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National Science Week

School theme 2020 

Deep Blue: innovation for the future of our oceans

This is an important theme for teachers and their students to focus on the oceans. They are always out there, creating climates, absorbing carbon dioxide, lapping away at the shoreline, and it is impossible to ignore, as the Earth’s oceans cover more than two-thirds of the Earth’s total surface area. The ocean theme also enables teachers and students to discover and investigate Australia’s world-renowned contributions to marine science, marine based industries, marine technologies, and marine innovations.


The 2020 Resource Book of Ideas for National Science Week will offer teachers and students the opportunity to investigate the people, space agencies, universities, and science organisations that are all delivering solutions in space science.

School grant applications have now closed. 

The National Science Week teacher resource book "Deep Blue: Innovation for the future of our oceans" and the National Science Week school poster are available here. 
 

 

What is National Science Week?

National Science Week is an annual festival of science that takes place in August each year. This celebration aims to raise the profile and increase the public understanding and public appreciation of science, innovation, engineering and technology, and their role in maintaining and improving our society, economy and environment. National Science Week 2020 will run 15–23 August.

In schools around the nation, thousands of teachers and students from early childhood to senior secondary levels contribute to National Science Week celebrations by organising and participating in a diverse range of activities and events.

It provides an opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of Australian scientists’ to the world of knowledge. It also aims to encourage an interest in science pursuits among the general public, and to encourage younger people to become fascinated by the world we live in.

 

How do SCHOOLS get involved?

Apply for a school grant. The Grants round for 2020 has now closed.  Schools this year will receive a SPECTRA cards pack with certificates and badges to help to engage students and their parents in National Science Week. Click below on '2020 National Science Week school grants' for more information. 

Go to a National Science Week event. Approximately 1000 events take place around Australia during National Science Week each year, including those delivered by universities, schools, museums and science centres.

These events attract a wide audience from children to adults, and science amateurs to professionals. Over one million people participate in science events across the nation, with another 160 000 taking part in school activities.

Use the ASTA teacher resource book. For National Science Week each year, ASTA produces a teacher resource book to help support and assist teachers in providing engaging science activities for their students. The book is based, each year, on the National Science Week school theme chosen for that year and is always packed with information, classroom activities, experiments, diagrams, photographs and websites.
Since 2011, ASTA has provided the teacher resource books as web-based digital books. Titles include: React to Chemistry, Energy Evolution, A Century of Australian Science and Food for our future: Science feeding the world. These are available free of charge from the National Science Week Books and Resources link below. Some past resource books are also provided electronically, but hard copies can be purchased from the ASTA office.

For the latest information visit the National Science week website and sign up to the newsletter for updates and follow on Twitter and Facebook

 

Further Information