Students tap into science skills
Students from Nelson are becoming scientists with the help of Nelson institutions.
Year 13 students take advantage of ‘‘state-of- the-art’’ Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) labs to conduct experiments which they design and conduct themselves, with the help of educators from their school, Cawthron Institute, and Otago University.
This year 150 students from various schools around Nelson and surrounds will be conducting their experiments on mussels and spat (juvenile mussels) thanks to NMIT, SpatNZ, Cawthron Institute and Otago University. They usual supporters are joined for the first time by Port Nelson and Aquaculture New Zealand.
The NMIT labs, while they are empty for a few weeks a year, are lent to students who gain NCEA credits for their experiments.
This year, many students’ experiments test how salinity, acidity, or temperature affect various measurable behaviours of mussels or spat - inspired by the effects that climate change may have on the sea.
Richard de Hamel, an Otago University educator based in Nelson, said it was a ‘‘neat programme’’.
‘‘Right until now, they’ve been told how to be a biologist ... after this, they can say they are biologists,’’ he said.
Jess Nicholson, a student from Nayland College, said the experience was fantastic.
‘‘Being able to use the facilities at the aquaculture park was amazing, and all the staff were very friendly and helpful,’’ she said.