Students from throughout the Limestone Coast and western Victoria had a hands on science experience at Mount Gambier’s UniSA campus.
More than 80 students from Mount Gambier, Grant, Naracoorte and Millicent high schools, Kangaroo Inn Area School and St Martin’s Lutheran, Bayview, Monivae and Heywood Secondary colleges took part in The Science Experience.
The national program was made possible by major sponsor OneFortyOne, as well as The Commodore and local Rotary clubs.
The three day event enabled the students to take participated in activities such as gel electrophoresis – looking at application of DNA profiling from solving cold cases to planting seedlings most likely to produce good yields.
They also learned about electronic circuits and components while making their own kit, understanding how the technology can be applied to improve plant growth yield and sustainability.
There were also sessions involving clinical biology where students collected personal health data and learned about changing blood oxygen levels, civil engineering using the engineering design process to prototype tower structures and virtual excursions to travel to remote areas around the globe using virtual reality technology.
The program was a chance for students to network with other like-minded students with an interest in science and a chance to meet University staff and use equipment not always available to schools.
