House debates

Monday, 9 September 2019

Private Members' Business

National Science Week

10:36 am

Photo of Graham PerrettGraham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion put forward by the member for Higgins. Before I do so, I might just congratulate the Clerk on her new role. I look forward to working with her.

National Science Week was held around the country from 10 August to 18 August. This year the theme was 'Destination Moon: more missions, more science'. As I discovered, the theme was not taken lightly by the staff and students at Yeronga State High School, a school in my electorate of Moreton. They held an exhibit that was an exact copy of a living room from my childhood—my very, very early childhood, I should say. They actually set up a workshop as a replica of a lounge room from 1969. It was incredibly authentic. They even dressed up in 1960s gear. They had an old TV in the corner with an image of the moon landing attached to the glass screen. There were mannequins wearing the old school uniform from Yeronga State High School at the time; replica copies of the newspapers; and, in the corner, an original crystal radio set that was actually in working order—not to mention some teachers who particularly got into the vibe with their groovy-looking gear that they very much enjoyed wearing. Some of them said they actually wore it most days anyway.

In the background, I could hear some favourite hits from 1969, including 'Suspicious Minds' by Elvis Presley. The most controversial part of the exhibit was an old toaster on the kitchen table that was causing much confusion amongst the students. The students at Yeronga State High School couldn't believe that you had to open the side of the toaster to turn the bread over so that each side would actually be toasted. Obviously pop-up toasters hadn't been invented in 1969, and it was very entertaining to watch them try and work out what it was about. The scientific component of the workshop involved students on one table constructing a modern version of the radio set from a kit and another group constructing a satellite and data transmitter using littleBits and their phones. I was very impressed by how clever the students were.

After seeing the students and staff at Yeronga State High School, I felt inspired to conduct my own experiment for National Science Week. Now, I taught English for 11 years, and I did teach science for one year, but I had a great lab assistant. They didn't let me near the lab for many good reasons, but my staff had some faith in me and made sure that I had lots of safety goggles, and they kept back a safe distance in my electorate office. I did an experiment in my kitchen, and it consisted of bicarb of soda, vinegar, a glass bottle and a balloon. I poured the vinegar in the bottle, placed some bicarb of soda inside a balloon and carefully placed the balloon on top of the glass bottle. As the bicarb of soda slowly sprinkled out of the balloon, it reacted with the vinegar, creating a bubbly gas which caused the balloon to expand. Thankfully, it didn't burst. I did think my staff were setting me up, but they weren't. I'm very proud of my efforts, and I've posted a video for all the world to see on Facebook. I look forward to a more adventurous experiment next year—perhaps with some more protective gear!

I enjoyed myself thoroughly, and I noticed that all of my science equipment was quickly packed away, but I will be back next year.

The great thing about National Science Week is that it gives us all a chance to reflect on the importance of science and scientists, and the great role that they play in society. At the Nathan campus of Griffith University, located in my electorate, there is some incredibly important medical research being carried out, conducted as part of the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, headed up by Professor Kathy Andrews. Professor Andrews and her team are researching cancer, infectious diseases, Parkinson's disease, drug resistance and spinal cord injury repair. As I read this comprehensive list of research areas, I'm sincerely grateful for their research. This also confirms that I should definitely stick to my day job as a politician!

Aside from Professor Andrews's important research work she has also been involved in another project called That's Rad! Science. Professor Andrews and some of her colleagues have created a series of colourful children's books to help encourage children into STEM careers. There are currently four books in the series. Each book takes on a different theme: parasites, nanotechnology and forensic science, with the fourth being protein crystal science. Professor Andrews's book in this series is called My Mum Is A Parasite Scientist: That's Rad! It's not your normal, everyday children's book, but it serves its purpose of making people familiar with these topic areas that we don't normally consider.

I'd like to confirm right here and now that I will not be changing to teaching science or being a scientist. But we do know that there will be a shortage of science teachers and of STEM teachers coming down the track, so we need to make sure that people like Professor Andrews and others in the education and academic area cultivate as many STEM students as possible. We should be glad that Professor Andrews and her team are working on important research into areas that are going to be of benefit to us all. I look forward to encouraging other people to go down this path. We need more scientists, and I'm happy to take suggestions for a science experiment for next year's National Science Week.

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