Events for National Science Week

National Science Week is kicking off in August and there is a plethora of activities and events available for schools to explore.

A topical one for teachers and students is: Neurodiversity, teenage attention spans and the school-aged brain delivered online.

While the human brain stops growing in size before our teens, adolescent grey matter remains a work in progress, often confounding teachers and parents alike.

CSIRO neuroscientist and TEDx presenter Dr Dana Bradford is the go-to when it comes to ‘understanding the school-aged brain’. She knows the techniques to boost student engagement, attention, curiosity, collaboration, retention and brain health - and how this applies to both neurotypical and neurodivergent students.

Dana is delivering a series of free professional learning webinars for educators, school administrators, student support staff, parents and anyone who works with young people.

Thursday 8 August - ‘Engaging curiosity and teamwork’:www.scienceweek.net.au/event/engaging-curiosity-teamwork-teacher-professional-learning-with-neuroscientist-dr-dana-bradford/

Wednesday 21 August - ‘Boosting attention and memory for better learning’: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/boosting-attention-and-memory-for-better-learning-with-neuroscientist-dr-dana-bradford/ 

Koalas
We don’t know how many koalas are left. Koalas are notoriously shy and hard to spot. So how do scientists find and count them to map their populations and protect them? Answer: they use drone-mounted thermal cameras, detection dogs, visual surveys, volunteer citizen scientists, apps, and more.

Meet the scientists from the CSIRO-led National Koala Monitoring Program:
• Quantitative biologist Dr Andrew Hoskins
• Spatial ecologist Dr Samantha Munroe, who maps the distribution of different species
• Conservation ecologist Dr Romane Cristescu, who develops methods to monitor koala movement.

They will present a webinar to share their koala science and show people how to get involved in the Great Koala Count.Tuesday 13 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-great-koala-count/

200+ Schools Make Fake Blood
What’s in our blood? How many colours can a bruise really turn? Why does slime behave the way it does? What different slimes are out there in nature?

To answer these questions (and more) Dr Rob Bell, former TV presenter of science show Scope, has teamed up with the Red Cross to have a bloody good time with slime this Science Week. More than 200 primary schools have signed up to the Big Bloody Slime Experiment and will make a slime-based version of fake blood (with all the components). The blood will be fake, but the facts are real. Saturday 10 - Saturday 17 August. 

Event details:  www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-big-bloody-slime-experiment/

For the full list of events visit www.scienceweek.net.au