The ANSTO school holiday program has seen the Lucas Heights campus transformed into a veritable haunted house this week. More than 250 kids are descending on Lucas Heights to attend Halloween workshops – a fun and slightly messy way for kids to connect with science and local scientists.
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| These workshops are a fun and slightly messy way for kids to connect with science and local scientists. |
Participating kids are being treated to playing with jack-o-lanterns and fake slime – all good fun in the name of developing their interest in science. The 90 minute workshops are a way for kids to connect with science and scientists, and are being held three times a day from Wednesday to Friday this week.
The workshops feature activities, including:
- Creating incredibly gooey slime
- Lessons on how to make paper appear to ‘bleed'
- Making ‘howling cups’ with string to mimic the sound of howling ghosts
- Creating a glow in the dark room filled with UV lighting
The kids are even getting to play with carved watermelons, which we use instead of pumpkins because the Australian ones are so hard to carve.
Rod Dowler, from ANSTO’s Discovery Centre, said the Halloween workshops are a great excuse to introduce science fun to kids aged 8 to 14.
“In The Shire we are fortunate to have one of the best science centres in the country, and this is a great way to get kids excited about science,” Mr Dowler said.
“Things like making slime are of course fun, but they are also excellent ways of teaching kids a little bit about science such as chemistry and physics.”
Published: 03/10/2013