Basically last week was National Science Week all around Australia. Dan and I were asked to go up to Darwin for the week to run a whole lot of 20 minute workshops with primary school kids on how to make solar cells. Out of raspberries. I'm not quite sure which part of this seemed the most challenging, but it all seemed like fun; and combined with the fact that I had never been to Darwin, and that we were to be paid for the trip, it all sounded pretty good.
So Dan and I found ourselves at the airport with boxes of brochures and a bit of luggage on a Monday night. After approximately 5 hours we arrived in a lovely 27 degree Darwin, and caught a cab to Vanessa's house (a friend of a friend who had kindly offered us the use of her spare rooms). We had been left with instructions that went something like this: "Go through the back gate where you'll meet two dogs (Gus and Neil) - they are quite friendly and like to jump and lick a lot. Go in through the back door which will be left open for you, and the rooms you'll be staying in should be quite obvious". This more than anything else made me realise how different Darwin is to Sydney...
Anyway, we were bowled over by two very friendly and excited dogs - anyone with ill intentions would be licked into submission - and found our way into the house. Gus is the one pictured here.
Dan and I spent the next few days running over 30 raspberry solar cell making workshops for the primary school kids of Darwin. The workshops were only 20 minutes each - but there was plenty to fit in to that time - you can see our tables, set up, some piccies of Dan teaching the kids, and the actual 'solar cells' themselves as made by the students.
They seemed to like it, mostly because they got their hands dirty. My favourite quote from one of the students was when we were prompting them to tell us what different types of energy were. Someone mentioned fire (which quite obviously has light and heat energy), and this inspired one boy to wave his hand energetically in the air while exclaiming "Miss, miss. I burnt me house down!". I quickly explained that this type of energy is usually not encouraged.
While we did spend a lot of time at the science fair, we did get to get out and about. Dan, Jasmine and I managed to fit in a dinner together - a catch up that hasn't happened for a long time!
We also sat in on a couple of night time events - Women in Science, and Astronomy. Both of which were very interesting. The week was a huge learning experience for me, as well as any students at the science fair! One of the other highlights was getting to the night time markets on the beach. We got there just before sunset and it was truly spectacular...also managed to buy a few gifts for those at home...
The last day in Darwin was spent in a shopping centre. Yep, we had one of those demonstration tables which you always seem to see at large suburban shopping malls. We had lots of fun handing out balloons, and watching Dan do solar cell demonstrations for the kids and adults alike. Jasmine and I also liked posing for the camera.
Overall we had a fantastic time! Thanks to Vanessa for putting us up, and to Jasmine for organising the whole thing. It was a great experience. And thanks to my science partner Dan for making the whole thing fun, as well as educational. I like to think that I'm a little bit of a scientist now...and maybe a bit of a poser...
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