Year 11 Chemistry excursion to ANSTO

“ANSTO is one of Australia’s largest public research organisations and is widely recognised as an international player in the field of nuclear science and technology.” – ANSTO

On the 2nd of March, Year 11 Chemistry students were privileged to travel to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation in Lucas Heights. There, we did Nuclear Activities with our educational guides which provided valuable insight and assistance for our Depth Study assessment task.
First we went to the Discovery Centre and we learnt about nuclear isotopes and nuclear chemistry. We used a scintillation counter to measure the radiation and it was very interesting to see how lots of objects that people used to use such as an old radium watch still emit radiation. We also experimented with different materials and their ability to stop different types of radiation. I am pleased to report that we were not exposed to much radiation during our trip.
After a short break, students of Fort Street High School said goodbye to their mobile phones and other technological devices with photographic ability as we boarded a bus bound for the Nuclear Reactor. We were entering Federal land, which is in a different state to NSW. At the OPAL research reactor, we were shown the important roles Australia’s research reactor has in creating nuclear medicines. Nuclear medicine is a pioneering field in medicine with huge potential for the future to treat many diseases such as cancer. We finished our trip with lunch at the ANSTO cafe where we enjoyed a variety of foods that scientists would eat such as fish and chips.
Overall, this experience was hugely educational and I would like to express my thanks to the Fort Street Science Faculty and the educational staff at ANSTO for their valuable support and organisation for this excursion.

Bowen Cheng Year 11