STEM Academy

In this workshop, students will learn about the ins and outs of artificial intelligence, machine learning and adaptive language models through the use of an interactive activity using ChatGPT. Students will learn the pros and cons of AI/ChatGPT and where it will likely go in the future.

Capacity (min. - max): 10 - 30
Year levels: 7 - 10
Duration: 45 mins
Study area(s): Computer Science, Coding

Whether it’s at home or in the workplace, animals are an important part of our lives. They can be trained to behave in certain ways and to perform specific tasks, but how can we effectively train them when they can’t talk back? Delve into the world of animal psychology and discover the complexities of shaping behaviours to achieve desired outcomes.

Capacity (max): 30
Year levels: 9 - 11
Duration: 45 min
Study area (s): Psychology, Biology, Veterinary Sciences

In this workshop, students will be provided a brief insight into what’s involved in being a Civil and Structural Engineer. The session will focus on the design and construction of a cantilever crane and will cover a range of topics related to the design, analysis and construction of cranes and cantilever structures. Students will have the opportunity to put their newly built crane through its paces while reviewing the engineering process to adapt and improve their structure.

Capacity (max): 30
Year levels: 8 - 10
Duration: 45 mins
Study area(s): Physics, Mathematics, Engineering

What is your favourite food or drink smell and does it remind you of anything? To understand what we taste, we first need to know how we taste. In this workshop students will learn what senses to use for descriptive analysis and how we research flavour and aroma on a chemical level.

Capacity (min. - max): 10 - 25
Year levels: 9 - 10
Duration: 45 mins
Study area(s): Chemistry, Food & Nutrition, Agricultural Science, Wine Science

Have you ever looked up to the sky at night and wondered if we could live up there? Let us take you on a physics trip through the universe and stop off at some of the places we could or could not go on holiday, look at the viability of Earth analogue planets we could one day inhabit, and discuss possible jobs involved in settling on a new planet.

Capacity (max): 30
Year levels: 9 - 11
Duration: 45 mins
Study area(s): Astrophysics, Space Science

In this workshop, students will have the opportunity to learn about the mechanics of levers while building their own small catapults. Using simple materials, they will explore the principles of force, motion, and energy transfer as they experiment with different designs and launch projectiles.

Capacity (max): 30
Year levels: 8 - 10
Duration: 45 mins
Study area(s): Physics, Engineering, Mathematics

Join us for an exciting coding workshop where you'll learn to program robots for an epic robot battle! In this hands-on session, you'll dive into coding basics, creating commands to control your robot and outsmart your opponents. Your mission? To program the smartest, fastest, and most strategic robot that can knock out the competition and be the last robot standing in the arena.

Capacity (max): 30
Year levels: 7 - 8
Duration: 45 mins
Study area(s): Computer Science, Coding, Robotics, Engineering

Exploring aerospace engineering and space science, this exciting activity gets students hands on, learning about the basic science and engineering principles in rocketry. Putting this knowledge to the test, students are then challenged to design, build and launch small scale rockets competing for the best design.

Capacity (min. - max): 15 - 30
Year levels: 7 - 8
Duration: 45 mins
Study area(s): Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Space, Engineering

This workshop is a unique opportunity for students to learn concepts in the areas of zoology, evolutionary biology and taxonomy, through an interactive, challenging exercise where students will work in small groups and engage with our museum-quality sets of real animal specimens (preserved in resin to allow handling from all angles) to determine their evolutionary relatedness and build their own phylogenetic tree. Prizes on offer for the winning group!

Capacity (min. - max): 10 - 30
Year levels: 10 - 11
Duration: 45 - 55 mins
Study area(s): Biology, Zoology, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics