Scientists in Schools project gets off to smelly start
East Gippsland’s Eleanor Mitchell and Angelo D’Amore are taking part in the Scientists in School program and have recently begun a partnership with Tambo Upper Primary School in East Gippsland.
Scientists in Schools is a national program run under the auspices of the CSIRO that creates and supports long-term partnerships between teachers and scientists.
Eleanor and Angelo had their first session with the Year 5/6 composite class in May, looking at Acids and Bases. The students were taught the basics about pH and how to go about doing an experiment. They were able to test the pH of different substances using litmus paper and red cabbage juice and also the pH of lemon juice, detergent, river water and the soil in the school’s vegetable garden.
According to the Principal, Wes Vague, when the students were asked their thoughts about the Scientist in Schools program, their reply was unanimous: “It really stinks!”
This response was most likely due to the fact that the red cabbage juice did not have a very nice smell and that the students had the opportunity to test the pH of other substances such as ‘cow poo’ and ‘chicken poo’!
Wes did add however that “the students totally loved the inaugural science lesson and we look forward to working on a regular basis with our two new scientific friends.”