Awards to encourage student scientists

THIS year’s Peter Doherty Science Awards will see teams of year seven to ten students put their inquiry skills to practical use.

The awards, to be held at the Ballarat Tech School on Thursday, will see the see the students present a scientific investigation to a panel of judges.

Previous topics of enquiry have included whether it’s better to walk or run in the rain, if the price of sunscreen reflects the amount of UV protection it provides, or if electric toothbrushes are worth the money.

Last year’s winners were Ballarat Grammar year eight students Trisha Kaura and Maggi Cai who looked at whether diluted stain remover was still effective.

“It gives them a chance to practice their scientific enquiry skills so going from having an idea to be able to refine something that will be a good experiment,” said Ryan Ringin, STEM educator at the Ballarat Tech School.

“One of the big reasons we need students practicing these skills is because they’re transferable.

“The enquiry skills, they are able to be transferred not only across any science but also anytime that a student finds themselves wanting to know something.”

The Peter Doherty Science Awards began in 2009 as a collaboration between the Committee for Ballarat and Australian Nobel Prize laureate Professor Peter Doherty.

Mr Ringin said the awards are about encouraging students to develop their sense of curiosity and see that science is more than working in a lab.

“[The experiment] hopefully stems from something that is relevant to the students’ lives,” he said.

“The students don’t have to conduct this in a lab for example, were want to demonstrate that science is happening all around us.”

Any students or schools who would like to take part in the Peter Doherty Science Awards in future are encouraged to contact the Ballarat Tech School.