News Release:
School students explore a new world of science
| Date 8/1/04 No 001/04 About 50 high-school students from all over northern NSW will experience the thrill of scientific discovery at the University of New England next week. The students, all entering Year 10 this year, will be participating in the annual Siemens Science Experience, a national program that gives school students a taste of the excitement and significance of science at university level. They will engage in a wide range of hands-on activities over the three days of the event, from Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 January. These activities will include programming robots to play football, extracting DNA from biological material, learning techniques of plant tissue culture, exploring the effects of fire on plants, and monitoring aspects of human physiology. As well as the hands-on activities, there will be a series of half-hour talks by some of UNE's most distinguished scientists. Subjects will range from the basic chemistry of life to the biology and behaviour of birds. Dr Jim McFarlane, the director of the Siemens Science Experience program at UNE, said the program had been designed to demonstrate the fundamental role of science in many professions.
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"It addresses the popular misconception of scientists as 'mad people in white coats' and shows that, on the contrary, they play a vital role in the world of business," Dr McFarlane said. "We hope the students come to realise that science could be an option for them." The students are coming from as far afield as Taree, Dungog and Gloucester to the south, Coonabarabran to the west, and Grafton and Maclean to the north, as well as from many other towns (including Tamworth, Glen Innes, Inverell, Coffs Harbour, Gunnedah, Uralla, Laurieton, Manilla, Port Macquarie and Kempsey). There will even be a student from Adelaide. In the evenings they will have the opportunity to use the facilities of Sport UNE, and some of those from more distant schools will stay for the two nights at UNE's Austin College. UNE has taken part in the Siemens Science Experience for the past 12 years. Media contact: Dr Jim McFarlane, School of Biological, Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, UNE, Armidale (02) 6773 3201 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE, Armidale (02) 6773 3049. |
