We all know how important it is to nurture that marvellous sense of wonder that young people experience. We also know that it's not always easy when it comes to keeping students interested and committed to mathematics and science as they advance through their school years. The Faculty of Science has put together a fun-packed, lively and informative day of events for National Science Week: "Science Fact and Fiction".

We'll be hosting a wide variety of interactive science shows and a fantastic science-fiction exhibition, all exploring the interface between real science and the weird and wonderful world of fiction and drama. We'll be looking at the hit TV series "LOST", conducting a CSI-style Chocolate Scene Investigation and much much more. I promise you, there'll be plenty of sparkle, colour and movement, backed by solid science. We'll even have encounters with "live" dinosaurs, courtesy of the amazing ERTH Theatre.

For older students (Years 7 to 12) thinking about the future beyond school, we'll also have a great forum - Science and Maths Careers: Go Everywhere. It will give them a taste of the extraordinary and rewarding variety of career options that science can open up for them.

When: Friday 4th August, 2006
Where: UNSW Kensington campus
Time: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Cost: $3.00 per student

There will be provision of set down and pick up transport facilities for your school.

The campus is easily accessible by public transport at Gate 14.

Metred parking is available on campus. Casual all day parking is available on the upper levels of both Botany (Gate 11) and Barker Street (Gate 14) car parks, at a cost of $4.00 for 5 hours to a maximum of $8.00 for 12 hours.

Note that parking on campus is very limited.

For more information, or to make a booking, please contact

Alan Henry
Email : a.henry@unsw.edu.au
Ph: (02) 9385 6575
Fax: (02) 9385 7920

Below are just some of the highlights for both Primary and Secondary schools. Hurry and book your school soon for our National Science Week celebrations!

"Lost": Busting the Myth
LOST is the popular drama on Channel 7: the series begins with an aircraft exploding mid flight and crashing into the Pacific Ocean. There are 48 survivors. Scientifically, such an accident will result in no survivors, thus busting the myth. However, if the scenario were changed from a mid air explosion to a crash landing on the island, will survivability change?

CSI: Chocolate Scene Investigation
THE SCENE
Sydney, 2005: our beloved Socceroos have qualified for the World Cup! Here, at the world-renowned UNSW School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, talented scientists have created a secret nutritional formula for our athletes. The miracle formula is blended into user-friendly goodies such as Tim Tams and chocolate cake.
THE CRIME
One night, someone snuck into the locked testing lab and consumed our test batch of secret formula!
Is this sabotage? Or is it the work of some starving student, hoping to stuff his/her face with Tim Tams during an all-night experiment?
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to identify the culprit though the use of forensic DNA analysis.

Fracture Forensics
This workshop is an introduction to the underlying principles behind forensic investigation of fracture of materials in engineering structures. Participants will, through hands on practical sessions and computer based tutorials, look at conditions that make materials susceptible to fracture and examine the ways in which materials can be improved to withstand extreme conditions.

The Future of Fuel: "Solar Hydrogen"
Scientists are researching a revolutionary new way to harness the power of the sun to extract clean and almost unlimited energy supplies from water, using special ceramics that harvest sunlight and split water to produce hydrogen fuel. This method is eco-friendly with no greenhouse gas or pollutant emissions, and would be the cheapest, cleanest and most abundant energy source ever developed. Rooftop panels placed on 1.6 million houses could supply Australia's entire energy needs. Current research aims to design more photosensitive materials to split water using solar energy.

Superconductivity and Futuristic Technology
Participants will look at the technology of the future - mobile phones, computers, laptops, medical applications and transportation. Hands-on and demonstration kits will give opportunity to participants to learn about the Meissner effect (levitation of materials). A working model of the Maglev train (superconductivity train on magnetic tracks) using the levitation effect will also be on display.

We are all connected
Mathematical graphs can be used to model lots of different systems including the evolution of species, the molecules in a gas or a network of computers. We will see how graphs can help you plan your next party, calculate your "Einstein distance" or form a mathematical model of the World Wide Web.

Science Communication Workshop
Participants will be coached in how to create a science website (fact or fiction), a science video, a science podcast, or some other form of science media. Creations might be put on the SCOM or OnSET website.

Either that, or we will suspend a member of the audience in liquid in nitrogen, and then time how long it takes to thaw them out.

Test your "Metal"
A series of demonstrations showing the effect of casting on grain growth and crystallization in different regions of a mould (casting), tensile testing and charpy impact testing, and rolling metals to plastically deform them.

“Chaos”: Chemistry in Action
An exciting and interactive chemistry performance, showcasing various chemistry theories including the Bernoulli Effect, resonance, catalysts, reaction rates, change blindness, Leiden frost effect, and olfaction. Part of the shows includes a number of demonstrations with liquid nitrogen, helium gas and includes broad concepts in Physics and Chemistry.

Astronomy in Antarctica
An interesting and informative lecture about astronomy in Antarctica.

ERTH Theatre Performances
Australian Dinosaurs run amuk at UNSW
Be amazed as life-like, life-sized beasts from the Triassic to the Cretaceous rampage through the grounds of Kensington campus. Sydney puppetry maestros ERTH set three of their creations loose with beautiful and startling results, recommended for anyone with a sense of adventure.
More specifically, all three are Gondwanan and have voice boxes for independent sound. The herbivorous Ankylosaur MINMI is from Minmi Crossing in Queensland, slow moving and child friendly. The Staurikosaurus or SOUTHERN CROSS LIZARD is a two legged, raptor-like hunter, quick and wicked! The 6m long DWARF ALLOSAUR is based on Victorian discoveries and is puppeteered by two performers, large and frightening and carnivorous.

Exhibition
A showcase of interesting aspects of science and science ficiton.

"Chaos": Chemistry in Action
An exciting and interactive chemistry performance, showcasing various chemistry theories including the Bernoulli Effect, resonance, catalysts, reaction rates, change blindness, Leidenfrost effect and olfaction. Part of the show includes demonstrations with liquid nitrogen and helium gas. The show includes broad concepts from Physics and Chemistry.

ERTH Theatre Performances
Australian Dinosaurs run amuk at UNSW
Be amazed as life-like, life-sized beasts from the Triassic to the Cretaceous rampage through the grounds of Kensington campus. Sydney puppetry maestros ERTH set three of their creations loose with beautiful and startling results, recommended for anyone with a sense of adventure.
More specifically, all three are Gondwanan and have voice boxes for independent sound. The herbivorous Ankylosaur MINMI is from Minmi Crossing in Queensland, slow moving and child friendly. The Staurikosaurus or SOUTHERN CROSS LIZARD is a two legged, raptor-like hunter, quick and wicked! The 6m long DWARF ALLOSAUR is based on Victorian discoveries and is puppeteered by two performers, large and frightening and carnivorous.

Counting, Colouring and Sketching
Investigation of "Counting" - hands on demonstrations of permutations and combinations, "Colouring" - pen and paper activities on the four colour problem, "Sketching" - why can some graphs be drawn without going over the same line twice but others can't?
How many different colours are needed to colour in a map? What sort of diagram can be drawn without going over the same line twice?
In this talk we will see that these simple questions lead us to deep and mysterious areas of mathematics.

The Search for Life Elsewhere
A free-ranging review of all aspects of the mind-boggling question: "Are we alone?". A discussion on the origin and survival of life, current hi-tech searches for radio signals from extra-terrestrials, discoveries of new planetary systems, possible types of life-forms, Einstein's relativity, space-travel, and much more. The controversies and the science behind the disputes will also be discussed.

Exhibition
A showcase of interesting aspects of science and science ficiton.