SEMINARS FOR 2008

The ultimate aim of SCIENCE FANTASTIC seminars to assist educators to be better equipped within their classrooms and professional development

COOKING UP A STORM WITH
SIZZLING SCIENCE LESSONS!
A resource workshop for beginning teachers

Teaching science is a bit like cooking a meal. Great chefs, like great teachers have skills, tools and techniques that allow them to transform simple ingredients into fabulous food. When teaching elementary science, you start with basic concepts, add some sizzling techniques using effective tools and, voilа - you have a science program that really cooks.

This workshop is for you, if you:

• Are new to teaching;
• Are just finishing your teacher training;
• Are new to teaching primary science;
• Get KLA’s confused with CCO’s (Core Content Objectives);
• Have suddenly been dropped into a science teaching slot;
• Need a boost in confidence in teaching science;
• Don’t know a Bunsen burner from a bungalow;
• Aren’t sure where to find good science info;
• Aren’t sure what you are supposed to teach in science;
• Get worried when you hear the words “scientific process”;
• Want your science teaching to sizzle.

Want to make your school science lessons sizzle? Are you tired of doing the same boring science experiments with your class every year? Then this Seminar is for you!

• This highly motivational one day in-service will help you to find some practical, creative and inexpensive ways to bring real "Hands On" Science into your classroom programs. Create enthusiasm in your students as they get to develop skills and practice in DOING SCIENCE!
• This seminar is jam packed with strategies and tips on how you can transform your approach to primary school science from using worksheets and videos to getting your students involved and working in experimentation and discovery.
• Many teachers and educators feel ill-prepared, overwhelmed and have little time to create extensive science experiences for their students. Well not any more!
• This seminar will give you some insight into how to prepare for most science topics covered in the Queensland Science Syllabus and create some interesting and captivating activities that will transform your classroom.
  

BRISBANE
Tuesday 6th May
BTP Technology & Conference Centre
Brisbane Technology Park
Miles-Platting Rd
Eight Mile Plains 4113

Time: 9.30am - 3.00pm

Registration: 9.00am

Cost: $165.00 (GST incl.)

Free Parking at venue. Cost includes light lunch, morning tea, refreshments and seminar notes.

COMING SOON

SCIENCE FANTASTIC'S

Afterschool Teacher Workshop
90 minute workshops
4.00 - 5.30pm
$55.00 per participant
Attendance Certificate provided

Saturday Seminars
3 workshops
$55.00 per workshop or all 3 for $132.00 inc GST

All day workshops
$165.00 per person

Our dynamic Science Fantastic team brings fresh ideas to use in your K-7 classroom. Science Fantastic workshops involve teachers in a range of fun and exciting hands-on classroom activities, using materials, methods and resources designed to "jump-start" your elementary science programs.

Exploring the curriculum organizers of Life Science, Physical Science, Earth & Space Science and Applications of Science, these workshops are correlated with the new science curriculum in the Integrated Resource Package (IRP). Workshops are designed to provide flexible activities that teachers can adapt to their own classrooms and can be delivered as integrated stand-alone programs or as part of professional enrichment events and conferences.

This Science Fantastic teacher workshop lasts approximately 90 minutes and teachers will leave with interesting ideas and hands-on activities to implement into the classroom. Each participant will receive a free copy of the Surfing the Solar System Playbook that is full of activities demonstrated in the workshop, along with additional activities, blackline masters and comprehensive explanations.

All workshops:

• consist of a package of three 90 minute modules;
• can be customized for primary or intermediate classrooms;
• require that schools or event organizers arrange for classroom space;
• require a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 30 teachers per workshop;
• include a free Playbook unit for each participant for all three selected workshops.
  
  
  

WORKSHOP TOPICS

EARTH AND BEYOND
Solar System Science
Planet Earth Science
Space Science
Astronomical Science
Amazing Earth Science (Double Workshop - 3 hours)

PHYSICAL SCIENCES
Spinning Science
Electricity Science
Flight Science
Sound Science
Cool Chemistry Science

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Living Science
Survivor Science
Human Body Science

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
Solar System Science
Do you want to boldly go where few have gone before? Space is a natural hook to get students interested in science, and you don't have to be an astronomer to share with your students the wonders of space science.
In this hands-on workshop you will use a Star Finder to help you and your students identify stars, constellations, and planets when you look up in the night sky. Then travel with us through the solar system, comparing planetary sizes, distances, and masses using simple materials like peppercorns, apples, adding machine tape, and string. Finally, "blast off" with easy-to-build rockets, and simulate the disorientation that astronauts feel when they're out in space!
The Surfing the Solar System workshop supports learning outcomes found in K-7 Science curriculum, and especially suits the Grades 3 and 6 Earth and Space Science topics.

Activites include:

• Make a Star Finder
• Build an Astrolab
• Earth-Moon Distance
• Earth as a Peppercorn
• 100 Apple Solar System
• Paper Tape Solar System
• Disorientation Maze
• Antacid Rocket

Planet Earth Science
We know an amazing amount about other planets in the solar system, but what about our own planet? In this workshop we'll look deep into the Earth and out into the clouds, as we travel through the rock and water cycles.
Use the scientific process to solve a mysterious puzzle, and then play a game where you travel through the water cycle as a water molecule, tracing your journey through the nine major areas on the Earth where we find water. Create a cloud in a jar, discover for yourself what percentage of the Earth is covered in ocean and then make sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rock…out of chocolate! Join in on this delicious exploration of our own planet Earth!

Activites include:

• Just Drifting Around
• A Puzzling Problem
• Chipping Away
• The Incredible Journey
• Exploring the World in a Bag of Dirt

Space Science
"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind". You can't send your students into space, but we can show you ways to take one giant leap into space travel… in your classroom!

We will take participants through a series of missions, simulating different types of space exploration, from Earth-bound observations to unpiloted fly-bys to piloted sample return missions. Compare and evaluate the different types of exploration used in the past, present and those that may be used in the future. We'll also look at Canada's contribution to the International Space Station: The Canadarm. Build an exact replica of the end effector (grabbing device) and design your own space technology! We'll end things off with a bang as you build your own landing devices and compare them to what NASA used to land the Mars Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity.

Activites include:

• Exploring Space
• Mapping Planetary Surfaces
• Lunatic Landers
• Roving Robots

Astronomical Science
You'll have a truly stellar experience in this workshop all about the Earth, Sun, Moon and stars!
You'll be surprised at how much you can learn with a light bulb, a ball, and just a few simple ideas. Participate in demonstrations, and discover for yourself why there are phases of the moon, and what causes an eclipse! Have you ever wondered about how the zodiac constellations relate to your birthday? Come and find out! Listen to Aboriginal stories about the night sky, and create your own constellation and myth. Discover the relative sizes of stars, their relative distances, and just how many stars are in our galaxy. This workshop is out of this world!

Activites include:

• Earth-Sun-Moon Modelling
• Different Seasons, Different Stars
• Star Stories
• Aboriginal Star Stories
• Creating Constellations
• Constellation Grids
• What About the Stars?

Amazing Earth Science (Double Workshop - 3 hours)
Come away with a tidal wave of information and activities on the dynamics of plate tectonics and their effects on the Earth's crust.

Learn how to capture 4.5 billion years of time on one roll of paper tape, and get a real idea of how long ago life first started, dinosaurs lived, and when humans came to exist. Re-create Pangaea and predict what the earth will look like 50 million years in the future. Use an apple to model the Earth's layers, and "shake up" your repertoire with new ways to demonstrate how earthquakes and volcanoes work, using simple materials and human bodies! You'll have fun acting like molecules in a seismic wave, finding out how to locate the epicentre of an earthquake, and describing earthquake intensities. The magnitude of stuff you'll learn is off the Richter scale!

Activites include:

• Age of the Earth Timeline
• Apple Earth
• Constructing a Model of the Earth's Layers
• Continental Puzzle
• Predicting the Future
• Moving Volcanoes
• Piecing it All Together
• Peanut Butter and Jam Boundaries
• Making or Destroying Land?
• Make your Own Earthquake
• What Causes an Earthquake?
• Modeling Waves
• Mapping the Layers of the Earth Using Seismic Waves
• Wave Shuffle
• How Intense Was that Earthquake?

PHYSICAL SCIENCES

Spinning Science
How hard would it be to stop a 20 tonne pumpkin rolling down a hill? How big a push would you need to start it rolling in the first place? And most importantly, how many pies would it make? The activities in this workshop will help you and your students answer these pressing questions about force and motion.
In this action-packed, playful workshop you will enter into the "spinny" world of tops. Starting from a simple design, teachers will build tops of various configurations using a variety of materials.

Activites include:

• Spinning Tops part 1
• Spinning Tops part 2
• Stroboscope
• Ram Paces
• Come-back Can

Electricity Science
You'll get a charge out of Enlightening Electricity...the electricity workshop!
Demystify the shocking truth about electricity. Teachers will participate in a role play and learn what it's like to be part of a circuit. Then, you will learn electrical basics while building and redesigning circuit boards with easy to acquire materials: batteries, wire, paper clips, and Christmas tree mini-lights. Use these circuit boards to explore what makes good conductors & insulators, and what the difference is between series and parallel circuits.

Activites include:

• Light the Bulb
• Circuit Board
• Electric Explorations
• Telegraph
• Nerve Tester
• Connection Octopus

Flight Science
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a super flying object you built yourself! Teachers learn about the basic principles of flight including lift, thrust, air resistance and Bernoulli's Principle.
You will build parachutes, helicopters and airplanes, then explore how design modifications affect their flight! Teachers experience Bernoulli's Principle in action through a variety of activities and demonstrations. This fun and hands-on workshop establishes connections between the physics of flight and nature, along with the design on everyday objects

Activites include:

• Gravity Defying Paper
• Parachute
• Spinny Helicopter
• Boomerangs
• Bernoulli Flyer

Sound Science
Did you know that bats, whales and dolphins have even better hearing than dogs? Is there such thing as a grasshopper whistle and can a dog hear it?
In this workshop, you will not only make and hear sounds, but also see and feel them. Participants will create music instruments and noise makers, then tune wine glasses and bottles to play songs of their own.

Activites include:

• Sound Waves
• Tuning Forks
• Moose Callers
• Straw Kazoo
• Glass Xylophone

Cool Chemistry Science
A dash of measuring, observing and describing along with a pinch of solids, liquids and gases combine to create a play shop full of physical and chemical reactions.
In this workshop, you will get cooking with slime, silly putty and swirling milk. Teachers learn how to make it snow-even in the heat of summer! And finally, you will unveil the secrets of the Mentos Fountain and important tips to avoid sticky situations.

Activites include:

• Super Absorbers
• Guar Goop
• Silly Putty
• Liquids Alike
• Swirling Milk
• Mentos Fountain

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE

Living Science
Guess what? You do not have to be an expert to teach science! Science can be "Not-So-Scary" when the focus is exploration and discovery learning.

This workshop engages teachers in a wide range of exciting activities, methods and resources designed to jump start K-7 science programs. These flexible activities do not require expensive scientific equipment or expertise and can be adapted to different grade levels. Each activity is designed to support or be incorporated into a unit of study.
In this workshop, participants will use a variety of science process skills used by biologists to develop an understanding of the natural world. Discover the dichotomous key, learn how to use it at home and in classroom to identify and classify objects. Combine science and math to determine the height of the tallest tree and learn why this is important to scientists.

Activites include:

• Finding That Hidden Key
• How Tall is That Tree
• Plot Study
• Critter Corner
• Food Web

Survivor Science
What does it take to stay "alive"? Compare the general and individual survival strategies of various animals. This workshop engages teachers in a wide range of exciting hands-on activities, methods and resources designed to jump start K-7 science programs. These flexible activities do not require expensive scientific equipment or expertise and can be adapted to different grade levels. Each activity is designed to support or be incorporated into a unit of study.

Explore how living things must grow, defend, reproduce and adapt to their unique environments to survive. This workshop descends through the different layers of the ocean from the intertidal zones to the deepest and darkest parts of the ocean. Discover how animals in the ocean are truly survivors. There are many challenges that animals must endure in order to survive.

Activites include:

• AL = Is It Alive?
• That Animal Can Do That?
• Build an Animal
• Smells Like Home
• Staying Warm With Blubber
• Creeps of the Deep
• Clean U That Mess
• I Will Survive

Human Body Science
Did you know that the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body? You will learn all about the human body and consider what your body needs to survive in a healthy environment while using various science process skills. This workshop engages teachers in a wide range of exciting hands-on activities, methods and resources designed to jump start K-7 science programs.

These flexible activities do not require expensive scientific equipment or expertise and can be adapted to different grade levels. Each activity is designed to support or be incorporated into a unit of study.

Learn exactly what is happening from your nose to your toes and discover that the human body is an incredible machine. Participants will discover various organs like never before and investigate what it means to be contagious. The conclusion of this workshop will demonstrate what happens in the digestive system and will be something that you and your students will remember for a lifetime.

Activites include:

• What Organ Is This
• Body Demos
• Animal Heart Rates
• Fun Stuff
• Tough to Swallow
• Is It Contagious
• Trash or Treasure
• The Air Around Us