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Unit for Year 5 to 6 Butterflies: Engaging with nature

This unit of work engages students in preparing butterfly gardens in their schoolgrounds. It explores scientific entomology, features of insects (including butterflies), the contributions that butterflies make to a healthy environments, and the characteristics of butterfly gardens. The unit includes worksheets, assessment ...

Downloadable

Walking on Crushed Glass

This is an illustrated story of a real-life engineering solution designed to recycle glass waste and reuse it as reinforcement for concrete used in footpaths. The book explains the process of innovation to reach a viable solution. It shows the creativity, innovation and collaboration required to provide a solution that ...

Online

States of matter: Our warming world

Matter can exist in different states, and behave differently depending on temperature. In this resource, students investigate how heat can affect the motion and arrangement of particles, and how this may impact our world.

Video

Working towards a renewable energy future

Listen to electrical engineering student Kulsoom Hussain describe her dream career. What are some of the challenges she says she'll face in trying to achieve her goals? What can you find out about the energy sources used in Australia? How much renewable energy is used to power our country?

Interactive

2024 Dreaming

Explore options for houses, work, food and transport in 2024 in this multimedia presentation from Radio National. A useful resource for stimulating discussion about applications of science and implications for society and the environment as well as current issues and developments in science. Gives examples of how different ...

Video

Catalyst: Aboriginal fire knowledge reduces greenhouse gases

Come on an eye-opening trip to Western Arnhem Land in northern Australia to find out how Aboriginal fire-control techniques are used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by thousands of tonnes.On the trip you will also find out how exploding ping-pong balls are used to create low greenhouse gas firebreaks at the right time ...

Video

Catalyst: Volcanic eruptions at Mount Ruapehu

Imagine a volcano erupting kilometres away. You are afraid, worried for the safety of yourself and others. Paul Willis presents the work of New Zealand volcanologists conducting research at Mount Ruapehu, a volcano with a history of devastating lahar (water, sediment and rocks) flows. Learn more about lahar flows and the ...

Video

Four Corners: Ecological effects of bushfires

Did you know that Australia is the most flammable continent on Earth? Watch this clip to discover how bushfires impact natural ecosystems, and how the increasing global threat of bushfires may affect Australia. Australian scientists explain the ecological consequences of fire and a US expert describes his concerns for the future.

Video

Elliot and the Surfing Scientist: Using a lens to bend light

How can a water-filled plastic straw be used to decode a secret message? Watch as the Surfing Scientist demonstrates how lenses with a curved surface do curious things to light.

Video

Catalyst: Indigenous eel farming

Discover a method for catching eels while watching how archaeologist Dr Heather Builth works scientifically, at Lake Condah to determine whether the Gunditjmara community were truly nomadic or used advanced farming techniques to support their way of life.

Video

Elliot and the Surfing Scientist: Pepper scatter experiment

Watch what happens in this pepper scatter experiment by Surfing Scientist, Ruben Meerman. Ruben demonstrates an important property of water, surface tension, by dipping a toothpick into water sprinkled with pepper. Find out what happens when detergent is added.

Video

Stateline: Saving the northern hairy-nosed wombat

Just what is going on with the northern hairy-nosed wombat? Find out why scientists are working hard to understand more about this elusive Australian mammal. Watch this clip to find out about the ecology of this wombat species and to view some field and laboratory research aimed at saving it. You will also see some footage ...

Video

Catalyst: Supercapacitors: new battery technology

Discover how nanotechnology is contributing to the creation of new, improved batteries that may soon be used in all our mobile phones and portable music devices - even in cars and trams. Catalyst's Tanya Ha looks at how traditional batteries produce electricity and how their efficiency may be increased by tiny devices known ...

Video

Four Corners: Megafires

Are we approaching the 'age of megafires'? It might sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, but some scientists believe there is cause for concern. Watch this clip to find out how bushfires as we know them are changing. Discover why.

Video

Elliot and the Surfing Scientist: Salt water density experiment

Discover what density is and how you can test the density of liquids. You will also find out about salt water and how its density is responsible for the circulation of water around the world's oceans.

Video

Eyeballing colours

Fiery red, cool blue and sunny yellow are phrases used to describe feelings associated with colours. But what actually is colour? Why is it there and what helps us to see it? Follow Chloe Sheridan as she unravels the complexity of seeing colour by delving into its physics and biology. She entered this video in the 2013 ...

Video

BTN: Volcanoes and people

Imagine living in the shadow of a volcano? Well, millions of people do in Naples, Italy, where a massive volcano called Vesuvius exists. This clip explores the dangers posed by volcanoes and investigates some recent and ancient eruptions. Find out some misconceptions about volcanoes and discover how science is helping prevent ...

Video

BTN: A career as a geologist

Do all scientists wear white lab coats and work with chemicals? Watch this clip and discover how a career in science can take you soaring to dizzying heights. Find out what an exploration geologist does and why helicopters are used in the job. This clip will inspire you to consider a career in one of the many varied fields ...

Video

Catalyst: Water through cracked soil

Watch scientists investigate water movement through soil that has been cracked by drought. Australian scientists demonstrate a new way to investigate how water moves through the cracks using electrical probes to measure soil moisture at different soil depths. This technology could help farmers more efficiently irrigate ...

Video

ABC News: Disease threatens fish

Imagine what would happen if a deadly fish disease found its way into Australia's biggest river system. Watch this clip to learn more about a disease threatening the ecology of the Murray-Darling River. Scientist, Professor Richard Whittington, explains that the disease could be the final straw for an endangered Australian ...