It’s not every day that you get the chance to appear on national TV. But that’s what happened to 11 students from our College last week. Our College was invited to participate as part of the audience for the ABC Q and A show celebrating the start of National Science Week.
The show focuses on a panel of experts that discuss and answer questions submitted by the audience. Two of our questions were short-listed for the show, with Gareth King’s in-depth question relating to the effect on society of increasing the general population's lifespan being discussed by the panel. This was a great achievement.
Naomi Clark from Year 11 highlighted how good it was to see how the live show was filmed and was impressed by how the panel of scientists answered questions that she was interested in—specifically, the future of AI in teaching. Masis Adam also commented on the opportunity to see the show being filmed. He was understandably ecstatic that his question on the effect of space junk was shortlisted. However, it did not get asked due to the time restraints of the show. Sometimes we forget how well-behaved our students are at school and how that continues when we are in public. This is reflected in our College’s reputation. Despite being an extremely late night, the Chief Scientist, Cathy Foley, took the time to briefly meet with our students after the show which was an amazing opportunity for our future scientists!
Gareth K (Yr 11) reflected on the evening:
Monday night, a group of Year 11 students had the privilege to join the Q&A audience at the ABC studios in Ultimo. Accompanied by Dr Silburn and the Deputy Principal, Mr Butler, the students left campus at 7 pm to arrive by 8:40 pm, upon arrival they marvelled at the grand interior of the ABC building before being ushered inside the recording studio.
Hosted by Patricia Karvelas, the panel consisted of noteworthy figures in the scientific field, such as Australia’s Chief Scientist, Cathy Foley, and Vice-Chancellor for the University of Sydney, Mark Scott. Students watch inventively as the panel discussed topics such as the success of the Matildas, gender inequality in STEM, the concerning state of climate change, if Artificial Intelligence is going too far, and the possibility of immortality.
The different perspectives provided by the panel members encouraged the attending students to reconsider their outlook on the world to determine its nuisance and basis. In addition to being an excellent educational excursion, it has also improved students' approach to voicing their opinions to those in power.
Mr Kenneth Silburn
Science Teacher