Science as a Human Endeavour: Science involves testing predictions by gathering data and using evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena.

Australian Curriculum: Year 5: Science as a Human Endeavour: Science involves testing predictions by gathering data and using evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena. 

“To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science."

(Albert Einstein and Leopold Infeld. The Evolution of Physics. London: Cambridge University Press, 1938.)

What do you wonder when you look at the night sky? What do you think exists beyond our Solar System? Have we finished exploring our Solar System? Take some time to think about how far space exploration has come in recent decades. Where do you think it might go in your lifetime? NASA’s Chief Scientist predicts that signs of alien life will be found by 2025. What questions do you have for the NASA scientist? What if we find there is alien life, what might that mean for Earthling’s?

http://www.space.com/29041-alien-life-evidence-by-2025-nasa.html

Recent observations by planetary probes and telescopes on the ground and in space have shown that water is common throughout our solar system and the broader Milky Way galaxy.
Credit: NASA

How do telescopes make distant objects seem closer? What kinds of information and data can telescopes provide about the universe?
With many different cameras and types of scientific instruments, the Hubble Space Telescope has provided scientists with invaluable data. Data includes both observations and measurements.
NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope helps scientists explore the universe to find the evidence to answer their questions. What observations are possible with this telescope? What measurements can be made with this telescope? In what way can a telescope be considered to be a time machine?
Are all telescopes on Earth?

Can you find or think of other ways scientists can explore if there are aliens? What data and evidence do scientists need to determine if there is life on other planets?

https://student.societyforscience.org/article/pluto-hosts-ice-mountains-data-suggest?mode=topic&context=60

‪#‎science‬ ‪#‎solarsystem‬ ‪#‎BITL‬ ‪#‎Australiancurriculum‬ ‪#‎aliens‬ ‪#‎data‬

Science as a Human Endeavour: Advances in scientific understanding often rely on developments in technology and technological advances are often linked to scientific discoveries

Australian Curriculum Science:
Science as a Human Endeavour:
Advances in scientific understanding often rely on developments in technology and technological advances are often linked to scientific discoveries

http://www.sciencealert.com/watch-self-styled-pilot-connects-54-drones-and-takes-them-for-a-spin

Image: gasturbine101/YouTube

This looks like super fun, and what creative thinking was used to think up this invention.

What do you think is happening and why?
How did someone come up with this idea?
What are the obvious safety concerns?
What safety precautions did the person flying ‘The Swarm’ take in this video?
Why do you think he had an umbrella on top?
How are the drones arranged? Why do you think they arranged them in this pattern? How many are there? How did they work out how many drones they would need?
Could you design a better frame?

How might technology contribute to our understanding of science?
What might happen if you removed two of the drones?
What is your hypothesis?
What do you already know that led to your prediction?
What other predictions might be plausible?

How as many different ideas can you come up with for using drones like this? Which is your most creative idea? Now think of every reason that it might not work? How many different factors did you think of? How could you over come each of these barriers? Are there any factors which might be too difficult? Can you work with others to see if they can help you to think how you can make your idea become a possibility?

How might you test your predictions?
What could you try? Do you think you could…?
What kinds of tests can you design to help you answer your questions?
What should you consider in planning?
How will you measure and record the data?
How will you ensure the data is reliable, representative?
Which variables will you keep constant? Why?
How would your hypothesis have differed from that of a scientist?

Why has Apple started stocking drones?
What other possibilities or new developments might this invention lead to? What new careers might be developed because of this technology?

‪#‎drones‬ ‪#‎australiancurriculum‬ ‪#‎technology‬ ‪#‎creativethinking‬ ‪#‎science‬‪#‎BITL‬ ‪#‎TfELtalk‬ ‪#‎scienceasahumanendeavour‬

Science as a Human Endeavour : Scientific understandings, discoveries and inventions are used to solve problems that directly affect people's lives

Honey bees wearing backpacks?

Photo from http://www.csiro.au/en/News/News-releases/2014/Bee-sensors-take-flight-to-help-farmers

Australian Curriculum: Science as a Human Endeavour
*Nature and development of science
Science involves testing predictions by gathering data and using evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena 
*Use and influence of science
Scientific understandings, discoveries and inventions are used to solve problems that directly affect people's lives

Global Initiative for Honey bee Health: How do the bee's backpacks work? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfkNFo-Hysc
The Global Initiative for Honey bee Health (GIHH), led by CSIRO, aims to protect and improve the health of honey bees.

What do you notice? View the videos of the bee’s backpacks.
What is interesting/unexpected/unexplained?
What technology are the CSIRO scientists using to help them make their observations of the honeybees? 

What does it make you think? What questions do you have? What questions would you like to ask the scientists?
How is the data collected using this technology? What kinds of data are the scientists collecting? How often will the observations be made?

What patterns and/or relationships do you see in the data? Are there any anomalies?
How might this technology contribute to our understanding of science and the health of honey bees?

How did someone come up with this idea?
How might scientists measure and record the data? How might you ensure the data is reliable, representative?

What is your hypothesis? What do you think is causing the decrease in the number of honey bees in the world? How might your hypothesis differ from that of a scientist?

Why is collaboration between scientists important for this investigation? Where do you find connections across the disciplines of science, maths and technology? What new developments might this lead to? Or new careers? Who decides what is valued to investigate? Who decides how the science is used? Who might benefit? What is the ‘cost’? How will solving this problem be a direct benefit to your life?

What if all the bees die? AsapScience video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JilYBVrFiLA

Why are bees disappearing? Ted Talk 

http://www.ted.com/talks/marla_spivak_why_bees_are_disappearing?language=en

A plea for bees. Ted Talk

http://www.ted.com/talks/dennis_vanengelsdorp_a_plea_for_bees?language=en

Science as a Human Endeavour: Observations that change over time.

"Time changes everything except something within us which is always surprised by change."
                                                                                                                            Thomas Hardy

Listening to a scientist and their fantastic discovery in Science Week, it is interesting, that in one hour, you can hear their 15 years of inquiry and observations that led to their ground breaking discovery!

Australian Curriculum: Science as a Human Endeavour: Observations that change over time/ geographically.
What do you observe at a range of scales? What more do you notice when you shift your perspective? What equipment might help to make observations? What equipment can extend your senses? What do you notice about this data/information? What secondary sources will you use to help your observations?

Foundation Earth and space sciences
Daily and seasonal changes in our environment, including the weather, affect everyday life
Observe how the weather changes over a year. What do you notice? What do you see in the sky? What do you feel? What can you hear? What can you smell? Draw the changes you see in a year. Draw yourself over a year. How has the clothes you are wearing changed? Why?

Year 1 Earth and space sciences
Observable changes occur in the sky and landscape
Observe the changes in the sky over a day. What do you notice? What do you see in the sky? What do you feel? What can you hear? What can you smell? Is there anything unusual in the sky?
Draw the changes you see in the sky over a day. How has it changed? Why?

Year 2 Physical sciences
A push or a pull affects how an object moves or changes shape
Observe how an object moves when a force is acted on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2hzipegb3c
What causes the balls to move? Which ball rolls faster? Why?

Year 3 Chemical sciences
A change of state between solid and liquid can be caused by adding or removing heat
Observe the change in state by adding heat to an object.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoyVTEHhpxw
Which material added heat to the ice to cause it to melt faster? Why? What else might you try to melt the ice faster?

Year 4 Biological sciences
Living things have life cycles
Observe this clip of a dandelion. What do you notice? How might you represent the changes in the dandelion over time. How long did the changes take? What questions do you have? How do you think this is the same as other flowers? How might it be different?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ_QqtXoyQw

Year 5 Physical sciences
Light from a source forms shadows and can be absorbed, reflected and refracted
Observe how a shadow changes over time.
Observe changes in the size and shape of shadows over a day. Predict, based on observations of the Sun’s motion in the sky, the size and direction of shadows at various times of day.

Year 6 Earth and space sciences
Sudden geological changes or extreme weather conditions can affect Earth’s surface http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/…/natural-disast…/
Choose one of the natural disasters to observe over time:
Avalanches Earthquakes Floods Hurricanes Lightning
Tornadoes Tsunamis Volcanoes Wildfires
How do these sudden geological changes or extreme weather conditions affect the Earth’s surface?

Year 7 Biological sciences
Interactions between organisms can be described in terms of food chains and food webs; human activity can affect these interactions
View this clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3Mt2E1M6dU
Observe how the ants affect the gecko. How long did it take for the gecko to disappear? How might you illustrate the food chain for this example?

Year 8 Earth and space sciences
Sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks contain minerals and are formed by processes that occur within Earth over a variety of timescales
View this clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ld6EQqY3w
Observe the changes in the Earth over time. How long do you think it took for these changes to occur? What might be the affect on the rock cycle be on Mt St. Helen’s?

Year 9 Earth and space sciences
The theory of plate tectonics explains global patterns of geological activity and continental movement
http://education.nationalgeographic.com.au/…/plate-tectoni…/
Can we observe the continental plates moving? How might you find evidence that they are still moving? How far do the plates move each day, month, year? Is it possible to determine how far they move?

Year 10 Chemical sciences
Different types of chemical reactions are used to produce a range of products and can occur at different rates
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qhYDuJt8fI
Observe the changes over time in this chemical reaction. How long did it take for the clock to change colour? How could you speed the clock up? What factors might you change? How might you slow the clock down?

Picture from:  http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/

Science as a Human Endeavour : Ant Diversity : Predictions and Patterns

Australian Curriculum Science: Science as a Human Endeavour: Year 4: Science involves making predictions and describing patterns and relationships.
How many different species of ants are there? How are the ants the same? How are they different? How could you group them? What patterns do you notice? Are there any exceptions? How might scientists use this interactive model (antmaps.org) on ant diversity to predict the effects when a particular species of ant is removed or dies out in an area? What animals or plants might depend on this species of ant for survival? What questions do you have? Who might be interested in or need to know about the grouping of the ants? Why? What else could you investigate?

Australian Curriculum Science: Science as a Human Endeavour: Year 7: Science and technology contribute to finding solutions to a range of contemporary issues; these solutions may impact on other areas of society and involve ethical considerations
Our understanding of large-scale biodiversity patterns in invertebrates, such as insects, are poorly documented. To address this gap in knowledge, scientists, mathematicians and technologists from the Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics (GABI) are working on a project aimed at compiling over 200 years of ant research into a single database providing distribution information for all ant species. (antmaps.org)

How do the features of ants change geographically on the map? What do you notice about this data?
What patterns do you notice? Are there any exceptions?
What do you think this pattern has happened and why?
How has technology connected with science to change the way we see the world?
How might you use the keys on this interactive model to identify the ants surveyed in your local habitat? Do all species of ant live in the same places? Where do the different species live in Australia? How does a scientist identify each different species?
Are ant’s predators or prey, or both? Explain your answer.
Explain the day in the life of an ant. What does it do all day?
What do the ants in your community need to survive? Choose one or two species of ant and identify what they need for survival.
How might the people living in your community have a positive effect on the species of ants in the environment? Do you think people living in your community have any negative effects on the species of ants in the environment?
What recommendations could be made to care for and improve the quality of the environment in your community?
What factors might you introduce to sustain this species of ant in their ecosystem?

Science as a Human Endeavour : Earthquakes : Contributions from other cultures in science

"Science is essentially a cultural activity. It generates pure knowledge about ourselves and about the universe we live in, knowledge that continually reshapes our thinking" John Sulston

Australian Curriculum Science
Science as a Human Endeavour
Year 6: Important contributions to the advancement of science have been made by people from a range of cultures.

How might scientists from around the world explore geological changes in Australia and neighbouring countries?
Which neighbouring countries of Australia have had the most earthquakes? 
How do they compare to the number of earthquakes in Australia?
How might a scientist account for the differences in earthquake activity between these countries? Which countries are conducting scientific research around the world to gather scientific information on geological events?
Which countries are conducting scientific investigations to advance global disaster alerts, and support communities to make informed decisions for their future?
How do international aid organisations communicate and help people after an earthquake?

http://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/2014/04/australia-2025-smart-science-earth-sciences/

Australia 2025: Smart Science – Earth Sciences