More than 800 school students travelled to the University of New England during National Science Week to explore the world of science guided by UNE lecturers, researchers and technicians.

They were participants in UNE’s annual “Science in the Bush”, which this year was extended into a two-day event to include – for the first time – primary as well as secondary students.

Altogether, 40 schools – from Grafton to Inverell to Macksville – sent cohorts of students. On Thursday 18 August the secondary students (in Years 7-9) plunged into activities designed to introduce them to aspects of scientific disciplines including chemistry, forensic science, robotics, physics, psychology, biology, horticulture, engineering, biomedical science and pharmacy.

Josette Lewis from Orara High School in Coffs Harbour, while experimenting with the manufacture of cold packs in a UNE chemistry laboratory, said that she had already had a lot of fun investigating the colours of the flames of burning chemical elements. She had been surprised – and delighted – for example that beryllium burnt with a red flame. And looking forward to a subsequent experiment she said: “I can’t wait to be making lip balm.”

In an adjacent laboratory, students were using the phenomenon of fluorescence to identify a chemical associated with a “crime scene”. “I’ve only ever seen this sort of thing on television,” said Claudia Cooper from Bowraville Central School.

“The hands-on activities at ‘Science in the Bush’ are designed to show school students that science can be fun,” said UNE’s Dr Michelle Taylor, one of the organisers of the event. “And they certainly did have fun: we got some really good feedback.”

Dr Taylor said that the introduction of a second day to cater for primary school students had been a great success. “We’ll definitely try to do it again next year,” she said.

This year’s “Science in the Bush” was helped by a National Science Week grant from the Commonwealth Government, which supported – among other things – the transport of students from distant schools and schools in low socioeconomic-status communities. “This enabled the participation of students who would otherwise have been unable to attend,” Dr Taylor said.

She was particularly pleased that the program for primary students (in Years 5 and 6), on Friday 19 August, had attracted so many participants from small schools – including Bendemeer, Tintinhull, Moonbi, Deepwater and Nowendoc.

UNE students as well as staff members were involved in the presentation of “Science in the Bush”, and other sponsors included CSIRO and the Australian Poultry CRC.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows Emily Marshall from Ben Venue Public School, Armidale, engrossed in a chemistry experiment during “Science in the Bush”.

National Science Week got off to an exciting start in an Armidale shopping centre on Saturday when scientists from the University of New England entertained shoppers with practical experiments in the chemistry of everyday life.

Dr Michelle Taylor and Dr Erica Smith from UNE Chemistry, assisted by several of their colleagues and students, gave intrigued members of the public at Centro shopping centre an insight into the chemistry behind some of the sights, smells and sounds they encounter in the home and in the workplace.

“We aimed to show people something of the science involved in their everyday lives,” Dr Taylor said. “And we were kept pretty busy doing so. Although we stayed an hour longer than we had intended, they still didn’t want us to go.”

The demonstrations included the chemistry of liquid nitrogen, dry ice and hot packs, the making of latex rubber balls, and “scratch-and-sniff” cards linking the smells of chemical compounds to their molecular structure.

This was the first event in “Far Out Science”, a series of events that UNE is staging throughout National Science Week (August 13-21) with the help of a grant from the Commonwealth Government. The other events include a two-day “Science in the Bush” experience at UNE for school students, and “Radical Wine” – an evening of discovery about the science of winemaking.

More than 800 school students from throughout northern NSW will travel to UNE on Thursday the 18^th and Friday the 19^th of August to take part in hands-on activities designed to help them realise that the study of science – and the pursuit of a scientific career – can involve a lot of fun. “‘Science in the Bush’ will also help them to appreciate the relevance of science to all aspects of our lives,” Dr Taylor said.

Thursday’s activities will be for secondary students in Years 7 to 9, while primary students in Years 5 and 6 will be the participants in the activities on Friday. This is the first year that primary school students have visited UNE for “Science in the Bush”.

“Our National Science Week grant from the Commonwealth Government is enabling more students than ever to experience UNE’s ‘Science in the Bush’ this year,” Dr Taylor said. “It’s helping them to travel by bus from places such as Macksville and Inverell, and from many small schools such as those at Bendemeer, Tintinhull, Moonbi, Deepwater and Nowendoc.

“Radical Wine”, on Friday 19 August at Armidale Town Hall, will enable people to explore the sensory aspects of wine through simple, hands-on experiments presented by UNE scientists and Dr Renee Smart from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology, and listen to presentations by Dr Paul Smith from the Australian Wine Research Institute and local winemaker Sean Cassidy. The event, which will include opportunities to sample wines from vineyards around New England, will start at 5.30 pm and continue till 8.30 pm.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows UNE’s Dr Ben Greatrex demonstrating some chemical magic to young shoppers at Centro.

Australia’s first Graduate Certificate in Precision Agriculture  program will be offered by the University of New England, commencing in January 2012.

“This study program is the fruit of more than 20 years’ experience within the University’s Precision Agriculture Research Group, which has worked in the development and application of precision agriculture technologies in a variety of industries – including broadacre cropping, horticulture, viticulture, and livestock systems,” said UNE’s Dr Mark Trotter, the coordinator of the new Graduate Certificate (Grad Cert Precision Ag) program.

The industry-informed course involves the completion of four semester-long units. The two core units, “Precision Agriculture” and “Introduction to Geographical Information Systems”, cover  global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and their application; handling spatial data and the practical use of geographic information systems (GIS); the application of remote sensing to agricultural landscapes; soil, vegetation and yield variability and the sensors used to measure it; livestock tracking and pasture management systems; the economics of precision agriculture; issues associated with the adoption of new technologies.

“Students will get the opportunity to apply their skills through hands-on experience with current and emerging precision agriculture technologies such as EM38 soil sensors, GNSS survey equipment, ground-based active optical sensors, airborne optical sensors, livestock tracking technologies, the ‘Pastures from Space’ program, and both farm-specific and generic geographical information systems,” Dr Trotter said.

A pool of elective units (from which students will select and complete two) includes: “Business Skills for the Agricultural Consultant”, “Remote Sensing and Image Analysis”, “Spatial Analysis and Modelling”, “Remote Sensing and Surveying”, and a research project unit with a precision agriculture focus.

“Precision agriculture is a rapidly developing field of research and commercial activity both in the more traditional plant industries and also increasingly in the livestock sector,” Dr Trotter said. “Producers are seeking to increase their production efficiency, and new technologies offer the potential to take advantage of the spatial and temporal variability that occurs across their landscapes and amongst their livestock. This Graduate Certificate program meets a significant need to develop experts in this field; the industry is crying out for people who can assist in the implementation of precision agriculture technologies.”

The Grad Cert Precision Ag course is available for study both on and off campus, and can be completed part-time over one or two years.

For inquiries about the new course phone 1800 818 865 or go to http://www.une.edu.au/future

THE IMAGE displayed here is a biomass map produced by the recently-developed “Raptor” airborne crop sensor during trials of the sensor by UNE’s Precision Agriculture Research Group.