SCIENCE

SCIENCE WEEK

From Monday 17 August to Friday 21 August (Week 6), McKinnon celebrated National Science Week across both our McKinnon Road and East Campuses, embracing this year’s theme: “Seeds of Science: Nurturing Knowledge for All.”

Our students dived into a range of exciting, hands-on activities designed to spark curiosity and deepen their understanding of the scientific world, which can be read more about below. The buzz extended online as well, with daily fun facts, quizzes, riddles, and a shared mindful moment keeping everyone engaged. Thank you to the teachers who organised those online activities. Scroll down to read more about what our students got up to in class and during lunchtime.

A sincere thank you to all staff and students who took part throughout the week. A special shoutout goes to Ms Jennifer Wallace and Mr Steven Kuruc for their wonderful organization and planning, as well as our incredible lab technicians; Karen Romari, Csilla Almasi and Marni Beretta, for keeping every activity running smoothly behind the scenes.

Ms Katherine Johnstone

Head of Science

Extraordinary Elements Show

This year, our Year 9s were treated with a chemistry show, unveiling the wonders of the periodic table! From the lightest element to the coolest element the scientist demonstrated Elephant’s toothpaste, hair raising Van de Graaff volunteer moments, setting fire to a hydrogen balloon, lighting up flammable butane bubbles, whoosh bottle, liquid nitrogen explosions, freezing and smashing super cooled objects.

Solar Telescope

Throughout the week, Ms Sweeney set up the solar telescope to allow students to safely view the Sun. Thank you to Ms Sweeney!

Miracle Berries

Miracle berries contain “miraculin”, a glycoprotein that when dissolved on the tongue, binds to taste buds to alter the perception of sour flavours, making sour flavours taste temporarily, quite sweet. A Psychology favourite!

A small group of students were given the opportunity to taste dark chocolate, lemons and sour patch kids before and after consuming a Miracle Berry. Thank you to Mr Voorham, Mr Rose, Ms Yildirim, Ms Bowes and Ms Bares for their assistance in running the activity. 

Secret Messages with Invisible Ink

Students investigated how chemistry can be used to create invisible ink. Using everyday household materials, our participants wrote a hidden message that remained invisible until it was revealed by heat or a chemical indicator. We thank Ms Sriram and Ms Liu at East, and Ms Wallace and Ms Goile at McKinnon Road for facilitating this fun activity for our students. 

Van de Graaff Generator

The Van de Graaff generator was very well attended, and students thoroughly enjoyed the activity. The static electricity wands were also a hit as students kept the foil streamers in the air. We wholeheartedly thank Mrs Kantzas and Mrs Van der Wolde for their time in demonstrating this fun experiment.

Imploding Watermelon

The imploding watermelon experiment was a blend of science and art, transforming a simple piece of fruit into an explosive spectacle of fun. As we carefully wrapped the watermelon in layers of rubber bands, the tension built with each added loop, creating a suspenseful count to 199 before the inevitable burst at McKinnon Road, and a whopping 300 at East. 

The moment of detonation was nothing short of exhilarating; juice and watermelon fragments flew in every direction, leaving those present in awe of this one in a melon event. 

It was a vivid reminder of how science can turn an ordinary day into an unforgettable adventure. We thank Mr Landini, Mr Howe, Mr Nguyen and Ms Grose for supervising this fantastic event. 

Periodic Table Reciting Challenge

Our Year 8 and 9 students were presented with the lunchtime challenge of reciting as many elements of the periodic table in order, starting from Hydrogen. The competition really stepped up this year, with not one but two students taking out first place, with Arielle Rees and Jayden Bone from Year 8 being able to recite all 118 elements in order! 

We also congratulate our 2nd and 3rd place participants, Marly Erdenebilguun (Year 8) and Alyssa Thimm (Year 9) as well as all participants for giving this competition a go. Thank you to Ms Johnstone, Ms Carson and Ms Condell for their assistance in running this activity.  

2025 SciFi Short Film Screening

Students were invited to watch the 2025 Short Film “Planet”. 

Set in the year 2730 IA, Dr Evren Kon dares to think beyond a United Council request to build an orbital supercomputer and proposes an idea far bolder: a plan to build an artificial planet. The film takes place during the final century of the project.

Thank you to Mr Lee, Ms Azzopardi, Mr Joy and Ms Beliavski for giving up their lunch time to run this movie for our students. 

Titans of Space VR Experience

During Science Week many students had the opportunity to immerse themselves in a fascinating virtual reality experience using the program "Titans of Space." This innovative VR demonstration offered students a breathtaking journey through the cosmos, showcasing the incredible scale of planets and stars in the universe. The event was a hit, with students marvelling at the vastness of space and gaining a deeper understanding of celestial bodies. The demonstration was made possible with the enthusiastic support of Mr Van Pelt and Ms Phillips for guiding students through the VR experience.

Science Trivia

During Science Week, a science trivia event involved students competing in groups to answer science-related questions, with students at both campuses being offered this challenge. Prizes of lolly bags were awarded to the top three teams in each division. 

Thank you to Ms Huu, Dr Law and Mr Bucher at McKinnon Road, and Mr Van Rooy and Mr Keats at East for their assistance in running this fun activity. 

Universe Sandbox

With the help of the IT Team, students were able to explore the platform of Universe Sandbox; a physics-based space simulator that allowed students to create, destroy and explore cosmic phenomena in real time. 

Planks Incursion

Our Year 7s were treated to the annual Planks Incursion, where our students were tasked with the STEM challenge of creating structures from only small and specifically shaped wooden planks. This engineering challenge has always been a hit with our students over the years, and we once again thank Cam from GreenHat Workshop for continuing to amaze our students and test their creativity.

McKinnon Primary School Visit

To well and truly team with the Science Week theme of “Seeds of Science: Nurturing Knowledge for All”, a small group of our McKinnon Secondary College students teamed up with McKinnon Primary School to showcase some fun and exciting experiments, to “sow the seeds of science” for one of our large feeder schools.

Our students were incredible in demonstrating these experiments. Thank you to Ms Johnstone and Ms Andrieux for their assistance in facilitating this activity.

Making a Sun Print

Students placed interesting objects on a special sheet of sunprint paper, then exposed it to the sun for a few minutes. After a sufficient amount of time, the paper was then immersed in water, and a permanent image appeared! This would not have been possible without the help of Ms Doisneau and Ms Andrieux at our East Campus, and Dr Fleming, Ms Hammond and Mr Thomas at McKinnon Road. Thank you!

Painting with Cabbage

Students this year were given the opportunity to explore acids and bases in art! The challenge involved painting paper with red cabbage juice, which acts as a natural pH indicator. When they apply acids like vinegar or bases like baking soda, the colours change. Thank you to Ms Gambino, Mr Tze and Ms Commons for running this activity at McKinnon Road. 

Kummargee Science Challenge

Our Science Week celebrations continued into Week 7, with all Year 8 students participating in the Science round of the Kummargee Challenge. As part of this challenge, our Year 8s were immersed in the contributions to Science by our First Nations peoples, and had to use their critical thinking skills, and teamwork to create a structurally sound tower, to support a heavy mass. Thank you to Mr Kuruc for his incredible planning of this activity, and all our East Science staff for running these sessions during the week.