Questacon delights

Local primary school students were excited by a visit by the Questacon Science Circus recently.

The circus is a major outreach program from Questacon - the National Science and Technology Centre in Canberra.

Fun and interactive shows held at local schools included bubbles, balance to collisions and chemistry.

Drouin West Primary School specialist science teacher Danielle Rendall said the school had a dedicated science program, and involvement in activities like the science circus supported students’ enthusiasm for science.

The visit was one of many to local schools across Gippsland, sharing flying rockets, freezing cold liquid nitrogen and gooey slime with students through a range of interactive science shows.

The visit was a pre-cursor to a public exhibition at Warragul Exhibition Hall, with the Science Circus and its colourful semi-trailer rolling into town with its pop up science centre.

Visitors enjoyed more than 40 interactive science exhibits and watched spectacular shows as Science Circus presenters held fire in their hands, lie on a bed of nails and levitate beach balls.

Visitors could spin themselves until they were dizzy, compare reflexes to a Formula 1 driver and see their fingertips under the microscope.

Science Circus presenter Meg Bongers said the exhibition was a fantastic opportunity for the whole community to get hands on with science.

“It’s a great way to discover new things about our world and explore the science and technology all around us,” she said.

The Science Circus comprises 16 postgraduate students studying a master of science communication outreach at the Australian National University. The students spend three months engaging people with science and technology through visits to communities all over Australia.

Since 1985, the Science Circus has inspired more than 2.5 million people with interactive science demonstrations during multiple visits to more than 500 towns and communities, including 90 remote Indigenous communities.

Right: Charles Chalmers from Drouin West Primary School lines up the ball to shoot through the metal hoops.

Right: Five-yearold Lucy Collier from Neerim South is fascinated by the Harmonograph machine, which uses a system of swinging weighted pendulums to draw a pattern. No two patterns are ever the same. This process is what is used to make bank notes;...

Left: Questacon Science Circus presenter Nicole Fetchet helps Drouin West Primary School student Violet Dodd strengthen her shape during Qustacon’s visit to the school; Photograph: Davyd Reid.

Don’t try this at home! Marine biologist Andy Leach holds fire in his bare hands, demonstrating the ability of water to insulate the skin. Andy first wet his hands and arms with water before bubbles and butane gas were used to complete the experiment

Drouin West Primary School students Keenan Shanks and Shelby Walker make music with the varied pipes using suction.