Kelmscott High opened its doors to the community last Thursday in a celebration of National Science Week.
More than 200 people were expected for the student-run extravaganza, centred on the 2024 theme ‘Species Survival – More than just sustainability’.
Students facilitated a range of interactive experiences from mock crime scenes, to escape rooms, robotics displays and animal handling and parading.
And a wide range of external stakeholders, including from Curtin and Murdoch universities, the Department of Fisheries, the Defence Force and Water Corporation, provided a tangible example of how an interest in science can be forged into a career.
It was the third time the school has hosted its Science Expo, an initiative to create an authentic learning experience for primary and high school students and showcase Kelmscott High to the wider community.
“Our main focus is on bringing the community together, but this is also one of the events where students really get to show off,” event coordinator Julie Loxton said.
But it wasn’t just the science department on show – the Hospitality, Music and Agricultural departments all collaborated to create a show that was sure to please everyone.
The hospitality students, led by Sinead Scott, worked for three days straight to create 200 individually decorated cupcakes for visitors, and a buffet of finger food for exhibiting presenters.
“I’ve got a beautiful bunch of kids who just want to get stuck in, and thrive on hard work,” Ms Scott said.
“I actually had to knock kids back – we had too many volunteers put up their hands.”
As an appropriate tie-in to the National Science Week theme, the agriculture students showed off their skills at animal handling, while visitors got to pat some woolly butts.
“Agriculture is a holistic educational experience,” livestock manager for Hillside Farm Steve Toghill said.
“There are so many jobs in agriculture, and I think having science and agriculture linked like this is a really clever move.”
Meanwhile, the music students provided a soundtrack to the whole event.
Year 9 band Empty Spaces and senior band Metanoia, who have been getting mentoring from Voyager, took audiences on a sonic journey.
“We jumped at the opportunity to expose our kids to an outside audience,” Head of Music Jake Bignell said.
“It puts pressure on them, and they’ve put in a lot of practice. I think it’s fantastic they’re able to experience these real-world situations as young musicians.
“This is my first year at the school and I’m excited – if this is the beginning, then I can’t wait to see where it goes.”
Photographs – Richard Polden.
