Day 3 kicked off with an excited group of teachers heading to the first excursion of the trip – Parliament House. Many in the group had not visited Parliament before, and we were all fascinated by the amazing architecture and the stories behind some of the materials used in the building.

Rick, Andrew and Marissa from the Parliamentary Education Office then entertained us with some Parliamentary role plays, where we all had the opportunity to be part of a senate committee meeting on water recycling. These role plays were upbeat and educational, and will be great to adapt and bring back to the science classroom. We also had the opportunity to visit the House of Representatives, the Senate, and to tour the chambers.

Following lunch at Ursula Hall, we had an impressive lecture from Professor Brian Schmidt – Nobel Laureate – on Astrophysics. It was fantastic to be in the company of a Nobel Prize recipient, and he delivered his lecture in an engaging manner which was great for those of us not that familiar with his area of expertise.

The afternoon consisted of a lab session with Associate Professor Geoff Salem. Here we took part in a hands-on Chemistry prac preparing inorganic complexes and investigating their composition. This prac was both challenging and intriguing, as we refreshed our skills in redox titrations.

We hurried back to Ursies to get ready for the National Youth Science Forum formal dinner at the A.I.S Arena. Hair straighteners and high heels were put to use, and I think we scrub up quite nicely! We shared tables with NYSF students and other science industry professionals. The guest speaker Professor Veena Sahajwalla spoke about her Science 50:50 program, for inspiring young women into science to attain equal numbers of men and women in research. Veena then led a panel with science researchers and educators, where the issue of women in science was discussed, and ourselves and the students had the opportunity to ask the panel questions and get their insights. Tonight’s dinner was inspiring and really consolidated why we are taking the career path that we are. Our friendly bus driver Ian picked us up and took back to Ursies after 11 and we were all well and truly ready for bed.

Another jam packed day tomorrow. Remember to keep following on Twitter and Facebook – good night from us!

Gabby, Gemma & Mel. ​