The scientific careers of Dubbo students will blast off next week when they make a buggy suitable for the surface of Mars - from rubber bands, wheels and a wooden frame.
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In building a red planet runabout the teenagers will experience science in its most “exciting” form - and that’s not numbers on a page.
The Science and Engineering Challenge will return to Dubbo to engage Years 9 and 10 students from 17 schools in the region to build not just a buggy, but their own future in the disciplines. It may already have some recruits, with several St John’s College students returning to the “unique experience that can not be provided in schools”.
“It was really exciting stuff we did, not like boring calculus,” Year 10 student Catherine Joseph said.
Classmate Ash Gesler still remembered the angle of attack in aerodynamics lesson from last year.
“We had to design a polystyrene plane to travel the greatest distance,” she said. Teachers are also eagerly anticipating the day, which has activities from ‘electraCITY’ to ‘hover frenzy’ to ‘gold fever’, as well as the ‘mission to Mars’. Dubbo College Senior Campus science teacher Penny Sawtell has seen the results - her Year 11 students wanted to go to the challenge once more.
“Students like these have a natural curiosity,” she said.
“With the challenge there are no teachers to instruct the students each step of the way.”
The Science and Engineering Challenge is an outreach program founded by the University of Newcastle in conjunction with Rotary. It started in 2000 and has grown to involve more than 100 Rotary clubs and 30 universities.
The challenge aims to address Australia’s skills shortage in science and engineering by inspiring young people to study senior maths, physics and chemistry. Dubbo Rotaract president Carla Pittman is a willing partner in the challenge, along with Dubbo’s Rotary clubs.
“It encourages more young people to be enthused and active and maybe further their career - and it’s fun,” she said.