Science Week activities at Watsonia Heights Primary School

As part of Science Week, Georgina Whish-Wilson and Marlies Wanasili from the Department of Physiotherapy, and Yaashwini Selwyn Richard from the Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences presented to three different Grade 5 classes at Watsonia Heights Primary School.

Students were engaged in hands on learning about body systems. This was part of the Science Communications Media training program delivered by MSHS, providing these PhD students an opportunity to engage with young science enthusiasts.

Yaashwini ran a session on the eyes, brain and nervous system, providing various activities and motivating children with stickers. She said it was “heartwarming to see how excited and inspired they were by science”, reminding her of why she loves her work. Marlies focused on upper limb activity, providing game-based activities to engage the primary school children. Georgina presented on the musculoskeletal system, spending time labelling different muscles and bones on a life-size model, playing memory games and measuring grip strength with a handheld dynamometer. The students were very enthusiastic, especially enjoying comparing each other's grip strengths. Georgina found this as a great opportunity to practice her science communication to a new audience.