VICS outreach activities show students a mixture of new research, fundamental chemical principles and the chemistry of everyday life. We hold these activities on the campuses of Melbourne, Monash or RMIT universities and at schools throughout Victoria.
Bookings:
CSIRO Education (03) 9252 6387 / 9252 6410
Lab in a Box Bookings: lab-in-a-box@unimelb.edu.au
Further Details:
Mick Moylan (03) 8344 6465 or mmoylan@unimelb.edu.au
Our Outreach Activites
Energy without CO2 (Years 7-10)
Australian scientists are world leaders in investigating climate change. In this engaging and interactive show we analyse causes, consequences and solutions to global warming.
More information energy_without_co2.pdf
Caveman Chemistry (Years 9-10)
Extracting metals, making alloys and using non-metallic tools helped prehistoric humans move out of caves. Students make, examine and test properties of some ancient (and more modern) materials in this engaging hands-on program.
More information caveman_chemistry.pdf
The Periodic Table (Year 10 and VCE Unit 1)
This hands-on trip around the periodic table will give students a chance to manipulate elements, explore their properties and examine the patterns and trends in the table's groups and periods. Some exotic elements included in this program are selected from Ti, V, Ga, Ge, Mo, W and Xe.
This program is also available as a 'Lab in a Box' mailorder kit.
More information periodic_table.pdf
Analytical Instruments (VCE Unit 3)
Students will perform analytical exercises using either HPLC, Gas Chromatography, UV/vis Spectrophotometry and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy with a follow-up activity on IR and NMR spectroscopy.
This program is also available as a 'Lab in a Box' mailorder kit.
More information analytical_instruments.pdf
Chemistry Tour (Years 11-12)
Free tours of the instruments and lab areas in the University of Melbourne's School of Chemistry are available year-round. Tours include a talk on careers in chemistry and are best suited for students in year 11 and 12.
More information chemistry_tour.pdf
Labs in a Box - VCE Kits for Hire
Equipment and chemicals for analytical instruments or periodic table lab classes will be available early in 2010. More information will be posted as soon as it is available for hire. Kits will come with detailed instructions so teachers can run these programs in their school. These specially designed kits are condensed versions of the Periodic Table / Analytical Instrument Workshop outreach programs that are especially suited for small schools or remote areas.
Free Teacher Resources
These information sheets explain some of the concepts behind some of the most commonly used analytical instruments that chemists use:
- Infrared Spectroscopy: infared_spectroscopy.pdf
- Mass Spectrometry: mass_spectrometry.pdf
- NMR Spectroscopy: NMR.pdf
- Atomic Force Microscope: AFM.pdf
- X-Ray Diffraction: x-ray.pdf
Sponsors
The outreach program is proudly sponsored by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology, and CSIRO Education, Victoria.