The Mount Eliza North Primary School Science Centre has bee designed as a place for children to explore their world in a practical way and to develop skills that will enable them to prosper in the 21st Century. The Centre allows children to explore, discover, inquire and construct. It is also designed to be a space where they can present what they have learned to others using the most modern technology.

This centre has specifically been designed to support the school’s International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. This programme has given children the skills to learn for themselves, to follow their own sense of curiosity having been provided the skills of inquiry that makes them independent learners. It’s also built a culture in the school, which fosters a love of Science. It is my hope that as a result of this investment, a significant number of children will undertake further studies in the Sciences. In a real sense this Science Centre is Mount Eliza North Primary School’s commitment to creating a situation where our graduates will significantly contribute to the society in which they live.

The Physical Sciences lend themselves well to development within the primary Science curriculum and are well represented within the Science Centre’s equipment. Considerable consideration has been given to the School’s International Baccalaureate Programme of Inquiry, and equipment has been purchased to support those units. The Science aspects of the Programme of Inquiry are designed to encourage children to inquire and learn about the concepts that are related to an understanding of systems. For instance once of the themes of our Programme of Inquiry relate to energy. The Science Centre, therefore, contains equipment, which facilitates the inquiry into energy systems. These include a solar panel attached to the roof that places electricity into the national grid. A computer programme is provided to allow children to monitor the amount of electricity generated and the amount of greenhouse gases saved. This is combined with models, which demonstrate the generation of electricity through wind and water. Children are able to use these models to inquire about the importance of these forms of electricity generation and to ascertain their importance in a world, which is warming due to the increase of greenhouse gases.

Considerable effort has been devoted to creating an environment that can be explored by the children. The living world fascinates children and the best way to build and encourage that fascination is by allowing children to explore their world first hand. As a result the Science Centre has a number of both indoor and outdoor features for children. The Science Centre contains a specialised frog environment. This allows children to witness first hand the importance of these sensitive amphibians. We hope that by caring for the frogs, children will learn to care for endangered species and understand what it is that creates the threat to living things.

The cold-water marine environment allows children to study the ecology of Port Phillip Bay without leaving the school. The tank will contain special collect from the bay and by studying the interrelationship between these creatures, the children will have a better understanding of how our actions can influence this environment. It continues to support Mount Eliza North Primary School’s philosophy of children having access to the best possible curriculum to be the best they can be.

There is also a worm farm for children to work with. The worm farm will form an important part of our strategy to compost food scraps. In doing so we build the children’s understand of the role played by various special in the energy cycle. This understanding assists our children with the notion of sustainability, which we believe to be an essential understanding for children entering the world in the 21st Century.

Outside there is a fully functioning pond that will allow children to study first and a fresh water environment. Both the marine and fresh water environment enable children to collect long term data about the health of environments with the data logging equipment. In particular children are able to see the relationship between plants and animals and also understand producer and consumer relationships.

The gardens have been carefully planned. There are three distinct gardens attached to the Science Centre. The first two will be planted in a trail outlining the development of plants from the beginning to flowering plants. In this way children will be introduced to the way in which we classify plants and animals. This provides them with a skill that can be further developed in secondary and tertiary studies. The third garden is for the younger children. It will be planned our as a sensory garden, where children can explore the plants safely using touch and smell.

The Science Centre contains a set of rock specimens for children to investigate, but most work in Geology is carried out in the playground or on camps and excursions. We also have a seismograph, which has been assembled and is monitored by the children.