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Hologram poetry lesson

In this lesson, students are asked to present a poem as a visual illusion. They explore holograms and visual illusions, and then delve into the mechanics of poetry construction by exploring the poetry of Banjo Paterson. They write their own poem or recite a poem and create a hologram illusion of themselves reciting a poem. ...

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I am an inventor lesson

In this lesson, students explore the life, work and times of Rube Goldberg. The lesson uses Rube Goldberg’s work to teach students about simple machines, how they function and their design principles. Working in groups, the students then design and create a Rube Goldberg machine that can complete a simple task. Students ...

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Climate-resilient homes lesson

In this lesson, students explore how architects consider sustainability factors when designing innovative climate-resilient homes. Students then design their own climate-resilient home for a location of their choice. In their designs they are asked to consider many factors such as the climate of the location, orientation ...

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Food innovation and molecular gastronomy lesson

In this lesson, students explore connections between science, design, and technologies through the lens of food innovation and food science. Students look at interesting and unusual food products, using food textures as a jumping off point to explore the relationship between chemistry and food. Students then experiment ...

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Education - Return to 1616 Ecological Restoration Project

This is a comprehensive education package based on of the world's most exciting ecological restoration projects that is happening right now in Western Australia! It features interactive virtual tours, 3D skulls, videos, real-action inquiry projects, research projects, native animal educational card games and activities, ...

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Questacon Cyber Castle Challenge

Embark on an exhilarating virtual adventure that will ignite young minds and equip them for the digital frontier. The Questacon Cyber Castle Challenge is a FREE Minecraft: Education game and resources to engage students in cyber security concepts and skills of the future.

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And now to build the satellite!

Once the design plan for a satellite is approved, it's important to identify the appropriate materials, tools and equipment needed to construct the new product. Watch this clip to find out what an engineer might do to select and test the components and techniques needed to build a satellite like NASA's MAVEN spacecraft. ...

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How do robots work?

Ever wondered how robots work? Watch as students and Robogals members Claire and Stefan introduce you to one of their robots. What does Claire say about robot languages? And what does Stefan say about how the robot knows what's in front of it?

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What makes the internet run reliably?

Watch this clip to see software engineer Lynn Root and co-creator of the internet Vint Cerf explain what keeps the internet running reliably. When information is sent on the internet, it is broken down into packets that are able to take a number of routes to get from one computer to another. Why might this be important? ...

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For the Juniors: Tall buildings that won't fall

What makes tall buildings strong and stable? View this clip to find out how a tall building made from concrete is made even stronger. Look at a model of the building to see how it will look when it's built. See if you can pick up some design tips to help you build your own tall structure!

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Create your own card game

Grab a deck of cards and a bunch of friends and create your own card game. What sort of rules will you decide on? Get a pen and some paper out and brainstorm some possibilities. You might decide on something like 'If I draw a red card, I get a point' and 'If I draw a black card, you get a point.' What other rules can you ...

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Building a weather satellite

Designers and engineers improve upon existing products all the time. How important do you think it is to update and enhance something like a weather satellite? Can you think of some other objects that could be improved upon?

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What skills are important for programming robots?

Listen as David McKinnon from UNSW describes some of the skills that are useful to have if you want to program robots. David explains an activity that exercises problem solving skills. Why don't you try doing it? Look at a map and find some towns that are close to yours. Use the scale on the map to work out the distances ...

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How is your personal information kept secret on the internet?

Lots of private data is exchanged over the internet. What are some examples? As Mia Epner explains, cryptography allows for the secure transfer of data online. How does encryption work? And what is a key? Today information is encrypted using 256 bit keys. This keeps information safe because it means there are way too many ...

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Building spaghetti bridges

Have you ever tried making a bridge out of dried spaghetti? What about a spaghetti bridge that can support a roadway and small car? Watch as teams of first-year university students reveal and test their designs. How did they decide what kind of bridges to build? Have a go at designing, testing and building your own spaghetti ...

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Different paper plane designs

How many different paper plane designs are there? Lots! Watch as Dylan Parker, paper plane expert, demonstrates some of his favourites. Notice the way the different shapes and features of the planes cause them to move through the air in different ways. Which one do you like the most? Why not have a go at making something similar?

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How do computers get hacked?

What are some examples of cyber crime? Watch this clip to find out how viruses, denial of service attacks (DDoS) and phishing scams work. What is a botnet? And how are they used by hackers to bring down websites? Most of the time computers get hacked because of simple mistakes users make. What can users do to better protect ...

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How 'binary information' is communicated via the internet

Ever wondered how your photos, emails and messages get sent between devices? Watch as software engineer Tess Winlock explains what binary information is, and how it gets from one place to another. Can you explain what 'bits' are? How about 'bytes'? In the past, binary information was sent using physical systems like semaphore ...

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What are IP addresses?

Meet Vint Cerf, the co-creator of the internet! In this clip, Vint and software engineer Paola Mejia explore the way computer networks talk to each other. Find out what an IP address is and why it's similar to a street address. What's the domain name system? And how does your computer find out the IP address of a website ...

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Use your creative thinking skills!

Ashwini Ranjithabalan from Women in Engineering and IT at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) sees engineering as the business of solving future problems. What are some of the challenges we (and our societies) might face in the future? Get some friends together and see if you can brainstorm a list. Now choose one ...