We are excited to announce that we have completed our model of the lemon-scented gum tree. Our school enjoyed this project so much that we chose to extend it beyond Science Week and add more to it. This scientific activity has also been very good for incorporating the theme of this year's International Science Conference, which is 'Science, Creativity, Life'. In the creation of this tree, we have demonstrated all three aspects.
Science:
We asked some students around the school, "What did you learn from making the tree?" The range of answers were wide and varied, covering everything from, "I didn't know that sap flow was triggered by heat and light," to, "I learnt how to create composite graphs on excel." Our favourite response was perhaps, "I didn't know there were mushrooms under the tree." Well, there aren't any because red-spotted mushrooms are not native plants, but the mushrooms that a wonderful Year 5 class made were too cute to go to waste so we included them anyway. It was fun to gain more scientific knowledge and learn more about trees as a part of our SMART Tree Project.
Creativity:
Included in our model, there are native Australian birds singing in the branches, long roots extending into the junior school reading pit, a representation of the solar panel, boxes of leaf litter samples, and much much more. Putting together our tree model involved a lot of artistic effort. The roots used up a great supply of masking tape and the root hairs made use of pipe cleaners. The solar panel is a music stand covered in aluminium foil. The posters surrounding the tree are both decorative and educational. This was a good opportunity for everyone to express their creativity.
Life:
Examples of life can be found everywhere: the birds and possums in the tree, the organisms and worms below the tree, and of course, the tree itself. It is also good to keep in mind that our academic work is part of the 'cutting edge research (which) could well find its way into government policy and scientific papers as the world wrestles with such issues as climate change, drought policy and natural resource management,' showing an impact on our lives.
Here are some photos of our final product!
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| An overview. |
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| Scientific graphs. |
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| Rainbow Lorikeet sitting on a branch. |
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| The solar panel. |
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| The roots. |
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| Educational books and root hairs. |
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| Leaves, oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules, and bug life. |
