Students get hands-on experience as they investigate the processes of photosynthesis and respiration in response to a range of environmental conditions.

To do this, students will employ an experimental apparatus consisting of algal cells immobilised in an algal gel that enables CO2 consumption to be measured and use Microsoft Excel to process and analyse their data.

Program Variations:

2 Hour Program:

Students are introduced to automated plant management by designing an extended experiment to test the BTS Mini FarmBot units and evaluate the optimum growth conditions for a range of plants.

3D Modelling involves the use of computer-generated graphics to produce a 3-dimensional representation of an object or surface. By manipulating “vertices” (points in virtual space) to form a “mesh” (collection of vertices) you can then manipulate the “mesh” to form a realistic object, displaying characteristics you would expect to see in real life.

Unreal Engine is a game development platform developed by Epic Games which is freely available and is an excellent tool to learn the basics of 3D game development.

This course lends itself to all ages and abilities, with students in younger year levels taking a slower and simpler approach to the content, while more advanced students can learn the full suite of core concepts and/or the visual scripting language of Blueprints.

Session 1:

Working in pairs or groups, students assemble a prototype model, learning multiple different cardboard joining techniques in the process. BTS staff step through what prototyping is, where it is useful and some different kinds of prototyping.

The program can be facilitated onsite at the Tech School or you can request prototyping packs and instructional material, including in program video content to be sent out to your school.

This program is design specifically to introduce students to the scientific method through application involving hands-on laboratory work and the construction of a scientific poster.

The program supports students to participate in the Peter Doherty Science Award, equipping them with the tools and inspiration to pursue their own scientific investigations.

The workshop deliberately uses everyday materials that can be easily obtained from supermarkets, demonstrating to students that the application of science is accessible to everyone.

Bees play a crucial role in garden ecosystems, including pollination for 90% of the foods we consume daily.

Students are asked to solve the environmental mystery: Why are bee populations in decline? Using CAD (Computer-aided design) software and VR (Virtual Reality) headsets, they then design a virtual environment that would help improve the chances of bees “surviving” then “thriving” to increase pollination of plants in that space.

Session 1:

This program provides access to real-life, real-time road user data, providing the opportunity for students to analyse and interpret big data and then use it to help them determine community outcomes.

Specifically, the data will show traffic flow through a regional Victorian town and then be used by students to determine if a bypass road is warranted, the best route for that bypass, and the potential positive and negative impacts the redirection of traffic might have on the town. They will collect and analyse data using a range of tools

Students will get hands-on experience in modern molecular biology techniques.

They will work with a plasmid containing the heterologous gene encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of the arabinose operon.

The students will investigate the process of bacterial transformation as they introduce the GFP containing plasmid into E.coli and select for its presence using an antibiotic.

The Virtual Brain program is broken into two parts and delivery can be organised to fit into a double period if required or extended to 3 hours for a more in depth experience.

Part 1:

Exploration of the human brain using an annotated 3D model on the Inside Explorer tables. Students undertake a fight, flight, freeze experiment using heart rate monitors and virtual reality software allowing them to conduct the experiments safely and control more of the variables.

Part 2: