“Increasing awareness of chemical sciences amongst Geelong’s next generation.”
As we prepare to watch the Opening Ceremony at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow many primary students in Geelong will have an insight to the way in which chemistry and nutrition play a role in helping athletes to perform at their best!
BioLAB in a Box: Sports Nutrition is an exciting new initiative developed by BioLAB: The Victorian BioScience Education Centre and supported by the City of Greater Geelong.
The BioLAB in a Box: Sports Nutrition program is an outreach program that assists teachers to bring science and mathematics into their classroom in a fun, interactive and inspiring way.
The kits developed under this program are “all in one” teaching and student resources and are taken to the schools by BioLAB Lead Education Officer Meghann Hermans and her team who mentor the teachers and students.
“These resources are specifically developed to assist the teacher, students and the community to link educational outcomes and content with regional capabilities and career pathways. They also focus on curriculum areas of “low confidence” in teachers, in particular chemical sciences” said Ms Hermans.
“Over 20 primary schools in the Geelong region are booked in to experience the program throughout 2014 and feedback to date has been extremely positive.”
BioLAB in a Box: Sports Nutrition is an inquiry based program where students use their scientific skills to unlock the secrets of a number of sporting supplements.
Students apply scientific processes to observe a series of chemical reactions and use their observations to reveal the contents of each product.
In addition to engaging students in the chemical sciences, students will learn the skills to make educated decisions about nutritional and marketing claims that are in the world around them.
City of Greater Geelong Councillor Bruce Harwood portfolio holder for primary industries said the increasing awareness of chemical sciences was important for Geelong students.
“The BioLAB program gets students involved in science allowing them to explore in a fun and interactive way,” said Cr Harwood.
“The program has the potential to inspire Geelong youth to become future scientists and it’s pathways like this that we should embrace in our community.”
