Students participated in the process of building solar racing cars, learning how to combine the necessary physical and technological pieces to shape their car and ensure it had enough power to operate correctly. They then had the opportunity to compete with other groups of students by racing their cars and seeing which design was the most effective.
Our Koori club students had the pleasure of learning how to cook food using a solar oven. With a simple and cost-efficient design, students had to adjust the angle of the oven to capture the direct sunlight in order to power the oven with enough energy to cook food.
The solar oven was surprisingly effective, being able to cook garlic bread in about fourty minutes and make it taste exacty like it had been cooked in a normal kitchen oven. An interesting and delicious learning experience for our students.
Being on a camp students were surrounded by great natural landscapes. They had the opportunity to capture the beauty, power and serene elements of their surrounding environments through an in depth nature photography workshop.
Students used iPhones and iPads to capture various images of the landscape that were interesting to them. To help guide their photographic adventure, students were taught skills in using aperture, exposure and lighting to take good photos.
They were also guided through the editing process, learning how to make post-photo adjustments to make their images look sharper, enhance the vibrancy of colours, adjust the brightness levels and create a professional looking photo. The results were amazing!
Students participated in a maths workshop which offered a really interesting way of approaching the study of mathematics. This approach involved connecting mathematics and traditional Aboriginal culture, which created an engaging element for our students as it gave them a way of visualising and practise mathematics.
Throughout the activities of learning various maths skills, students discussed natural elements of the landscape, weather patterns and phenomenons and incorporated various elements of Indigenous history to interact with and practise maths.
Our students responded with peaked interest and engagement in practising their maths skills, as the unique perspective of these lessons created a fun element that was different from everyday maths lessons.
Next up was a visit to Science Space in Wollongong. Our students spent hours interacting with the variety of exhibits and interactive displays, learning about different elements of science and how many things in our universe are interconnected with one another. It was a day full of wonder and new experiences.
Excitement and fun was had in a physical and hands on boomerang activity, where our students learned about the aerodynamics and history of boomerangs.
Students discovered that Indigenous people were one of the first peoples to manipulate flight - changing the direction of an object thrown through the air and being able to control where it goes. This was achieved through the creation and use of a boomerang. The development of the very first helicopters used a lot of the aerodynamic knowledge of Indigenous boomerang use.
This built a lot of pride into our students about their own Indigneous culture by showing that it is connected to modern technology and culture. This inspired our students by helping them understand that their heritage is not just a disconnected or distant story of the past.
Another fun workshop our students participated involved landscape drawing, where students drew art and depictions of the local landscape around them. This was a fun exercise of artistic creativity and drawing on natural inspiration to guide the students' ideas.
At the end, they joined all their artworks together to create a giant mural of the landscape, transforming their individual works into a giant artwork connecting their thoughts, ideas and inspirations into a unified piece of art.
Another ineractive and hands on activity was run by workshop facilitators from the Australian Federal Police (AFP). They ran an in depth, interactive, real life case in which our students had the opportunity to collect fingerprints, test evidence and learn about and practice the chain of evidence protocols.
This was a fun and unique activity which enabled the development of our students' investigative skills and enquiry processes when attempted to uncover and piece together information to form logical answers.
Overall, the camp was an outstanding experience for our students. Not only did they have the opportunity to particpate in a range of exciting and fun activities, they also developed really good relationships with Indigenous students from other schools. This has allowed them to extend theur network and cultural connections, improving their sense of pride in their culture and their individual confidence to experience new things and tackle new and exciting challenges.
