Page 8 - Harvest Connect Volume 23 Issue 7

Harvest’s 2022 STEM Enrichment Tour
Harvest’s 2022 STEM Enrichment Tour commenced with a 500 km drive to the Naracoorte Caves, where we learned about their formation and the remarkable fossil remains of past creatures, including megafauna.
On day two, we visited the Alcoa Aluminium Smelter in Portland. This impressive facility accounts for 10% of Victoria’s total electricity usage and employs several chemical and mechanical engineers who shared their career experiences and advice with our students. In the evening, we toured the Ballarat Observatory, which included views of the Moon and 3D movies highlighting some of modern astronomy’s discoveries and challenges.
We left our unique medieval-style castle accommodation on day three and were privileged to tour the Genomics and Structural Biology laboratories at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, one of Australia’s leading medical research facilities. This was an exceptional opportunity for our students to see scientists in their workplace and to hear about how they could pursue a similar pathway. In the afternoon, we viewed portions of a to-scale solar system model.
We also managed to get into some serious shopping in the Melbourne CBD and visited the
SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium on the final day of our STEM Enrichment Tour. The guided tour broadened our students’ understanding of various aquatic creatures and marine environments. To make the most of our last day in Melbourne, we took the time to visit several other sites, including the Melbourne Zoo, the Eureka Skydeck and Imaginaria.
The tour was an excellent experience for our students, and we especially thank our accompanying mums, Simone Shevchenko and Megan Frost, for looking after us all.
We also gratefully acknowledge the Commonwealth’s support of this opportunity in the form of funding through the Sponsorship Grants for Student Science Engagement and International Competitions 2021-22.
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