High school students get a taste of life as a scientist at National Science Week celebrations

August 5, 2014

High school students get a taste of life as a scientist at National Science Week celebrations

UOW will welcome more than 700 high school students from Bulli to Kiama on campus this month as part of 2014 National Science Week celebrations.

UOW’s Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health together with the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences and the Faculty of Social Sciences, will host four days of hands-on science enrichment activities for high school students studying Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Earth and Environmental Sciences in Year 11.

Year 11 science students from public high schools between Bulli and Kiama will attend UOW’s main campus for one of four Enrichment Days, where they will take part in a practical laboratory session and attend a science lecture presented by UOW Diploma of Education students. The high school students will also participate in a ‘Meet a Scientist’ session in which they will hear about cutting-edge research and get an insight into what it’s really like to be a scientist.

The Science Enrichment Day program is run in partnership with Head Science teachers from Illawarra high schools, led by Trish Morgan – Head Science Teacher at Dapto High School and Catherine Dove Head Science Teacher at Kanahooka High.

Schools participating in the enrichment days include Warilla High School, Kanahooka High School, Dapto High School, Oak Flats High School, Lake Illawarra High School, Albion Park High School, Figtree High School, Illawarra Sports High School, Warrawong High School, Kiama High School, Bulli High School, Corrimal High School, Woonona High School, Keira High School, Wollongong High School, Smith Hill High School and, Five Islands Secondary College.

Event Coordinator Dr Melissa Thompson from UOW said: “This series of enrichment days is a great opportunity to showcase science research and career options as well as the opportunity for school students to participate in hands-on science activities in University laboratories.”

National Science Week is an annual celebration of science in Australia and will be celebrated from August 16 through to August 24.

Media contact: Event Coordinator Dr Melissa Thompson, +61 2 4221 3512 or melissa@uow.edu.au.