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| The future of science communication is in good hands, if an event at the CSIRO Discovery Centre in Canberra is anything to go by. Physics students Sam Williams and Inca Hutchinson demonstrating how light can be used to transmit and receive information. |
Students from The Australian National University raised public awareness of science. The Family Science Spectacular was run as part of National Science Week and enthusiastic ANU science students were on hand to promote their field of interest. This included a range of demonstrations and information stalls covering many areas of scientific research.
The displays appealed to a wide range of ages. “From four year olds,” said physics student Sam Williams who was demonstrating how light is used in communications.
“Right up to really old people who are like ‘wow back in my day we didn’t even have radios.’” added fellow student and keen science communicator Inca Hutchinson.
The information stalls took a real hands-on approach to get people excited about science. “We’re here to set up our telescope to view the sun,” said Silvie Ngo, president of the ANU’s astronomy club “[We’re] hoping to show kids what the sun looks like with a solar filter”. The solar filter attached to the telescope made it safe for viewers to look directly at the sun, something out of the ordinary that proved very popular.
The event was all about being interactive with the public and encouraging people to ask questions. “If they don’t ask, I ask them questions and they respond,” said PhD student Aditya Chopra, who is studying the potential for life on other planets. As he engaged with the public, Mr Chopra explained science as a simple process: “Let’s do it and if we see something funny, let’s try and explain it.”
The young scientists promoting their various fields of study took great pleasure in explaining their stalls and answering questions. “For me this is a great break away from my research, and doing what I enjoy too.” said PhD student Shaun New. Mr New’s stall provided an appealing look into the science behind vision, through the use of optical illusions and specially constructed glasses.
Kids and adults alike enjoyed getting their hands dirty at the Earth and Marine Sciences display where they could dig through desert sand to find fossils and rocks. But the most popular display was definitely the Chemistry Department’s ice creamery. A little liquid nitrogen turned a cup of milk, sugar and food colouring into a tasty frozen snack for many safety goggle clad kids.
Extracting DNA from strawberries also proved to be a popular activity among the kids. Even if they didn’t fully understand the science behind what they were seeing, the students from the Research School of Biology hoped that the children’s curiosity would be sparked enough to encourage them toward a future interest in science.
by Ben McKinley
Undergraduate
Student Resources