Australia's Science Forum

Can I come and work with you? My school has increased the number of Science classes in uniors and the number of Senior classes. Every year the workload increases exponentially .. ah for sunny Qld - perfect one minute, magic the next ....

I have been sublimely ignorant.. here I was thinking that the teachers actually KNEW everything they had to teach .. and here it is given to them step by step... oh the magic is now tarnished!

I am in IEU - but would love to see the survey - maybe we could ask the IEU to do same!Could you email me copy?
We just got news that we are getting a 2.5% pay rise!!!! yippee.. after tax will be the equivalent of 2 Big Mac meals... could they spare the cash????

When we do pond water with juniors, I use petri dishes. We put a sample of the water inot the petri dish and the greeblies can still swim around. The students get to see them moving and eating .. wonderful!When we do it in summer we get mosquito larvae and they can watch them jump around.We have wat...

I like it!!!!

Hope you get questions you know how to answer and answers come to mind for questions that you are hazy about.

I think the one that we were advised to replace it wiht is Pink Baby Tears - but it isnt as good as Elodea .. has anyone got any suggestion?

this school subscribes to enhance tv... is great resource.. it sends out a list of the programmes that are to be screened for the next week.. gives synopsis, date and time of screening and is arranged into KLAs... I just scan through it and pass on the ones I think we may find useful.. the Library t...

I have 2 recipes for Agar .. one uses Peptone and one Pepsin.. which is best and what is the difference between them..
Also my peptone has gone hard anfd a dark yellow colour - has it gone 'off'?

I have a couple that are great because the colour changes... one is "changing water in wine".. 1. Sprinkle sodium carbonate to coat the bottom of a drinking glass. 2. Fill a second glass halfway full of water. Add ~10 drops phenolphthalein indicator solution to the water. The glasses can b...

I agree - we gave up using eosin for food dyes for juniors... another prac which is very effective because it is stunning, is to use food colouring dyes with white flowers - especially carnations or roses...

Can you find someone in your area who is good at this? We have an retired Science Teacher who comes to the scool twice a year and goes through all the microscopes and cleans and adjusts them. Students do to ours what they have done to yours, and he fixes them for us... advertise perhaps?

We use Chemwatch - and I do the whole school - which includes the Library, Canteen, Maintenance Shed, Cleaners, Staff Room... Chemwatch isnt user friendly and it is SO SLOW - but we had a training In-service here 2 weeks ago and learnt lots of short-cuts... but also learnt that we are also expected ...

I think that NO matter WHAT we do to try to overcome this problem - the kids will always work out ways to mix things up - nature of the 'beast' perhaps!
What infuriates ME - is when the TEACHERS mix them up!!!

I sincerely hope you have reported your headaches to management - you have been exposed to a Toxic substance in your workplace - make sure you have filled out all the appropriate forms... should the school have called Hazmat in?

We bought a Digital Microscope a few years ago - it has seen the light of day maybe 6 times! We also have a video flex - great to use particularly if teachers want to do a dem for dissections... then we bought 2 Proscope and d2 Digital camera from TLI - [The Logical Interface, Sydney] BRILLIANT!!!! ...

We use Chlorides and sulfates.. We don't use spray bottles any more. I soak toothpicks in distilled water and have the powders in petri dishes. The students use a toothpick to pick up a little of the powder and hold that in the flame..Mess free!

We went through this last year - horrendous. I had to do EVERY area in the school.. yes, everything is included, hand wash, detergent, liquid paper, air freshener, it goes on and on.. even to the makeup used in the Drama Dept! the chemwatch site does have most of these in its base.. so enter the pro...

What great suggestions! I made some very artistic, creative ones a few years ago... they did the job, but don't look very 'professional'... off to the Grog shop - anyone want to join me for the afternoon???
hic hic

What can be used for this culture though?