Last week Lab in a Box headed South all the way to Nightcaps and Clifden! We visited Takitimo School and had a blast with students from years 0 to 4. We collected plant and soil samples in the school yard. and looked at our samples under the microscopes. We also had some mystery samples, which included a bumble bee (diseased 😦 ) and a worm!
Otago Museum staff also delivered sessions focusing on science skills and space explorations for the senior students from years 5 to 8.
On Wednesday 12 October we visited Hauroko Valley School for some hands on science, learning about space, stars, our special Sun, and some of the gases you can find in stars (Hydrogen and Helium).
We explored the solar system using the Oculus Rift and built and launched water rockets. While doing so we learned about Newton’s third law of motion: for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction.
In the afternoon we had an open family fun session. The science explorations were themed around sound and how it travels. We used our flaming oscilloscope to visualize sound waves and explain the different frequencies we got with lower and highest pitch tones.
The following day we had a visit from Waiau Area School and we continued our focus on science skills. We even had a brief session with year 13 students on what exciting science careers they might want to follow! We talked about the role of a science communicator and some of the things that we get to do as part of our job in the Otago Museum Science Engagement Team.
Look about for more Southland science action over the coming weeks!