Science Summer Courses

Hands-on at Otago

Imma:

I spent the last week of Summer at the University of Otago– attending their Hands-on at Otago program. I was lucky enough to be a recipient of their Humanities Shakespeare Scholarship which covered all my costs throughout the week, including travel, accommodation, meals and additional activities. While at Otago, I studied Politics as my ‘main’ project; in the course, we covered multiple topics such as the Veil of Ignorance and what makes up a society, our end goal for this project was to be able to create a society that was fair so that whoever we are we were able to live a good life.

My tasters, or mini projects included Law, where we briefly touched base on the different branches of law e.g Civil and Criminal. Law was my first option with Politics being my second, my expectations were met and my interest in studying law after Hands-On definitely rose.

My other tasters were Physiology and Systems Thinking, which were two courses I hadn’t really had any particular interest in beforehand but enjoyed anyway.

The participants of Hands-on at Otago 2024 were the first to stay at their brand new Residential College – Te Rangihiroa where they were able to accommodate all 357 of us comfortably. During our stay at Otago, we felt a very good sense of what student life is like if we were to attend University there – they included tours of campus, visits to Baldwin Street, Quiz nights and an Amazing race.
We were also invited to Unipol where we got to spend an afternoon doing different Active Activities such as Sports (volleyball, basketball, touch) and Giant Jenga. Lastly, we had a final ‘celebratory’ night where we all performed a dance/lip sync in our floor wing groups at the Business school and enjoyed a night of festivities before getting ready for our final night at Te Rangihiroa.

Overall, by the end of the week, I had met so many new people and made new friends who had come from all over the country. This experience was able to comfort me in many ways, especially with having to think about further study now that I’m in year 13. It’s an experience I recommend to anyone who’s interested in what life may be like if they choose to carry on with further study and are unsure of what the future may hold. I’m very grateful to Ms Quinn for introducing this opportunity to me and would now also like to encourage others to attend this worthwhile program! 

Mackenzie: 

In the Summer Holidays, I had the privilege of attending Hands On at Otago University. I was also lucky enough to go for my first choice in a project which was Physiology. After meeting several amazing people, and learning so much about how the body and brain work, I have the confidence in saying that it is a field I will most definitely consider after my time at high school. During the week, our project was based in Otago’s Department of Physiology building, where we were lucky enough to use advanced technology in the lab. 

We learned about the vestibular system in a rotating chair, where we were spinning in this chair and stimulating the vestibular functions. The next day we jumped on the exercise cycle, stimulating our breathing and heart rates and using the electrodes to record and compare our heart rates from when our bodies are at rest. This was also simulated by popping balloons and trying to give each other a fright. Breath holding was a part of our oxygen and carbon dioxide readings experiment, where we learnt to record the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air we breathe out and change this by holding our breaths and hyperventilating. On the last day of experiments, we were in the taste lab. In this, we were taste-testing solutions (0.5 M sucrose and 0.5 M citric acid) and recording how everyone interpreted the sweet and sourness.

Overall I was incredibly grateful for this opportunity and to be able to meet and interact with so many amazing people, and Tony our mentor. I would recommend applying for Hands on Otago whether or not you are sure about a course after school, as you will gain connections, knowledge and so much insight information about University life.

Chanalee:

In January, I was lucky enough to attend Hands On at Otago University. My main project was law, which is a field of work that I was extremely interested in beforehand, and through this experience, I was able to enhance my knowledge within this sector. I was able to learn the basic legal knowledge and jargon and actively apply this knowledge through visits to the police department, where we were taken through how a case originates from the crime to the investigation and gathering of evidence. Therefore, we later got to see this through the court, where we met the Judge and got to watch active cases in the criminal court. The interaction with the head professors of each sector, current law students, and academic deans made the entire experience eye-opening and an opportunity to gain a plethora of knowledge.

Although my favourite part was indeed the experience of university lif: from the university accommodation of Te Rangihiroa, to the interaction with university students and the social settings, I would recommend it to anyone considering tertiary education. My time there included an amazing race, a quiz night, tours of campus, active afternoons, lectures, and a celebratory ‘big night out!’ Even if you are unsure of your study options, this is the perfect place to experience your options and meet new people from all over the country.

This experience is one of the best opportunities to explore the university life available. It is a week full of fun, knowledge, and social experiences; I am so grateful for this opportunity, the new people I have met, and the knowledge gained.

Jess Cradock:

Over the summer I had the privilege to attend Hands-on at Otago, during this time I got a chance to see what it would be like if I studied Media Film and Communication. This was an amazing experience and I had so many fun opportunities, like getting a tour of the Otago Daily Times, talking to the chief editor, having a chance to write a radio article and present it on Radio One, and what I found to be the most fun was getting to film a talk show. During the filming, I was the director. This was very interesting as I got to see what goes on behind the scenes of filming and saw what each role does. 

As well as that I also had tasters for the first three days including food science, theatre and dance and politics. It was cool to see some of the projects I wasn’t in and what they did in their full programmes. For example in Food Science (which I expected to not enjoy however, it was my favorite out of all the tasters I did), I learned that it was more than creating new food projects but also about the marketing and who targeted groups are for certain products. We also got to make bliss balls - each group had a different type of protein so we could see the difference. Our protein was cricket which was very interesting to use as it's not something you normally hear of. 

I would highly recommend Hands-on to any student as it is an amazing experience and a great chance to get a taste of what university life is like and a great chance to meet new friends and make connections across the country.

WIECan (Women in Engineering Canterbury)

Rachel:

These past holidays I was given the incredible opportunity to attend two academic camps. While this was not a typical way to spend the summer holidays, I would not have wished to be anywhere else. 

WIECan (Women in Engineering Canterbury) was the first camp I attended. This is a 5-day programme at the University of Canterbury and is open to any girls who have an interest in engineering. It gives 60 girls an opportunity to visit labs and conduct experiments to get hands-on experience in 9 different disciplines of engineering. Civil and structural, chemical and process, mechanical, mechatronics, aerospace, natural resources, electrical and computer, software, and forest engineering. 

The days were action-packed with three different sessions a day learning about different branches of engineering. These included super fun experiments and games such as coding a hand exoskeleton to play the piano, a software engineering escape room, and building a rocket that launched up to 100m in the sky! Almost all of the things we made we were allowed to take home so we could try them again and improve. 

At the end of each day, we had more activities and fun challenges including an Amazing Race, an Entrepreneurship challenge, and an aerospace competition. We were also given a farewell celebration to send us off and on the last day, we got to listen and talk to proper engineers about why they chose engineering and how they got there. They gave some really valuable advice and lots of insight into what working in an engineering industry is really like. 

The Residential Assistants looking after us were all engineering students only a few years older than us and most of them had gone to WIECan when they were in high school so they knew how to make the camp even more fun for us all. We all enjoyed a taste of uni life at UC as we stayed in one of the newer Halls of Residence, Tupuanuku. One of the nights we tried out the halls’ meals and over the week we had tours around the uni and the inner city. 

After only five days, our cohort was incredibly close and it felt like we had known each other for weeks. We all made life-long friends and it was amazing to see how widespread an engineering degree could become. I am so thankful for the opportunities given to us and the chance to meet like-minded students and I could not recommend the course enough! I would recommend this to anyone who has even the slightest interest in engineering.

Rotary National Science and Technology Forum

Valentina:

Over the summer holidays, I was fortunate enough to attend not only one but two science camps. Albeit a strange way to enjoy the summer, full of academic courses, I could not have had a better time anywhere else. Both these amazing opportunities were presented to me by the HoD of Sciences, Miss Quinn, and I could not be more grateful to have been a part of these eye-opening experiences.

The first camp I attended was the Rotary National Science and Technology Forum (RNSTF) held at University Halls - Towers in Auckland over two weeks from the 6th to the 20th of January. The forum hosted 168 students from all over NZ of all different schools, backgrounds and personalities. The two-week timetable consisted of an early morning start at 6 am where you were expected to take part in an EMA (early morning activity) which could have been volleyball, walking/running, mindfulness, going to the gym, or being a part of the forum band. You would then have breakfast and attend two of the 12 three-hour academic lectures or modules with your colour group, coming back to halls in between for lunch. Dinner was upon or shortly after the return of your second academic module. Colour group meetings or full forum meetings were typically after dinner to regroup and chat about your day before heading off to either your chosen recreational activity, the infamous volleyball tournament between colour groups, a forum activity such as a talent quest, group Dragons Den project, or a super “science” quiz regarding Taylor Swifts’ cats names, or your technical visit to a business or organisation where you took part in an activity or found out more about how they work and what the tertiary and career options are for that pathway. 

The infamous volleyball tournament requires a special mention of its own. Each colour group was expected to create a chant or a skit for the beginning of their match. I was in the Orange group, and I tell no lies when I say we lost every. single. game. however, I remain truthful in saying that my group had the most elaborate and creative chants whose behind the scenes may bring too many questions to the surface.

If there's anything I would like to share about the forum, and I could talk about it for years on end, it was that I learnt so much more than just exploring the scientific fields and where they may take me in my career down the line. I learnt that the strongest friendships will be made in the most unlikely places and that when in doubt, there will always be a million paths to get you to where you’re supposed to be. I learnt that my mind is not made up on what I want to study and that it is okay to be unsure as my mind will continue changing as I learn more about myself and what there is to be offered. Above all, I learnt to keep an open mind in every regard, and that a path already laid out will never teach me as much as a path I make for myself.

The application process for this camp was reasonably straightforward in terms of filling out an application form. However, to be selected, you must have presented your application to your local rotary club, for Geraldine that's the Temuka/Geraldine Rotary Club. If they think that you would be a suitable applicant, you would be interviewed by them to ensure that your character is suitable for the forum and from there, they will put your application forward to the rotary district council, and from there the regional district will select you to be put forward to for selected by the forum Rotary committee (Milford Rotary Club).

The Forum was an experience I will never forget. The jam-packed days were only ever filled with lifetime memories and an abundance of amazing vibes. I would recommend this camp in a heartbeat to anyone with a pulse - there's not a soul on earth that wouldn't benefit tremendously from this treasure of an event.

OUASSA (Otago University Advanced School Science Academy

Rachel and Valentina

OUASSA (Otago University Advanced School Science Academy) is a programme for 50-60 high-achieving Science students in Year 13. This programme includes two week-long camps, one in the January holidays, and one in the July holidays. During these camps, we chose 2 projects and 2 electives that investigate a different branch of science. We spend 2 days on each project and one day on an elective per camp. This was to give us a taste of what these subjects would be like at university. We even got to do university-level experiments, which are way cooler than the ones we do at school! Our mornings usually started with a lecture from a scientist; these ranged from learning about black holes to microbiology to analysis of fossils.

There is also a strong focus on communicating science. In the months between the two camps, we work in teams on a science communication project and present it at the Otago Museum at the end of the second camp.

Another generous aspect is that they continue to support us with online tutors who will present online tutorials targeted at NCEA/Scholarship Physics, Chemistry, and Biology as we near exams. We will also be supported as we start applying for university residential colleges and scholarships.

OUASSA is such an incredible opportunity to learn from leading scientists across a wide range of disciplines, participate in science research projects, and enjoy challenging online extension work while networking with like-minded budding scientists from across the country. There were so many fascinating projects and electives to choose from but here is an overview of the ones we chose.

In Maths and Stats, we learnt all about the mathematical principles and techniques used in encrypting messages using prime numbers. This is used by almost every computer to transmit data. Then the second day we learn about error detection and correction when errors are made while being transmitted and how they are dealt with. This project was by far my favourite part. I could have spent the whole week learning more.

In Biochem and Genetics, we spent the first day cloning DNA and inserting DNA segments that were resistant to certain antibiotics into E. Coli. bacteria. It was an eye-opener to get to use their science equipment, it's a whole lot more technical. Nothing like the gear we use at school, even the pipettes were worth $300 - $500 each! We also used machines that measured the length of DNA strands. On the second day, the demonstrators put together a murder mystery for us to solve using DNA clues. After this was solved, we looked at some mutations in fruit flies.

In Quantum Physics we learnt about its origins and some famous physicists and their contributions to what we are still exploring, then all about lasers and how light works on the quantum level. We also did several experiments with liquid nitrogen, I think the lecturer just wanted to keep playing with this instead of doing proper work.

Chemistry was an amazing opportunity to see what university-level labs are like! We were able to use their equipment in various experiments where we learnt about nanoparticles and their different properties to make silver mirrors in jars, as well as making hydrophobic paper by reacting 20 nm silica particles with a long chain hydrophobic silane. The resulting solution was sprayed onto a sheet of paper and dried so that when distilled water was poured on it, it formed balls of water rather than being absorbed by the paper. We also made silver nitrate snowflakes with electrodes.

In Exercise and Sports Science, we learnt technical terms for different areas of the body and how to accurately take measurements for them. We did mostly practical experiments, one where we used reflective markers connected to special cameras to measure the different forces at different parts of your body as you run. We were also looking at the movement of the foot, ankle, knee and hip and will analyse this information at the July camp and determine a more efficient way of running. We also did a VO2 test to see how much oxygen we are taking at a resting, walking and running level. With this information, we were able to find trends in energy consumption and demand as compared to the oxygen intake levels. We will also further analyse this information in the July camp.

In Psychology, we learnt about different areas of the brain and the inherent bias each person has. It was interesting to see the theory in practice and lightly analyse why it is that way. We made stop-motion movies and were later asked to rate ours and our peer's movies. The claim was that we inherently think our own group's work was better than the others regardless of the reality of the quality of the films. We also looked at facial feature perception and the left and right brain, and how each part of the brain may interpret facial features differently due to their logical or emotional tendencies.

So far OUASSA has been a phenomenal camp, and we are less than halfway through. The July camp will have a similar programme but we will provide an update after we get back.