A huge thank you to all the dedicated EWB volunteers and members who participated in or helped run NAIDOC week activities around Australia.
Jun Qu, Yorta Yorta Nation HSO Coordinator & Module Lead, organised a team of volunteers to travel to the Dharnya Centre in the Barmah Sate Forest in Northern Victoria to run educational activities at the Yorta Yorta Nation NAIDOC celebrations on Wednesday July. Jun’s team ran four different science/engineering activities for children of all ages.
Here’s Jun’s summary of the activities:
. Construction of miniature floating boats.Kids were divided into small groups to see who could design a small boat capable of holding the most marbles afloat. This activity not only taught kids the basics of buoyancy and floatation, but also prompted them to think about how these concepts linked back to the design of Indigenous water craft, and what made them so successful.
. Construction of water filters and filtering waterThis activity demonstrated the value of clean drinking water, and prompted the children to consider how water is preserved and accessed in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
. Building a marshmallow catapultKids were divided into small groups to build marshmallow catapults. The challenge was to see how the basic design could be varied to create a catapult that could launch marshmallows the furthest. Concepts from this activity were used to explain how Aboriginal hunting tools such as the Woomera work, by storing and releasing energy more efficiently.
. Building a parachuteKids were divided into small groups to build a parachute to allow the safe descent of a potato. This activity was used to explain the concepts of drag and air resistance, touching on the basics of flight.
Jun’s feedback was “The day went really well, and everyone had a great time. It was a great opportunity to engage with the Yorta Yorta community, and we are definitely looking forward to !”
Thank you to EWB Fundraising Manager Ashleigh Peplow-Ball for the photos accompanying this blog.