Funding announced for gala celebration

Funding announced for gala celebration of light and interactive playground

Three public outreach science projects funded through the new ‘Unlocking Curious Minds’ fund will be hard to miss for anyone in Auckland over the summer.

Three public outreach science projects funded through the new ‘Unlocking Curious Minds’ fund will be hard to miss for anyone in Auckland over the summer.

University of Auckland Associate Professor Cather Simpson, from the Department of Physics and School of Chemical Sciences, is awarded $134,464 for the Illuminating New Zealand project which celebrates 2015 as the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies.

Working in collaboration with museums, Dr Simpson’s project is aimed at increasing New Zealanders’ awareness of photonics – the science and technology of light.

“The science and technology of light is set to revolutionise our lives in the 21st Century so it’s important that we as scientists engage with the community to increase New Zealanders’ understanding of its importance,” she says.

The project includes two gala events featuring demonstrations by leading researchers and including hands-on science experiments for children and their families with talks by top science teachers and communicators.

The project is supported by the University of Auckland, the Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies and New Zealand museums, particularly the Otago Museum in Dunedin.

Also awarded $20,000 in funding is an ‘Interactive Playground’ by Dr Frederique Vanholsbeeck and Professional Teaching Fellow Anna Yang of the University of Auckland’s Department of Physics. The project is in collaboration with Auckland Live and AUT University and supported by the Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies. It includes an education programme and public workshops aimed at attracting community groups which traditionally have a low level of science participation.

The Playground will be installed at Auckland’s Aotea Square during Summer in the Square in December.

A project aimed at engaging Māori and Pacific students from South Auckland schools in mathematics receives $19,700 in funding. University of Auckland Associate Professor Caroline Yoon, PhD student John Moala and a team from the Department of Mathematics will work with students from low-decile South Auckland schools to develop mathematical modelling activities of relevance to their communities in the project entitled COSMIC: Community Owned Stories of Mathematical Innovation and Curiosity.

The project also aims at creating better awareness among university lecturers and tutors about the unique mathematical needs of Māori and Pacific students from low-decile South Auckland secondary schools.

ENDS

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