See tomorrow’s scientists in battle today

To reign as the national champions of the Science and Engineering Challenge, one of eight schools will have to excel today at a whole lot of different competitive tasks. Will they be designing and building the most rugged Martian Rover, the strongest and lightest bridge, the furthest reaching catapult, the most manoeuvrable airship, or something even more challenging? The precise line-up of activities is a closely guarded secret – but only for another hour or so, when the national finals begin in Geelong.

Right now, the finalists are limbering up their prefrontal cortices in preparation for battle – and this year, you can watch the competition in real-time. Tune into the Live Video Webcast at 9.20 am (Australian Eastern Daylight Savings time) for the introduction, and 2 pm for the nail-biting grand finale.

The Science and Engineering Challenge is a program run from the University of Newcastle with support from Australian Rotary Districts and other sponsors. It aims to show school students that science and engineering are about creativity, problem solving and team work – and it has been shown to encourage students to continue with studies in science and mathematics.

CSIRO Energy Technology has often been a proud supporter of our local events and we wish the competitors well in this year’s final. Go teams!