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CAPCOM
VSSEC
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Rock and Mineral I.D Parade heads into classes
Welcome
to CAPCOM for term three.
We’ve had a very busy time
between publishing issues!
VSSEC has developed a new
range of exciting programs
and we’ve even had a guest
drop by who was out of this
world!
Would you like a VSSEC geologist to visit your class, complete with rocks, minerals, rock hammers and microscopes?
VSSEC’s first secondary outreach program Rock and Mineral I.D. Parade rolls out.
RMID is a Year 8 focused program designed to introduce students to the fascinating world of rocks and minerals.
Through hands-on experiments, students learns the difference between crystals
and minerals, and that minerals make up all the rocks around them.
Inside this issue:
VSSEC introduces new
Human Bioscience
Program
2
Space Prize
Winner Announced!
2
Primary Teachers have
fun with Designing
Effective Science
Learning
2
Astronaut Richard Hieb
visits VSSEC
3
Introducing the New
Advanced Science
Institute
3
Upcoming events,
competitions and awards
3
Space School 2014
ND
The July holiday Space School was oversubscribed!
DEMA
PULAR
O
P
Twenty-six students participated in the five day space
Y
B
BACK
school. Students met Swinburne University astrophysicist, Dr Chris Fluke; inscribed their name on a human
Due to the huge response we have received
hair using an atomic force microscope, experimented
Space School will run again in the September
with nanofluids, they also built hand-held laser-tag
holidays.
bots , scanned fossils and insects using x-rays at
Latrobe University and handled real meteorites from
Museum Victoria and travelled to Mars at VSSEC.
IAC Professional
Learning Program for
the Day
9:00-9:15 Introduction:
Mr Michael Pakakis
9:15-10:15 Keynote
Speaker: Dr Matt Kuhn
10:30-13:00
PULSE@Parkes
13:40-15:00 Serious
Games: StarsSearch
15:00-16:00 Robotic Mission
to Mars: An Online Scenario
Based Educational Program
For more information
about the IAC conference,
click here.
VSSEC Heads to Toronto
Director Michael Pakakis, CFO Philip Spencer and
Curriculum Developer Ian Christie are off to Toronto in
September. They have been invited by the International
Space Education Board to run teacher professional
learning sessions at the 2014 International Aeronautical
Congress in Toronto Canada. This program encourages
international cooperation in the development of learning
programs, integration of space science and engineering
into classrooms and encourages student-led educational
activities.
CAPCOM
PAGE 2
VSSEC introduces new Human Bioscience Program
Aimed at Year 9 and 10 students,
VSSEC’s new human bioscience program introduces students to the rigors
of biological testing, focusing on
physiological changes to the body from
space travel and contact with radiation
during the journey.
Tying in to AusVELS Levels 9 and
10, Human Biosicence investigates
three potential astronauts: testing
blood and urine samples before they
are sent into space. Students will
investigate how radiation affects
DNA, and what constitutes physical
fitness.
Students participating in Human Bioscience.
Space Prize Winner Announced!
VSSEC-NASA Australian
Space Prize 2013
VSSEC is very proud to announce that the 2013 VSSEC-NASA Australian Space Prize Winner
is Jiro Funamoto! Jiro is our first overall winner from the Space Physics and Astrophysics
category. His thesis topic was Non-locality based CPT Violation for Lepto- and Baryogenesis.
"I feel very privileged, excited and grateful to be given this opportunity to attend the NASA
Academy. I look forward to doing my best and growing both academically and personally
through this experience."
Jiro is currently at the NASA Ames Academy in Mountain View
California and you can follow what he’s been up to at his blog:
http://blogs.vssec.vic.edu.au/vnasp-2013/
Jiro Funamoto with
Academy Deputy Director
Brad Bailey at NASA
Ames Academy
VSSEC-NASA Australian Space Prize 2014 opens for submissions 1st September 2014!
Teachers have fun with Designing Effective Science and Maths Learning
mathematics in the primary and secondary
Primary and secondary teachers from the
school classrooms.
Western Region recently participated in the
Designing Effective Science Lessons that
Work and Designing Effective Maths Lessons
that Work, lead by MCREL instructors
Anne Tweed and Kathleen Dempsey.
Both groups of teachers were given a range of
activities to experience and take back to their
classrooms and a series of strategies to increase
the effectiveness of teaching science and
Teachers from Western Region primary
schools explore a range of different science
concepts and the most effective ways to
teach them.
PAGE 3
Astronaut Richard Hieb visits VSSEC
Astronaut Richard Hieb of Lockheed
Martin came to visit VSSEC for a
tour and to give a very well attended
public talk. Richard has worked on
the ISS and spent 750 hours in space,
17 of them spacewalking!
He is currently the polar operations
manager for Lockheed Martin’s
Exploration and Mission Support
department.
He spoke to guests and students
about his missions in space, what
affects working and living space had
on the human body and he also
talked about living and working in
Antarctica.
During his visit, Richard toured
VSSEC’s facilities, which provided
this veteran astronaut with his first
chance to step onto the surface of
Mars.
Thank you very much to Richard Hieb
and Lockheed Martin for the visit, over
120 students and special guests attended
on the day and had a wonderful time.
Michael Pakakis introduces Richard Hieb to
VSSEC’s Spacelab.
Introducing the New Advanced Science Institute
VSSEC is thrilled to announce the launch of our
exciting new Advanced Science Institute.
This program will be developed in collaboration
with Australian Universities such as Monash,
Latrobe and ANU, as well as with international partners, NASA.
The Advanced Science Institute will allow year 10
students to have the opportunity to
participate
in semester long units including Quantum Computing, Astrobiology,
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Biochemical Fuels, Remote Sensing Technologies and Forensic Geoscience.
Subsidies available for rural and
High SFO Schools
Program and travel subsidies are still
available for High SFO and rural
schools for all our secondary and
primary programs. If you are interested in whether you might qualify
for either of these subsidies contact
us for more information.
What’s Out There!
Australian Synchrotron Lab Session
for Unit 4 Light and Matter and Synchrotron DS: Bookings are open
Each year, the Australian Synchrotron
offers full day excursions during Term 3.
These include a tour of the facility and
practical experiments suitable for
SACs. There are two laboratory sessions
available; one designed for the Interactions
of Light and Matter study and the other
designed for the Synchrotron and its Applications detailed study.
Details on experiments performed, class
sizes and times can be found at the Australian Synchrotron’s website (click
here). Queries should be directed to
Leanne Wallace or Jonathan de Booy.
Years 7-9 Applicants: 250 Words
Royal Australian Airforce Flight
Experience
Four Year 7-10 students have the
opportunity to have a flight on a
helicopter.
Female students: win a flight on a RAAF
aircraft (C17 or similar) and have the
opportunity to meet currently serving
members of the RAAF.
Question: What interests you about Air Force
Aviation ?
Year 10-12 Applicants: 500 Words
Helicopter Experience-Heli-Serve
Question: Why would you like to be a helicopter
pilot? 250 words.