Seventy-five secondary school students from St Augustine School, Pietà, recently visited the University of Malta and took part is various engaging hands-on activities and held informal discussions with lecturers and students at the Science and Education faculties to provide them with a taste of their science education opportunities.
The students took part in various interactive sessions dealing with various topics revolving around the theme ‘Science in the home’, including heating, refrigeration, lighting, water/sewage management and materials.
The sessions were prepared by students on the BSc in Science for Education and Communication degree programme and researchers from the Departments of Physics and Geosciences.
At the Department of Chemistry, the students conducted experiments on creating natural indicators, while at the Department of Geosciences the students viewed the activities of its seismology and oceanography research groups.
Part of the POP Science initiative
At the Department of Biology the students were guided on how to conduct an experiment on stomatal density in plants, followed by data analysis with the staff from the Department of Statistics.
Other staff members from the Faculty of Science guided groups of students around the laboratories of its departments of Biology, Chemistry, Geosciences, Physics and Statistics.
The students were also addressed by Stephanie Maggi Pulis, head of Department of Physics at the Secretariat for Catholic Education, Dr Charles Bonello from the Faculty of Education’s Department of Mathematics and Science Education and Dr André Xuereb from the Faculty of Science’s Department of Physics.
The activities, held as part of the POP Science initiative, were co-ordinated by Danielle Martine Farrugia, science communicator at the Department of Physics, in liaison with the two faculties and the Secretariat for Catholic Education.
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