Science Week

From Monday 12 August to Friday 16 August, we celebrated National Science Week at McKinnon across both our McKinnon Road and East Campuses. Our students engaged in a variety of hands-on and exciting activities designed to spark their curiosity and deepen their understanding of scientific concepts. From the shared mindful moment to the daily fun facts and quizzes, our students were presented with a variety of activities online too. Read below for more information about what activities were done across both campuses at recess and lunchtimes.

I’d like to thank all staff and students who participated in the variety of activities offered throughout the week, with a special shoutout to Ms Jennifer Wallace and Ms Cherie Marks for their outstanding organisation in the planning of this week, and a huge thanks to our three fantastic lab technicians; Karen Romari, Csilla Almasi and Marni Beretta for their work in ensuring the activities were ready to go.

Stroop Effect

Student reaction times were tested at lunchtime to see their ability to differentiate between naming the physical colour when it is used to spell the name of a different colour. This had an additional challenge of having to “switch” which you were writing, the word or the colour, and “switch” again! Some students stayed for a second round and improved their reaction times, with one student almost getting 100%!

Coding Beads

During lunchtime on Monday 12 August students were invited to make a bracelet using binary code. Students chose two colour beads (one to represent ‘0’ the other to represent ‘1’) They used the coding sequence to create a bracelet of their name or a word of their choice.

Van de Graaff Generator

The Van de Graaff generator activity took place during lunchtime on Monday 12 August. It was very well attended, and students thoroughly enjoyed the activity. The static electricity wands were also a hit as students kept the foil streamers in the air. 

Solving a Rubik's Cube whilst singing the periodic table song

On Tuesday at the McKinnon Road campus, we were all amazed by the extraordinary talent of Year 7 student Riham as she showcased her ability to solve a Rubik's Cube whilst singing the Periodic Table song, in perfect tune! We thank Ms Johnstone, Ms Andrieux and the brilliant MAV Team for organising this event and ensuring that Riham’s talent could be heard by all in the Oasis!

McKinnon Alumni visit to our Year 11 Biology students

Our Year 11 Biology students were fortunate enough to have two guest speakers discuss their careers in the Biology/Science field during Period 2 on Tuesday. We were absolutely delighted to warmly welcome back past students Professor Jim Bishop (class of 1965/66) and Kristian La Greca (class of 2010) who generously gave their time to educate our students on their career pathways and time at McKinnon as they made decisions about their futures. 

We thank the speakers and Geoff from the McKinnon Alumni for their time as well as Mr Noble, Melanie Lynch, Ms Johnstone, Mr Voorham, Mr Lee, Mr Rose, Ms Callery and Ms Lee for supervising the event. 

Imploding Watermelon

The imploding watermelon experiment was a blend of science and art, transforming a simple piece of fruit into an explosive spectacle of fun. As we carefully wrapped the watermelon in layers of rubber bands, the tension built with each added loop, creating a suspenseful count to one-hundred and seventy-two before the inevitable burst. 

The moment of detonation was nothing short of exhilarating - juice and watermelon fragments flew in every direction, leaving those present in awe of this one in a melon event. It was a vivid reminder of how science can turn an ordinary day into an unforgettable adventure. We thank Mr Rose, Mr Lee, Mr Goldbaum, Ms Kantzas, Mr Van Rooy, Ms Dobrich and Mr Machin for supervising this fantastic event. 

Eco Detectives

Our students delved into environmental science with the Minecraft-based "Eco Detectives" program, learning all about biodiversity. Students played through a special mission in Minecraft, empowering them to act as conservationists in their local ecosystems using a series of interactive maps to raise awareness on the plight of species and habitats to restore biodiversity. 

We thank Mr Goldbaum and Mrs Kantsas for supervising this event at East, and Mr Bucher who supervised at McKinnon Road, with the help of two Year 11 students, JJ Braithwaite and Cayden Li. 

Mentos and Coke

What better way to celebrate Science Week than with a blast of excitement? One of the most popular and visually striking experiments you can try is dropping Mentos into Coke. But what makes this fizzy fountain happen?

When Mentos are added to Coke, they cause a rapid release of carbon dioxide gas. This happens because the rough surface of the Mentos provides thousands of tiny nucleation sites where the gas can form bubbles. The result? An explosive geyser of foam that shoots up into the air!

This experiment is a fantastic way to see science in action and learn about gas release and pressure. Just remember - don’t try this indoors, or you might have a carbonated catastrophe on your hands!

Thanks to Mrs Romari and Marni for help with preparing the demonstrations.

Chemistry Demonstrations

As the meat filled sausages were hungrily consumed at the MERC bbq, so were the corny and cheesy filled lyrics and gags at the chemistry demonstrations on the A1 stage. The show began with a parody of the 60’s classic song, ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ entitled ‘Puff of Molecular Hydrogen’. This was apologetically sung by Dr Fleming to the cringing crowd before a sparkler was used to ignite a balloon filled with hydrogen - boom!

A poetic tale of love about a ball called Belinda who accidently fell into a measuring cylinder was read by Mr Zachest. Luckily her love, Chemistry, was on hand to initiate a chemical reaction that rapidly produced bubbles of oxygen to lift her up and out of the cylinder back into his arms.

Mr Zachest then read a section of the enchanting story of the ‘The One Little Pig’. The little pig set up his home in a Milo tin. But the big bad wolf came along and huffed and he puffed (a couple of times to get it right) and blew the lid off the tin. It was more of an explosive blowing up of the lid due to the ignition of a fine mist of corn flour in the tin.

Finally, an unsuspecting volunteer (thank you!) from the crowd was saved from getting water tipped over their head by the same super water absorbing polymer found in nappies. A 60g dry nappy soon became a 720g wet nappy (with no leaks) as it soaked up an amazing amount of water. That is one thirsty polymer.

Thanks to Mrs Romari for help with preparing the demonstrations.

Titans of Space VR Experience

During Science Week many students had the opportunity to immerse themselves in a fascinating virtual reality experience using the program "Titans of Space." This innovative VR demonstration offered students a breathtaking journey through the cosmos, showcasing the incredible scale of planets and stars in the universe. The event was a hit, with students marvelling at the vastness of space and gaining a deeper understanding of celestial bodies. The demonstration was made possible with the enthusiastic support of Alex Kormas (Year 11) and Blake Harcourt (Year 11), who assisted in setting up and guiding students through the VR experience.

Camera Obscura

The senior physics team set up a camera obscura in the VCE physics rooms. The camera obscura created an inverted image of outside on a whiteboard inside the classroom. This is achieved by completely blacking out a room and only allowing light to pass into the room from a narrow hole in the window. Once eyes had adjusted, students were able to identify landmarks from outside and could even see people walking (upside down) on the inverted image. A special thanks to Carl Lai (Year 12) for helping darken the room and to Peter Hempel (Year 12) for helping to set up the whiteboard.

Games Club Trivia

During Science Week, a science trivia event organised by WAJ and JOY saw around 30 students in attendance. The event, which took place on Friday 16 August, during lunch, marked the end of Science Week. Students competed in groups to answer science-related questions, with Year 7 students addressing a basic set of 30 questions while students in Years 10-12 tackled an additional 30 harder questions for a differentiated challenge. Prizes of lolly bags were awarded to the top three teams in each division. 

Kummargee Science Challenge

The Kummargee Science Challenge was an exciting Year 8 event where students showcased their skills across three activities. The events included a thrilling paper plane flying competition, where students tested their aerodynamics knowledge and creativity. Students also faced an engineering challenge to build the tallest tower using only spaghetti and one marshmallow, pushing their problem-solving and structural design abilities to the limit. The final event was a challenging science quiz that tested their knowledge across various scientific disciplines. The Kummargee Science Challenge was a celebration of curiosity, innovation and teamwork.

Katherine Johnstone

Head of Science