Dominic students in UTAS science group

Four of our excellent science students attended the UTAS Summer school in January. Indy Brideson reports:

From 23 to 25 January, Dominic College students, Megan Brennan, Breanna Brennan, Shiona Kondo, and I participated in the UTAS Science Experience.

The annual UTAS Science Experience is aimed at Year 10 students, especially those interested in a science-related career. We were allocated activities on which to to work, each being a small taster of what a university course includes.

The experience showed us the popular areas like medicine and engineering and it also introduced us to some interesting areas not so familiar. At the Sandy Bay campus we visited both the Life Sciences and Physical Sciences departments.

In Life Sciences, at our Agriculture session, we pulled apart a meal, and then identified skulls in Zoology!

In Physical Sciences we worked in the chemistry labs, designed and made an artificial prosthetic in engineering, had morning tea with staff from the Mathematics and Physics department, and in Earth Sciences we looked at rocks through a polarised lens in a microscope (images above).

We also enjoyed the Menzies Centre in the city and the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) at Salamanca. At the Menzies Centre we dissected a sheep's brain and at IMAS we watched footage from drones flown in Antarctica and learnt much about the ice that makes up the continent.

The Science Experience ended with a bang - actually, quite a few bangs - with a chemistry explosion show. It was a great three days that I can recommend to all science students.

Indy Brideson - Year 10 student