Scientist - Research and Development - Fun Activities

Research and Development - SCIENTIST

Egg-Normous by Iggy Fox

Primary Middle

Australian Curriculum General Capability: ICT Capability

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical & Creative Thinking

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Numeracy

1. Watch the following YouTube: Egg-Normous by Iggy Fox
https://youtu.be/eN7eLJWYXY4 Video

Iggy was the winner of the 2012 Sleek Geeks Science Prize - Primary School [Eureka Awards]

"In the primary school category, Iggy Fox, a Year 5 student from Oyster Bay Public School in Sydney's south, wins first prize ($2000 plus a $500 book voucher from Abbey's Bookshop) for his video Egg-normous! One of Iggy's free-range hens laid a very big egg after she broke into Iggy's worm farm. Noting that worms are a source of protein, Iggy devised an experiment to see if protein makes eggs bigger and how different types of feed affects the size and weight of free-range eggs. His results were amazing: while commercial extra-large eggs weigh 70 grams, Iggy's hens on a diet high in protein produced eggs ranging from 89 grams to 119 grams.....

The University of Sydney Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize for primary and secondary students is awarded for a short film that communicates a scientific concept in an accessible and entertaining way. It is sponsored by the Faculty of Science at the University of Sydney. As part of their prize, all winners and place-getters enjoy a science-day-out with Dr Karl Kruszelnicki and Adam Spencer at the University of Sydney." (Source: Eureka)

2. Watch the video about the experiment that Iggy Fox performed. Video

3. Write down:
a. The Controls he used
b. The Big Question he wanted answered
c. The different types of food he used
d. His conclusions
e. Any things you might do differently. Discuss with a partner.

3. Discussion

What are you interested in exploring? What challenge do you want to investigate. Discuss with a partner.

Develop a new experiment using Iggy's methods including the length and detail (especially the statistics of the experiment). Write up your experiment and submit it to the Eureka Prize.

You can be a Scientist
(using STEM Careers Pack - Department of Education SA & Royal Institute Australia with adaptation with Philosophical Community of Inquiry stimulus material from The Conversation)

Middle Secondary

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and creative thinking

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Ethical Understanding

Philosophy

Cooperative Learning Activity

Local CopyTeacher Instructions (Word doc - there are 20 lessons in this package).

"You can be a Scientist" - is a Philosophy in Schools resource. The focus is Stereotyping of Scientists. Added to this primary resource are articles about stereotying and careers from The Conversation.

A Longitudinal Study!

Middle Secondary

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and creative thinking

Cooperative Learning Activity

1. In a group of 3 - 4 students, read the following article from The Conversation 7 November 2018. Reading

2. Using the article: "The Curious Case of the Missing Workplace Teaspoons" answer the following questions

a. What is a longitudinal study?
b. What was the overall rate of loss of teaspoons?
c. What was the design of the experiment?
d. What were the results?
e. How could you convert this study from observational to actual?

3. On the basis of this research, how would you conduct an experiment using the Teacher's staff room as the source of teaspoons? List all the methodology and expected results [hypothesis]. Ask permission of the Principal to conduct this experiment.

To see more research topics go to: https://theconversation.com/au/topics/this-is-research-61770

Websites, Games & Apps

Brain POP

Australian Curriculum General Capability: ICT Capability