Angelo d’Amore and Eleanor Mitchell are two of a number of scientists who are part of the CSIRO Scientists in Schools Program. It is a national program that creates and supports long-term partnerships between teachers and scientists and is run under the auspices of the CSIRO. It is hoped that through these partnerships students will gain exposure to science role models and learn heaps more about science.

This is a report from Eleanor on their involvement so far.

Angelo d’Amore and Eleanor Mitchell work their magic at the Tambo Upper Primary School.

Angelo and I have both been teamed with Tambo Upper Primary School since March 2012. The school has 81 kids spread across four classes. This primary is situated in East Gippsland 306 kms from Melbourne just off the Great Alpine Road, Bruthen.

To date we have been working with all the kids ranging from Prep to Grade 6. We attend the School every fortnight and engage the kids in fun, hands-on science experiments. The science is tailored to the age group and with the older classes we have looked at acids and bases. The students were taught the basics about pH and how to go about doing an experiment.

In each class the students create aims and hypothesise what will happen before conducting the experiments and writing up their results. In the acid and base class, the students were able to test the pH of different substances using litmus paper and red cabbage juice. The students tested the pH of lemon juice, detergent, river water and the soil from 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 many other substances such as cow and chicken manure!

Since then, we have also examined many different chemical reactions with the older classes, including exothermic and endothermic reactions, and of course some experiments, like adding mint-flavoured mentos to Diet Coke, just had to be done! The raucous reaction from the Grades 2, 3 and 4 students during the latter experiment brought the Principal from his office to investigate why the noise from the playground sounded like a football match!

With the younger classes we have looked at how plants absorb nutrients or pollutants. Each student added food dye to a carnation or celery stick. We had many different combinations of red, blue, purple, and split coloured plants on our return a week later. The younger classes have also been more recently looking at each of their five senses. So far we have looked at how our ears hear, how our sense of smell affects the taste of food, and why we have two eyes not one. In this class, we were fortunate to borrow many anatomical models to complement our experiments!

The photo attached was taken from our most recent visit to the Grade 2, 3 and 4 class. The photo is Angelo demonstrating how much carbon dioxide is produced when you mix small amounts of vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. The students were really engaged as they commonly use bicarbonate of soda in their cooking classes to “make their cakes rise.”

For more information or if you would like to join the ‘Scientists in Schools’ program visit: www.scientistsinschools.edu.au/index.htm

–                  By Eleanor Mitchell