1

From the Chairperson

Semester 1 2014

ASET

News Inside this issue:

From the

Chairperson

1

From Our

Patron

4

ASET

Membership

5

Secretary’s

Report

6

Tried and True 8

Light Scope

9

Did You Know 10

Competition

Winner

11

Corny Corner 12

Science Humour 13

Periodic Table

Puns

15

Periodic Table

Puns Answers

16

Riddle Me This 17

Our Website 18

Riddle Answers 18

Save This Date 19

Hello and welcome back to the new school year. 2014 is the

International year of Crystallography. RiAus is offering free

online PD of Crystallography on Wednesday 25 June from

3.45pm to 4.30pm ACST. To register : http://riaus.org.au/

events/pdplus-crystallography/

Since our last newsletter, we have had a busy time setting up a

database of NSW schools by DEC, CEO and AIS sectors.

When complete, we will have the names and addresses of all

schools in the state and hopefully the names of each person

working in the science area so that we will be able to contact you personally via

snail mail or email.

The executive team have had meetings with Jane Simmons , Executive Director of

Learning and Leadership (DEC) and Suzy Colbran (AIS) and they have offered

their support to promote ASET through their network, and encourage labbies to

join the association.

On the first day of Term 2, we held a PD Day in Dubbo, titled:

“ Lab Management in the 21st century – what you and your school should know

and be doing to comply with latest legislations on GHS and WHS “

A quick overview and practical guide to GHS and WHS including :

Chemical storage and labelling

WHS in the school environment

Practical tips for best practice without a physical and mental breakdown

Put it Out – Know your fires and the correct method of handling a fire extinguish-

er

Bending Without Injury – Learn the correct way of lifting, bending and reaching

without causing damage to yourself.

Left to Right

Julie Wells

Margaret Croucher

Jane Simmons

Wendy Cottee

2

From the Chairperson (cont.)

Semester 1 2014

ASET

News

Dr Annie Wyatt spoke about:

How to deal with difficult people

Conflict resolution

Stress management

We had over 60 attendees from as far away as Bourke, Broken Hill, Light-

ning Ridge, Bathurst, Orange, Newcastle, Coolum, Mudgee, Trangie, Nyngan

and Narromine. Mostly all DET schools but 3 from Catholic schools and 2

from Independent schools.

Dr Annie was a hit with her keynote presentation and was amazed at the

problems people have in their school working environment. Hopefully those

people have been able to go back to school with a fresh approach and over-

come the stresses with the lack of support they receive and can stand

strong in an isolated area.

4 displayers travelled from Melbourne, Sydney and Yamba to take part as

well as the support of suppliers that sent bits and pieces for our "showbag"

of goodies. We thank these suppliers for their continued support of ASET

and encourage you to support them when purchasing your equipment and

chemicals – Science Supply,

Scientrific, Serrata, Westlab, The Glove Company, The Australian

Museum, ASTA, Prof Bunsen, Global Spill Company, Modern Star and Logical

Interface.

The support and positive feedback showed that professional development is

much needed in the regional areas and we are hoping to get to the southern

area of NSW later this year or early next year.

On a personal note, I would like to thank Gillian Blowes – SRG Project

Officer and Debra Comer from Dubbo College, Delroy Campus for their help

in organising the day and Principal Stacey Exner for hosting the day. Most

of all I would like to thank our Vice-Chairperson Karen Mellenbergh for her

presentations on WHS and GHS, 2 areas of everyday school life that

affect everyone.

3

From the Chairperson (cont.)

From Left to Right

Roslyn Williams,

Gillian Blowes (SRG Project Officer )

Phillip Halstread (WHS Directorate DEC)

CONASTA 63 is being held in Adelaide from 6-9 July. There is a great program

lined up with post conference tours being organised. It is a wonderful

opportunity to take part in so many fun and interesting workshops as well as

networking with like minded colleagues from all over Australia.

ScienceASSIST - The website is in its soft launch phase and will be officially

launched at CONASTA

The planned PD day for September 15 at Sydney Grammar School has been

expanded over 2 days, being Mon 15/Tues 16 September.

The theme is “Food for Thought”.

Many suppliers will be on hand this year so will give you the opportunity to speak

with them face-to-face. Registration details will be available by the end of term.

I hope to meet many more of you at future events

Margaret Croucher

Dubbo Firies with the Committee

The Committee with Dr Annie Wyatt

4

From Our Patron

Professor Mary O’Kane

NSW Chief Scientist

“The

saddest

aspect of

life right

now is

that

science

gathers

knowledge

faster

than

society

gathers

wisdom.”

― Isaac

Asimov

ASET

"Labbies play a fundamental role in the

learning process across all

education sectors and it's critical - not only for

yourselves but the young people with whom you

are sharing your scientific

knowledge - that you have the best possible

training, developmental opportunities and

access to professional support. I congratulate

ASET NSW on the success of its recent Dubbo

event and its ongoing commitment to providing

professional development opportunities for its

members."

5

ASET

News

Payment can be directly made to the following account (please place you name in the remittance field): Account Name : Association of Science Education Technicians - NSW Inc

Bank Name: Sydney Credit Union BSB: 802 084

Account Number: 141349 Or by sending a cheque or money order and membership form below to:

/Group85/Documents/Membership_form_amended_new.pdf ASET-NSW Inc.

Membership Secretary PO Box 245, Lidcombe

NSW 1825

ASET membership is now due!

Only $45 and tax deductible

6

PO BOX 245, Lidcombe, NSW

1825

I have been on sick leave from work

since the beginning of the year and have

only just returned for second term. As

is with the other committee members

this does not mean work with ASET

stops.

The team has been busy planning, attending and for some, presenting at

our PD day in Dubbo which was held

on Monday 28th April and I did what I

could to help behind the scenes.

Now that the Dubbo PD was successfully held, we will now start

planning our next PD day for

September at Sydney Grammar school. The beginning of the year also saw the

start of our membership renewal period. A number of reminders were

sent out and as of 30th April 2014 we

have 123 members. A more compre-

hensive report on the membership

breakdown has been submitted.

Looking forward to another successful

ASET-NSW year

Julie wells

ASSOCIATION OF

SCIENCE

EDUCATION

TECHNICIANS

OF NSW

http://

www.asetnsw.org.au

Secretary’s Report

7

PO BOX 245, Lidcombe, NSW

1825

Association Science Education Technicians of NSW

(ASET-NSW Inc)

Membership Report

For 7th May 2014 Committee meeting

As seen above, we have lost some members during the renewal period. A few members have retired or moved to other roles in

schools. There are a small number who have indicated that they

wish to renew but payment has not been forth coming. There is a trend in previous years that members will renew at the

time a Professional Development day is being held in which they

wish to attend.

This can also be seen in the higher numbers than previously reported for Western NSW due to the recent PD day that was

held in Dubbo. The same occurred for the Hunter/ Central Coast

region in 2013 which has now reduced again. I predict this will occur again when we hold the PD day at Sydney Grammar at the

end of the year.

As of 1st Jan 2014 (before

school re-

As of 30th April 2014

No Members 141 123

No Dep’t Education Schools 44 37

No Catholic Schools 40 35

No Independent Schools 56 51

No from Sydney 38 31

No from South Western Sydney 17 15

No from Western Sydney 27 19

No from Nth Sydney 14 11

Total from Greater Sydney area 96 76

No from Western NSW 3 12

No from Nth Coast 3 4

No from Hunter/Central Coast 22 13

No from New England 8 5

No from Riverina 0 0

No from Illawarra & Sth Coast 7 10

No from ACT 2 3

Total from area other than Sydney 45 47

ASSOCIATION OF

SCIENCE

EDUCATION

TECHNICIANS

OF NSW

http://

www.asetnsw.org.au

Secretary’s Report (cont.)

8

Tried and True

Page 8

Here’s a Reagent for testing Protein From a booklet attributed to Max Annis-Brown, Ten-terfield High School. “Recipes for Reagents, Stains and Media Used in Bi-ology” BIURET REAGENT Use: Test for Protein Preparation: Dissolve 3g of copper sulphate and 12g of potassium tartrate in 1 litre of distilled water. Add 600mL 10% sodium hydroxide with constant stirring. Method: Add reagent to solution to be tested (about 1:10). Purple indicates the presence of protein. This was in our lab method book 24 yrs ago when I first started working at Grammar. It works well. Wendy Cottee Sydney Grammar School

Film Canister Rockets Many of us have made film canister rockets

using Alka Seltzer tablets and water (expensive) or Bicarbonate Soda and vinegar

(smelly). Here is a new, simple recipe for “rocket fuel” that works really well in film

canister rockets. It’s simple! Equal parts of Bicarbonate Soda and Citric Acid…

Mix it together and add about 1/4 teaspoon into your film canister. A good squirt of water from a wash bottle, quickly add the lid, invert

the canister and stand back!!!!! Enjoy

Karen Mellenbergh Catherine McAuley-Westmead

9

NEW!

NEW!

Skylight

Scope Are you aware of the 'skylight scope'. This fits on

smart phones to take photos down a

microscope. A nifty new piece of technology! Also good for macro photography of insects,

plants etc. It is only available online

from www.skylightscope.com in the USA for

$95 including delivery. They are only a small

company that was "crowd funded" via the

internet. Check it out on youtube: www.youtube.com/

watch?v=d0w12dfBBbE

regards

Catherine Mullen

SAO Kogarah High (Science)

OH&S Committee

ASET Committee (Minutes Secretary)

95875815

Did you know

Good Web Sites

Resistor color code calculator

http://www.hobby-hour.com/electronics/resistorcalculator.php

Teacher resources to explain the science behind organ donations

http://riaus.org.au/

Simulated Electrical Circuits

http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/circuit-construction-kit-dc

Super Glue was invented by accident. The

researcher was trying to make optical coating

materials, and would test their properties by

putting them between two prisms and shining

light through them. When he tried the

cyano-acrylate, he couldn't get the prisms apart.

Found in the Pacific Ocean, the Mariana Trench is the deepest known point in the world’s oceans.

Did you know that

there are 206 bones in

the adult human body

and there are 300 in

children (as they grow

some of the bones

fuse together).

House flies

have a lifespan

of two weeks.

11

Experiment ‘Method’ Writing for Fairy Bread

Teachers Notes: - This demonstration experiment is done to teach the year 7 students

how to correctly write an experiment method. Students are asked to write the

‘METHOD’ for making Fairy Bread their books. These instructions are then read out to

the teacher, who follows them to the letter (which is quite funny to watch). It shows the

students that they need to give precise step by step instructions and that they need to

include all the amounts, equipment and ingredients when they are method writing. The

teacher will continue to perform this demonstration by following a few more students’

methods until they get it right. The students then get to eat a slice of fairy bread at the

end of the demonstration. They can then write up the whole experiment correctly.

Fairy Bread Making & Method Writing

Aim: To make Fairy Bread

Hypothesis: Will be able to make fairy bread by following the ‘METHOD’ in-

structions.

Risk: Allergies to food samples.

Equipment

2 x loaves of bread

2 x pkt. of 100s & 1000s

1 x 500g margarine

1 x butter knife

1 x pkt plastic/paper plates

1 x pkt. serviettes

1 x pkt disposable gloves

ASET ran a contest to all members for a chance to win two tickets to

MYTHBUSTERS

August 23, 2014 at 2pm

QANTAS CREDIT UNION ARENA SYDNEY

And WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!

Congratulations to

Dearne Stephen

for sharing the item below….

Corny Corner

Q: What do you call a tooth in a glass of water?

A: One molar solution.

Q: What is the show cesium and iodine love

watching together?

A: CSI

Scie

nce

hum

our

14

“Science

without

religion

is lame,

religion

without

science

is

blind.”

Albert

Einstein

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the

lifelong attempt to acquire it.”

― Albert Einstein

15

Periodic Table Puns

1. What you do in a play

2. What you do to a wrinkled shirt

3. “Tasty” part of your mouth

4. Someone who likes to start fires

5. Superman’s weakness

6. Your brother or mine

7. Extinct

8. Imitation diamond

9. A type of flower

10. Las Vegas lights

11. Police

12. Golden State 13. Name of a goofy convict

14. Mr. Mony's enemy

15. What you do to flowers

16. What you did to ripped jeans

17. A “prize” element

18. A very smart person

19. Person from the big blue planet

20. A fur seller

1. Not an exciting person

2. Thanksgiving guests

3. Get clean with this

4. Drive away in style in a

5. Does a body good

6. Proud to be an

7. Mickey’s pal

8. Warrior Princess

9. A nice guy

10. Someone who loves computers

11. The first person in a race has the

12. E = mc2

13. This man followed the yellow brick road

14. How to tell a secret

15. Monday night TV show

16. A phrase from Dr. Suess 17. What a doctor does to his patients

18. Part of a whole

19. Place for washing dishes

20. Drink in an Al can

21. Happens when you lasso a horse

22. What a dog does with a bone

23. A sinking ship

24. What a cloud does

Answers on Page 16

16

Periodic Table Puns Answer Key

Periodic Table Puns 1

1. What you do in a play - Actinium - Ac

2. What you do to a wrinkled shirt - Iron - Fe

3. “Tasty” part of your mouth - Tungsten - W

4. Someone who likes to start fires - Arsenic - As

5. Superman’s weakness - Krypton - Kr

6. Your brother or mine - Bromine - Br

7. Extinct - Argon - Ar

8. Imitation diamond - Zirconium - Zr

9. A type of flower - Germanium - Gr, Rhodium - Rh, or Gadolinium - Gd

10. Las Vegas lights - Neon - Ne

11. Police - Copper - Cu

12. Golden State - Californium - Cf

13. Name of a goofy convict - Silicon - Si

14. Mr. Mony's enemy - Antimony - Sb

15. What you do to flowers - Platinum - Pt

16. What you did to ripped jeans - Sodium - Na

17. A “prize” element - Nobelium - No

18. A very smart person - Einsteinium - Es

19. Person from the big blue planet - Neptunium - Np

20. A fur seller - Sulfur - S

Periodic Table Puns 2

1. Not an exciting person - Boron - B

2. Thanksgiving guests - Indium - In

3. Get clean with this - Chlorine - Cl

4. Drive away in style in a ____ - Neon - Ne or Mercury - Hg

5. Does a body good - Calcium - Ca or Iron - Fe

6. Proud to be an _____ - Americium - Am

7. Mickey’s pal - Plutonium - Pu

8. Warrior Princess - Xenon - Xe

9. A nice guy - Palladium, Pd or Samarium - Sm

10. Someone who loves computers - Technetium - Tc

11. The first person in a race has the ___ - Lead - Pb or Gold - Au

12. E = mc2 - Einsteinium - Es

13. This man followed the yellow brick road - Tin - Sn

14. How to tell a secret - Tellurium - Te

15. Monday night TV show - Nitrogen - N

16. A phrase from Dr. Suess- Samarium - Sm 17. What a doctor does to his patients - Curium - Cm, Helium - He, or Barium -

Ba

18. Part of a whole - Hafnium - Hf

19. Place for washing dishes - Zinc - Zn

20. Drink in an Al can - Sodium - Na

21. Happens when you lasso a horse - Europium - Eu

22. What a dog does with a bone - Barium - Ba

23. A sinking ship - Titanium - Ti

24. What a cloud does - Uranium - U

T. Trimpe 2000

17

Riddle 1 What is greater than God,

more evil than the devil,

the poor have it,

the rich need it,

and if you eat it, you'll die?

Riddle 2 Who makes it, has no need of it. Who buys it, has no use for it. Who uses it can neither see nor feel it. What is it?

Riddle 3

What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?

Riddle 4

What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?

Riddle 5

Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I?

Answers on page-18

RIDDLE ME

THIS?

18

Our new and improved

Website is now up and

running!

Visit

ASETNSW.ORG.AU

Check out our new features including our members section

and information about our

upcoming Professional

Development Day. This is a work in progress, so

we’d love your suggestions and

input. Please email our

webmaster at webmaster@asetnsw.org.au

Riddle answers from page 16

Riddle 1– Nothing

Riddle 2- Coffin

Riddle 3-A Palm

Riddle 4– A Stamp

Riddle 5-Forward I am ton, backwards I am not

19

Save This

Date!

PD/Conference

Proposed Workshops

15/16 September 2014

Sydney Grammar School

1 day – Members $50 Non-members $95 2 days – Members $85 Non-members $150

Chemical disposal

Chemwatch labelling – how to make your own labels

Curriculum changes for practicals/topics/resources

Data collection

Dissections

Don’t reinvent the wheel

Enzymes

Forensics

Gel electrophoresis

How to use your Physics equipment Keynote : Prof Bill Bellotti – Giving a broad view of food and agriculture; drawing links between food and agriculture, food and health, food and envi-

ronment.

Maintaining equipment

Microbiology

Nanotechnology

Preparing gases

Preserving specimens

Radioactive sources and how to store/dispose

Relevant and motivational technology for the Physics and Biology classroom

Risk Assessments

Rocks

ScienceASSIST

Setting up a Chemical Store Updates on Lab safety/audits/compliance – Breakout sessions per education

sector

Using GOOGLE apps

Using iPads in the Science Classroom

Virtual Practicals