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| Woolooware High School students announced as winners at the local Science and Engineering |
Woolooware High School emerged victorious in the local Science and Engineering Challenge, held on Tuesday at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).
They beat seven other local schools in a full day of competition and science and engineering fun, and will now go on to compete next month against winning schools from across Southern NSW.
The challenge is run by The University of Newcastle and sponsored by Ausgrid. It is a national competition that involves in the order of 800 schools, 2,700 volunteers and 25,000 students.
In Tuesday’s competition, eight schools and more than 200 students competed in a range of challenges which included:
- The dish: building a dish telescope that reflects light onto a detector;
- ElectraCITY: simulating wiring up an electricity supply for an entire city;
- Flight: making a Styrofoam glider and launching it across a room; and
- Mission to Mars: building a suspension system for a simulated Mars buggy.
“The challenge encourages young people to consider science and engineering careers,” said The University of Newcastle’s Director of Science and Engineering Challenge, Terry Burns.
“It is very hands on, and in many cases proves to be the first time school students work in a team environment on a science or engineering project.”
The ANSTO Discovery Centre’s Rod Dowler said this is a great initiative to foster an interest in science, engineering and maths.
“Studies show a decline in students choosing HSC science and maths, and projects such as this are purpose-built to address the issue,” said Mr Dowler,
“Some of Australia’s best engineers and scientists work at ANSTO, and this is about exciting the next generation and getting them ready for a fulfilling, rewarding and life-changing career.”
State MP, Melanie Gibbons, was on site at ANSTO’s Lucas Heights campus. She said the program encourages high school students to take an interest in science or mathematics: the first step on a path to careers in the science and engineering fields, which are essentials for future innovation.
“I congratulate the hundreds of students who descended on Lucas Heights to participate in the challenge, including the winners from Woolooware,” said Ms Gibbons.
“In the Shire we are fortunate to have one of the country’s best science centres in ANSTO, and it was wonderful to see we also have so much engineering and science potential in our students.
“This program is a wonderful pathway to science. Forty-five per cent of students participating in Year 11 Physics were influenced to do so after taking part in this challenge in previous years.”
The eight challenges
| Challenge | Details |
| Helter Skelter Shelter | Teams construct two towers using only A4 paper, drinking straws, masking tape and a Styrofoam tray. One will be statically tested while the other has to withstand a simulated earthquake. |
| The Dish | Teams build a reflective receiver to focus signals from a nearby cluster of LEDs onto a detector unit. Teams then use the detector unit to decode messages within the signals. |
| Stringways | Teams are given a board with a number of bolts, and several lengths of coloured string. The aim is to connect the bolts using the string in the most efficient manner possible. |
| The Bridge | Teams aim to erect a model bridge using paper clips, thumb tacks, masking tape, paper and balsa wood. At the end of the activity the bridge will be weighed and load tested. |
| Hover Frenzy | Teams aim to build a model hover craft that can manoeuvre over a bumpy obstacle course. |
| Mission to Mars | Teams assemble a model buggy with a stable suspension system that is capable of carrying an unsecured load over a bumpy surface. |
| Flight | Teams design and build a Styrofoam glider that can be launched from the air and maintain stable flight over a specific trajectory. |
| ElectraCITY | Teams are given the ElectraCITY board, a battery and four different types of cables and must attempt to provide power to as many sites as possible for the lowest cost. |
Published: 01/08/2013