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: 8 - 10
Duration: 45 min
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 achieved desired outcomes.

Capacity (min. & max): 30 max
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 (min. & max): 30 max
Year levels: 8-10
Duration: 45 min
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 min – 25 max
Year levels: 9-11 
Duration: 45 min
Study area (s): Chemistry, Food & Nutrition, Agricultural Science, Wine Science

Give your students an introduction to the world of coding with our brand new Sphero Mini Kits. Our STEM communicators will guide students through short, fun activities to program the Sphero gyroscopic robots in real time!

Capacity (min. & max): 10 min – 30 max
Year levels: 8 - 10
Duration: 45 - 50 min
Study area (s): Computer Science, Robotics, Engineering  

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 (min. & max): 30 max
Year levels: 8-10
Duration: 45 min
Study area (s): Physics, Engineering, Mathematics

In this workshop, students explore the basic concepts of mycology and mushroom cultivation, including sterilising equipment, pasteurising growth substrate and combining substrate with the mycelial hyphae. Groups will finish with a take-home, ready-to-fruit mushroom spawn block that will produce edible Oyster Mushrooms in 4-6 weeks!

Please note: This activity can only be run at our North Terrace campus.

Capacity (min - max): 16 - 24
Year levels: 10 and above
Duration: 50 min
Study area (s): Biology, Zoology, Microbiology

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 min – 30 max
Year levels: 7 - 8
Duration: 45 min
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 min
Study area(s): Biology, Zoology, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics