The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Club consists of grade four, five and six students who meet every Wednesday after school to explore myths in science and technology.

The students were amazed by the wonderful high-school science teachers, who ran four different activities throughout the day.

The day started with the students learning about the physics of the universe and then doing the “Elephant Toothpaste” experiment – an all-round favourite!

The students also ‘wow-ed’ the teachers at Spinifex with their knowledge of the Periodic Table.

Later the students made paper helicopters and graphed the difference paperclips made to the speed of the helicopters descent.

After lunch, the young scientists competed in the ‘Earth-Quake Challenge’, where they had to build a structure that held a cup of water. Their structure was then placed in a machine that shook their structure, simulating a real earthquake. The winning structure was made by a group of year four and five girls – Amity, Kaitlyn, Marlo, Bonnie and Daisy.

In the last session, the students investigated solids, liquids and gases by observing some liquid nitrogen and dry ice experiments. They then made their own Oobleck – some non-Newtonian fluid that acts as a liquid and a solid. The students had a fantastic day that prepared them for high school and to be scientists of the future.

Amity Fietz and Kaitlyn Dyer: “We loved doing the experiments and we had so much fun working together. Testing things that we built was fantastic, and we learnt so much about the properties of different materials. Thanks so much Spinifex!”

Caelan Howard, Caeden Murphy and Ethan Pocock: “Our day at Spinifex was amazing. We loved every second and we wish we could do it again because of the great teachers and even better experiments, like the Oobleck and the Earthquake challenge. It was the best experience we have had in a long time!”