Graduate Researchers inspire young minds at Watsonia Heights Primary School
Recently, three Graduate Research students from the Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences attended Watsonia Heights Primary School for their Science Day celebrations. They each spoke to a grade 5 and a grade 6 class, using interactive presentations to engage the students. It was a fantastic experience for them to present complex science in an accessible way and engage with young audiences to inspire the next generation of researchers.
Yashvi Bhatt and Lea Lim presented on the visual system and how eyes work, and Jordan Sibberas discussed the functions of different brain regions. The three also got to share their experiences as researchers. They were met with many questions from the students about the eye (such as colour spectrum, visual fields, and how the brain processes visual input) and brain (including dreams, memory and dementia).
“There’s something truly special about sharing my PhD research with primary school students.”, Lea shared. “The Grade 5/6 class at Watsonia Heights Primary School was full of curiosity and thoughtful questions — a truly inspiring bunch! It was a refreshing change of pace to teach them a little about how our eyes work, and in doing so, they reminded me why I fell in love with science in the first place. Their enthusiasm reignited my own curiosity. I’d highly recommend this outreach program to fellow graduate researchers — it’s a fun and meaningful way to challenge your science communication skills.”
