE and further afield.
A big thank you once again goes out to UNE’s academics and technical officers for taking the time to share their interests with the students, and also to Staffie Tom (NYSF Leader) and Ken and Ron from Walcha Rotary.
In collaboration with UNE’s amazing academics and technical staff we hope to inspire students to pursue their STEAM curiosities and undertake studies in these fields into the future!
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