Australian ECEC services get hands on for National Science Week

National Science Week is held from 12-20 August, and in 2023 the theme is ‘Innovation: powering future industries’. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services around Australia are getting hands-on with experiments, activities and events to celebrate. 

• Invite parents who are scientists or who work in science-related fields to share their knowledge with children. Encourage the parents to bring along safe objects for the children to look at and hold, or pictures of their work. 
• Have a science dress up day, providing families with ideas related to the children’s current interests. For example, dressing as an animal that comes from an egg (butterfly, spider, bird, dinosaur, fish); or wearing shapes or colours related to the weather (rainbows, clouds, rain, sunlight). 
• Invite children to do a simple science activity at home with their families. For example, mix vinegar and sodium bicarbonate from the kitchen cupboard, or look at the phases of the Moon.
• Decorate the service with science related images and invite children to add colour to printouts of the National Science Week colouring sheets.
• Explore objects and hands-on activities related to Indigenous science and technology, such as animal tracks, the seasons, and fish traps. The IndigiSTEM Activities Workbook and IndigiSTEM Educator Notes include 20 STEM activities that incorporate Indigenous perspectives.
• Invite families to assist their children to do a nature scavenger hunt.
• Include science-related books in daily reading and book displays. Seek advice from the Children’s Librarian at a local library or look at the Early Learning STEM Australia (ELSA) booklist.