Science Circus

A stereotypical group of scientists? by Broderick

Time for another member of the science circus to share one of their experiences with you!

My name’s Broderick and I’ve just finished touring central NSW with the Shell Questacon Science Circus.  I had an absolute blast performing science shows for students, however the work can be a little tiring and sometimes I needed a chance to relax and let my hair down, just like the rest of the Science Circus.

One weekend we decided to have a “Cultural Dress-Up Party”.  The local op-shops were raided for costumes and we all cooked some food from our culture.  There was a wide range of cultures from African to American and French to Fairy-land (yes, someone dressed up as a fairy!)

I went as a Spanish person, along with the other people in my cabin, Matt and Pahia.  Check out the fantastic costumes Pahia found in one op-shop- that’s me on the right.

As I looked around at everyone at the party, I realised how stereotypical we were all being.  Steve, who was an English Lord, spoke with the poshest accent all night, smoked his (bubble) pipe and had the most disgusting teeth ever!  Jill was a gun-toting Texas cowgirl, while Richard from the Middle East kept making petrol jokes “oil night long!”

Seeing these stereotypes made me think about the stereotypical scientist.  We often ask students at
the schools we visit what they think a scientist is.  More often than not, we get answers like “he’s old and crazy with grey hair” or “they wear lab coats, glasses and are really nerdy”.  This stereotype of a scientist is not really fair and often the students are quite shocked when we say that we’re scientists!

Hopefully, through touring around Oz this year, we can show students that scientists can be young, interesting and have a lot of fun.  Although we can get a little crazy, in the Science Circus we want to break the stereotype and get more young people involved with science!

Broderick

Another day in the nation’s capital by Linden

As a member of the Science Circus, I get to travel around the whole country. From the east coast, to the north west and way down south, this year we get to explore all of the beauty that this great brown land has to offer. And that’s great. But what is rarely mentioned in the ads, or the blurbs about our year in the Science Circus, is the adventures to be had and beauty to be enjoyed in our home for this year, Canberra.

I think it’s very beautiful that the capital of our country is a sort of hybrid place. A town where people say hello to you when you pass them, but also a city where traffic lights and fast food stores exist. A place where, even though you may only know 19 other people in the city, the chances of seeing at least one of them at the weekly farmer’s market are pretty much certain.

A place where pressed suits mix with kangaroos, and a 5 minute walk can take you to your local shops (which are conveniently signposted so you just have to follow the arrows labeled ‘shops’) or to the local nature reserve. A place where in your backyard at any one time there could be 4 different types of birds, at least two of them colourful (and one of them from a sauce bottle). A place where all the museums are free. And a place where simply riding to class of a morning can make your day.

A neighbour of mine.

On Wednesday morning I rode to Questacon—The National Science and Technology Centre, to attend our School of the Air training. I must say at this point, as I did to myself when I rode the 7km from my house to class, that the stories of Canberra’s chilly winters do not lie. It is cold. But Canberra also gets more sun than the Gold Coast, and so the cold is at least cheerful. Even as I write this, the sun is streaming merrily in through my window, apparently unaware of its inefficiency at warming (current temperature: 12.9°C).

I rode to uni in the cold sunshine, not a breath of wind, and cruised down the bike lane on Northbourne Avenue. I rode past the parks, through the city centre, arced around the giant roundabout and across the bridge. Lake Burley Griffin was almost mirror still, reflecting the array of flags along its shore, as well as the post-postmodern architecture of the National Museum.

Ahead of me lay the parliamentary triangle and at the top stood Parliament House in all its excruciatingly designed glory. After nearly six months here it still makes me smile to see the iconic building in the flesh/steel, and think of all the decisions being made and unmade in there.

This day however, my smile was doubled, and I do believe I actually gasped. To the right of our symbol of democracy I spied a new sight. Off in the distance, only visible on a clear day such as this, fresh snow on the peaks of the nearby Brindabella Ranges. That’s right, snow. Snow! Visible to me on my daily ride to class. Amazing. Consider another day in Canberra made.

From the one with the cheeky thumbs up on the photo (see entry on 18 May),

Linden

Egg On My Face by Matt Bird

Thought I would take you back to my very first school show.  It set the scene for the year in some ways… 

The moment that the children and I won’t forget was my attempt to show just how strong an egg is, being a dome shape.  I had a volunteer up from the grade three class to see if they could crush the egg between two fingers from top to bottom.  As I had hoped, they were unable to.  I also had the teacher up to try, and again no luck.  So I was feeling pretty comfortable, and showed that not even I could break the egg by pushing from top to bottom.  A strong egg, like I said. 

The next stage was to show that the egg was not as strong from side to side, and tried crushing it that way.  No luck.  I proceeded to cup the egg in my hand and squeeze.  With some grunting, it exploded - spraying students with egg in about a 3 meter arc.  The students went bananas, squealing and cheering, loving every second of it.  I was horrified.  Later I learned that the egg is technically a dome shape from top to bottom and from side to side, hence making it strong in both planes.

Since that first day, my encounters with misbehaving eggs have been many.  A few that come to mind are:

• Volunteers having the egg slip out of their hands, making a mess and delighting the students.
• Being thrown by an excited volunteer, to the cheers of his mates.
• Crushed by what can only be described as a very strong teacher, egging himself, and generating much excitement from the students.

These unplanned events have proved to be very popular.  Let’s see what the upcoming tour to the Kimberly holds in store.

Matt

Best Show of Tour 1!!!! By Pri :)

The first tour of the year held some interesting challenges, but of these, the most rewarding was visiting specific purposes schools.

 

During week two of tour, most schools had National Testing; this gave the science circus the opportunity to extend their shows to "Schools for Specific Purposes". I visited a great little high school, which was for students who were having behavioural difficulties in mainstream schools. These difficulties stem from a number of issues including Attention Deficit disorder (ADD) and depression.

 

When Pahia, another member of Shell Questacon Science Circus, and I arrived at the school, we were surprised to see the students without uniforms. Even more astounding was the impromptu bicycle ride that the students and a teacher took through the bush while were setting up. We were told that these sorts of activities are what kept them active and engaged. Normal classroom activities just wouldn't cut it.

 

With this in mind, Pahia and I decided to set up outside. It was a bright sunny day and we wanted to make the students feel as comfortable as possible. We didn't want them to think of us as teachers in the classroom.

 

We performed various activities to only 8 boys, but this will still go down in record as my favourite show of tour. We started off with slime which is always a winner. They boys tried as hard as they could to punch the slime and were genuinely surprised when it felt hard. We followed this with a few music demonstrations.

 

Since the audience was so small, each member was able to have a play with each prop, making it more like a workshop than an actual show. The teachers even had a go. You know you must be doing something right, when a teacher finds something fascinating.

 

Onto a few collision demos using Newton's cradle and to finish of with a blast, Alka Seltzer rockets. Best way to finish a show and one I'm sure the boys will remember for a long time. The teachers thanked us and commented on how "they had never seen those boys sit still for a whole hour"

This made me feel like what I was doing was worthwhile. Too often, I perform a show to an audience of 150 students with very little feedback that what I'm doing is actually benefiting them. This particular show reassured me that Science Circus is an amazing program that reaches students in a way no other program can.

 

It was also a welcome change to work so closely with my partner, Pahia. Most shows consist of a pair of us performing our separate shows and busks to make up an hour long show, however in this situation we could constantly bounce ideas off each other and were always involved. Already looking forward to the next tour!

 

- Pri

Matt in the Shell Questacon Science Circus

Hello watchers. 

So in my last blog I was so excited talking about rainbows that I failed to introduce myself: I’m Matt, a member of the Shell Questacon Science Circus in 2009

This year we are lucky enough to be travelling to the NSW coast (been and gone!), Pilbara, Kimberly, Pitjantjatjara country and the apple isle (also known as Tasmania). 

When I say we, I refer to 15 other Science Circus presenters, a tour coordinator, a roady and a goat (well I think they should have a goat anyway).  And what might we be doing in these interesting places?… Taking science to the people and making it fun! 

I have come to the circus with a biology background with experience in cancer research.  That aside, this year out on the road I am doing two different shows for the school children, being a renewable energy show and a structures show (both 20 minute shows).  So that is a lightening fast overview of me and my place in the Science Circus.  You will be hearing more about my adventures in the coming months.

Cheerio, Matt

Sights, Sounds, and Smells of Gosford by Matt

Fish jumping out of the ocean, a rainbow and its reflection in the water, as well as the distinct clear and crisp smell of a rain forest. These were all the things that caught my attention this morning on my jog through and around the beautiful town of Gosford. I really enjoyed pondering about the science behind the rainbow. And the jumping fish 'jogged' my memory back to Jill's marine show which I saw last week, and to thinking about all the cool creatures in the sea. It is good to be here.

The Shell Questacon Science Circus in 2009

A new year is well under way for the Shell Questacon Science Circus.

In February a new group of 16 presenters began a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication at the Australian National University and Questacon - The National Science and Technology Centre. They will be the presenters of the Science Circus for 2009.

From February to April they were trained in Science Show Giving, Working on the Science Circus, Science Exhibition Design and Development, Science Journalism, and Evaluation of Communication Projects.

There will be more training later in the year but now it is time to practice what they have been learning. The Circus will do four tours this year:
1. Gosford to Muswellbrook (3 May to 6 June)
2. Indigenous Communities in Pilbara region of WA (1 August to 15 August)
3. Karratha, Port Hedland and Broome (16 August to 26 August)
4. Tasmania (27 September to 24 October)

You can find a more detailed schedule at http://sciencecircus.questacon.edu.au/on_the_road.html

While on tour the Circus does science shows in schools and sets up science exhibitions in public halls.

The 2009 Shell Questacon Science Circus (From Left to Right): Priyanka, Matt, Linden, Scott, Jill, Broderick, Alice, Mitsuru, Ben, Mei, Steph, Jay, Steve, Pahia, Richard, Sally, Claire

You can read their bios at http://sciencecircus.questacon.edu.au/circus_presenters.html 

Touring with the Circus is heaps of fun, always exciting and often thought-provoking. This year the presenters will let you know about their year through posts to this blog. I hope you enjoy it.

Cameron Millsom (Shell Questacon Science Circus Coordinator)