Mighty Microbes kit - House of Science. Launched October 2021
Mighty Microbes kit - House of Science. Launched October 2021
Horowhenua's House of Science (HoS) has a sponsor for the next three years: the MacDiarmid Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, which is House of Science's national sponsor.
Last week this fact was celebrated at Massey University together with the launch of its latest kit "Might Microbes," sponsored by the New Zealand Microbiological Society.
House of Science founder Chris Duggan introduces the Mighty Microbes.
Many members of this society are based at Massey University in Palmerston North and the MacDiarmid Institute helped develop this particular kit. Horowhenua is the first branch to have the kit available to schools.
The Horowhenua branch is also no longer a separate charitable trust. It is now a fully fledged member of HoS.
A number of local teachers were given the opportunity to explore the kit, which was designed by a medical microbiologist. The teachers put together jigsaw puzzles, matched questions with answers, and tested the sneeze zone, which showed how a mask or a handkerchief could limit the spread of particles from a sneeze.
They also went through an exercise showing how microbes are hidden on your hand and had to wash them off with soap, hoping to get that right first time.
The sneeze zone: How far do particles go....
House of Science.
The House of Science kits are all about giving it a go. Any teacher can use them, you do not need to be a scientist, just have an interest in. "No scientist has all the answers," someone said. "Science is about asking questions." The kits come with all materials required and with full instructions.
While microbiology is new to primary school-aged children, in Year 11 at high school you can study microbiology. Just in case you are wondering: a microbe is something you can only see with a microscope. The kit helps visualise the world of microbes, one of the first living things on Earth.
There are five types of microbes, including bacteria, viruses and fungi. Microbes are good for us. Many live in our gut and keep us healthy.
The new kit comes with a teacher guide which has been kept to six pages. "We provide bite-size information," said Chris Duggan, founder of House of Science, who came down from Tauranga for the launch. She quit her job as head of science at a Tauranga school to bring science to primary schools.
Microbes revealed on your hands.
To her House of Science is about normalising science as well as te reo as all kits come in English and Māori. To date 61 Kura Kaupapa Māori are part of House of Science.
She started House of Science eight years ago and now has 20 staff and works in 13 regions with 500 schools around the country. House of Science now has 16 branches and has 661 kits (39 topics) available. "Three hundred go out each week. About 10,000 children benefit from them."
Though it is called the Horowhenua branch, co-ordinator Denise Keen's territory runs between Porirua and Manawatū.
The MacDiarmid Institute is into developing new materials that can help with climate change and zero waste and often holds summer camps for Māori and Pasifika children and offers scholarships to university students.
Its members work at most universities in the country and enjoy the collaborative nature of their network, said Massey's associate professor of chemistry Mark Waterland, who attended the launch.
A jigsaw puzzle is part of the Mighty Microbes Kit of House of Science.
Co-ordinator Denise Keen said her Palmerston North branch is looking for volunteers who can spend a day a week collecting and delivering kits, while in between restocking them, so they are ready for use.
Contact Denise: 027 200 3261 or denise.keen@houseofscience.nz
