National Science Week: Game Changers & Change Makers

Wow, what a massive week Science Week turned out to be! This year was the first time our school has hosted a community after school STEAM Fair and it was sensational to have so many people come along to learn and play.  This event celebrated "Game Changers and Change Makers" and showcased some of the wonderful STEM/STEAM projects our students have been working on. 

We were lucky enough to receive generous funding through the Australian Science Teachers Association (ASTA) school grants for Science week; without this support we would not have been able to have as many interactive activities for our families to get involved in.

The day started early with some student representatitives invited to talk on live radio about what Science Week means to them. The students handled the pressure of live interviewing well and I was so proud of them. For part of the interview they were asked what they liked the most about Science:

"I like the hands-on part of learning, getting to put things together to make something, building, creating ... We started making a game for younger kids. We've animated a fridge and it's got to run around and collect the good food and not collect the bad food." - William

"I love Science because you get to do things that you normally wouldn't get to do if you were just at home, and you get to do things that are different and really fun. You get to do hands-on learning and it's not just sitting back to watch, you get to play with it as well." - Edie

"I love STEM and STEAM because you get to do hands on stuff instead of just normal school, you get to make stuff." - Georginia

"I really love Science because you get to step out of your comfort zone and you get to help the world with the real life issues, and as everyone has said the hands-on learning is really the best part." - Bella

It's not every day a Makey-Makey appears on live radio!

After school we had our STEAM Fair, which was open to the wider school community with the aim of promoting the value of hands-on learning activities and inquiry-based learning. It was amazing to have so many families (and people from the broader community) come along to get a first-hand glimpse at the technology and activities that our students are engaging with in their classrooms.

This term we have had the opportunity to borrow Spheros from CSER Digital Technologies Lending Library, and they were certainly a hit at the fair! Here are a few snaps of some Sphero soccer fun:

We also had plenty of buzzing around the Bee Bots we had borrowed from Launceston NGN STEAM Room, and our Ozobot towns and tracks. Some students had created straw mazes and simple arcade games out of recyled materials, which people enjoyed testing:

 

Year 3s used their visual art skills to share "Inventions that were Game Changers and Change Makers":

There were Makey-Makey arcade games to play, and we also had a few interesting game controllers to test out! Rain clouds in a jar was one of the simple science experiments we had set up to explore:

Here's a slide with other simple STEAM activities we had set up for people to enjoy:


By the end of the day I'd clocked up a fair few steps on my fitbit ... I wonder if I can beat it next year!

For more Science Week fun see National Science Week - Part 2