Science ASSIST eNews 

Science ASSIST signing off 

Sadly, the Science ASSIST project is now coming to a close and the Science ASSIST team are extremely proud of what they have achieved over the 2.5 years since the Science ASSIST website went 'live'. The team has:

• answered over 270 of your questions with the online advisory service
• provided links to over 500 'top-quality' science education resources all linked to the Australian Curriculum: Science
• developed and uploaded 26 Connected Learning Experiences (CLEs)
• developed 27 Technical Information Sheets on school laboratory practices
• developed 24 Standard Operating Procedures each with a customisable Risk Assessment
• run many Science ASSIST workshops and given many presentations at conferences and Professional Development sessions.
• developed major technical resources including the List of recommended chemicals for science in Australian schools and Guidelines for the design and planning of secondary school science facilities in Australian schools (NEW).

There are still a few resources being finalised and these will be available in January 2017. So keep an eye out for them!

ASTA and SETA continue to seek additional funding to continue this valuable project and hope to have some good news as we 'tumble' into 2017! But for now, we are signing off for 2016..... 

Here are some recent answers to questions and some new resources that you may not be aware of. Take a look. :) Q & A

• Autoclaving disposable Petri dishes
• Disposal of Ammonium Thiocyanate
• Handling cow manure in science labs
• Sheep skeleton - can we use it?

Connected Learning Experiences

• Year 2 - Indigenous spinning tops 
• Year 5 - Space tourism
• Year 8 - The rock cycle
• Updated - Year 10 - Investigating pattern of inheritance. Now includes examples of how the investigations and activities can be adjusted to cater for gifted and talented students

And just published - Guidelines for the design and planning of secondary school science facilities in Australian schools