Primary Virtual Innovation Festival

Friday 28 August 2020 was a big day for Emanuel primary students. We had our very first Virtual Innovation Festival! As an IT and Innovation Leader, I got to have hands-on experience doing some of the experiments. I also got to be a part of the Innovation showcase video, which was really exciting.

We started the day watching a video prepared for us by the founder of FLEET; a company that develops low energy technology. This gave us an insight into what a career in Innovation might look like. We also watched the Emanuel Primary Innovation Showcase video, which highlighted what each Year Group has achieved in IT and Innovation this year. It was amazing to see how much we have been able to learn despite this year’s challenges.

Afterwards, we zoomed with Vivasha Govinden, the Outreach Officer from CSIRO’s STEM Professionals in Schools. She is a PhD student at UNSW who works closely with FLEET. Vivasha and her team talked us through the science behind each of the experiments they led.

 The first experiment we did was called ‘The Walking Rainbow’. To make this at home, you need:

• 5 clear glass or plastic cups
• A drop each of red, yellow and blue food colouring
• 4 paper towels

The first cup is filled with water and a drop of red food colouring. The third cup is filled with water and yellow food colouring. The fifth cup is filled with water and blue food colouring. The second and fourth cups are empty. Using a paper towel, you make a ‘bridge’ – fold it so it arches from a cup with water to an empty cup. Repeat this with the other paper towels. When you’ve finished, you can move this experiment to the side, and come back to it in a few minutes. Over time the paper towel absorbs the coloured water from one cup and drips it into the next. The colours mix and we eventually see a walking rainbow. The longer this is left for, the more the cups will even out.

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The next experiment is a well-known one. Called ‘Marbled Milk’, this experiment uses food colouring, milk, dish soap (not the foamy kind) and a cotton tip or something of the sort. This experiment is best done in a shallow dish, but I’m sure you can use a bowl or another vessel. To do this experiment, you put a few drops of food colouring in the milk and some soap on the cotton tip. Using the soapy cotton tip, you tap the surface of the milk. The food colouring is there for you to see the chemical reaction. The soap repels the fat molecules in the milk and if you continue to touch the milk in more places, it will eventually get ‘marbled’ – hence the name. The STEM professionals explained to us that this is how soaps and detergents remove dirt from our dishes, hands and surfaces as well.

The next two experiments are very similar. They both use the same sort of science – the appearing coin and the switching arrow. First we put a coin into a bowl and then we all had to step back until we could no longer see the coin inside the bowl. Then we filled the bowl with water and once the water level was high enough, the coin became visible. This is because of the refraction of light through water. Next, we drew an arrow on a piece of paper and then we put a glass of water in front of our drawn arrow. When we move the arrow backwards and forwards, the arrow changes direction. This is also because of refraction.

My favourite experiment was the walking rainbow. If you add another empty cup, you can create purple (my favourite colour) and it’s really cool to watch, especially if you time-lapse it and watch the video after! I would have loved to make lava lamps too, but sometimes you just don’t have the time. It is so great that we got the chance to watch videos of the experiments we missed out on though, I look forward to trying some of these at home.

All in all, the Innovation Festival was a great chance to see some cool experiments, learn about the science behind them and understand what it would look like to study Innovation at university. The STEM professionals were so knowledgeable and passionate about these experiments and were able to relate them to our real lives so easily.

Despite COVID-19 and all the restrictions that came with it, we still managed to put together a really incredible event. Thanks to the STEM professionals, Ms Nanwani and all the other teachers involved. Emanuel Primary had a super colourful, scientific day and I know many of us felt very inspired by it all.

By Noa Rosenzveig, Ezra Glover-Saunders, Noah Vexler, Lia McLellan, Ben Vernik, Dylan Vitek and Jacob Solomon
Year 6 IT and Innovation Leaders