On the 25th of November, 2021, our Year 7 and 8 ALP went on an excursion to QUT (Queensland University of Technology). This was an opportunity for myself, and many other students to learn about rockets and programming, and to participate in an art activity.

Everyone was transported in a bus, and traveled to Brisbane. After we got off the hour-long bus ride, we met our ambassadors, who included professors in Math, chemistry, robot and medical engineering and much more. These ambassadors would be guiding us through our activities.

The excursion had two activities, so we were split into two groups, and my group’s first activity included programming of rockets. We were first split into teams of 4. Then we were given a scenario for us to investigate - scientists designing rockets for NASA to reach the highest altitude possible. But, building rockets is not easy so we had to learn the basics of rocket science.

The basics included the Isaac Newton’s laws of motion, thrust, exhaust gas motion, fuel and empty mass. We started experimenting with other rockets including gliders, ISS, Apollo 11 rockets.

Next we starting programming and experimenting with the programmed QUT rocket in our groups to see what is most effective tool to launch our rocket the furthest up. With all the experiments completed, we finally started creating the perfect rocket to reach the highest altitude, but we had had some restrictions including, only 0-50,000N for the thrust, 200-500KG of empty mass but infinite fuel mass.

We designed our rocket for 10 minutes then compared the final results with Aidan’s Team coming in on top with 11.75KM in the sky, which was remarkable since 2nd place was only 7.08KM, and with the rankings settled we went back for lunch and got ready for our next activity, Art meets Science. Once we finished the rocket coding class, we all met back up to have lunch near the food court.

All students were allowed to buy lunch using their own money, or eat their own lunch. Everyone discussed what had happened in their classes, and exchanged thoughts. After half an hour, myself and group 2 went into the building, P block, for a tour.

There was an art exhibit that we got to discuss and examine. We then went up a few levels and met our new mentors. They were really friendly, and we sat down at tables in front of giant computer screens. They introduced themselves, and explained what we were going to do. They then projected photos from scientists from the University, who wanted to show their focus of studies. We guessed what we thought they were, and we were very surprised.

A rat's knee bone, a crystal, and an organic banana from and agriculture historian. We then talked about beautiful statues and chandeliers that were created to show the amount of nuclear power in each country. We made votes and discussed our opinions; we all thought it was great because we got to show and provide evidence of our options. We then researched the Fukushima explosion, and the Chernobyl disaster.

We created posters, 3D models, and presentations. We were given the option to be creative, and everyone really was. Cutting out magazines, rolling and twisting paper to make towers, and researching facts was all great fun.

Sadly, after a couple hours, it was time to leave. On the way, we had the chance to play some fun video games on a giant screen wall.

This section of the day was amazing as it was a social and group-bonding time.

Myself and many other enjoyed themselves greatly on the excursion. Jenny Klintukh stated that “This was an awesome day, and I really enjoyed it! It was definitely one of the best excursions I’ve ever been to”.

By Lachlan Potts and Jenny Klintukh