WAFTUS – UTS excursion

Throughout term two, Year 10 students from Fort Street and Tempe high schools participated in the WAFTUS science program, in which we mentored students from Wilkins, Summer Hill and Ashfield primary schools as they conducted their own scientific investigations. In Week 8 this term, we reconvened with the prize winning mentee groups in an excursion to the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). This exciting opportunity included a guided tour of their premises, academic talk by one of the current PhD student and hands on practical science workshops.

We were first taken to one of UTS’ most cutting edge facilities; their Super Lab. The Super Lab is a practical discovery space catering to 200 students and integrating several disciplines of science study. Modelled off the labs in the University of London, it is the first of its kind in Australia, with another in construction for 2020. Each student has access to touchscreen computers for research and data analysis, microphones to communicate with teachers and peers, as well as space to conduct practical investigations.

After the tour of the Super Lab we were taken to the Data Arena, a dizzying and immersive 360 degree screen used to display and visualize data. The mentees had a lot of fun navigating through a drone-collected sample from Wombeyan Caves.

At the last part of the facilities tour, we went to the Crime Scene Simulation room.  This was an imitation of a real life crime scene to give Forensics students some experience in the field. It was orchestrated like a modern apartment with different “murder mysteries” in each room such as break-ins and shootings.

The next part of our visit involved academic talk in a lecture room. Alison Ricafrente, a PhD student gave a talk on her PhD thesis regarding the use of Fasciola microRNA to cure autoimmune diseases. She has based her thesis on the research of others, who have found that Liver Fluke infection lessens or even cures autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, diabetes or multiple sclerosis. The only problem with this is the side effects of parasite infection. Alison’s thesis seeks to combat this by finding the specific RNA in the Liver Fluke that allows it to cure autoimmune diseases, and then synthesise this RNA in the laboratory for medical applications. This talk showed us some of the things people can and are studying in the UTS science faculty, as well as the ways in which science can be utilised to solve world problems.

After lunch we made our way to one of the upstairs laboratories for a workshop on Forensics. The first half of the workshop was on blood spatter patterns. Here we learnt how different scenarios and injuries produce different patterns, and what kind of clues can be drawn from blood in a crime scene. Our guide demonstrated a few scenarios using stage blood, showing the differences in blood patterns with different heights as well as examples of blood trails. We were also shown image examples of real life scenarios, with varying degrees of goriness.

In the room across there was a mock crime scene. Here we discussed safety and reliability practices that forensic investigators carry out at a crime scene. This included securing a crime scene and storing evidence. We were then able to take our own fingerprints using a tile and carbon dust. By brushing the dust over a fingerprint on the tile we were able to create a pattern that could be lifted off using an adhesive gel, a souvenir to take home with us.

We then went back to the lecture room for another talk, about the options for science study at UTS. UTS offers both a basic science course (where you can major in a specific field) and an advanced science course (where you study a specific scientific subject in depth). They also offer the option of a combined course, where you can study science alongside law or engineering, among others. After the talk we were able to ask questions about the courses. This was helpful in our consideration of options for university.

This was a great experience for both us, the mentors, and the primary students who accompanied us as we were able to widen our understanding of scientific study at tertiary levels, as well as clarifying some of our plans for future education.

Cheylon Devine and Isaac Broadhead
Year 10