Great Scot September 2018 Gt Scot_154_September_online

News EUROPE SCIENCE TOUR: YOUNG MINDS EXPOSED TO SCIENCE AND CULTURE TOP: BOYS AT THE THAMES EMBANKMENT, LONDON MIDDLE: CERN LABORATORY, GENEVA BOTTOM: GENEVA, BOTANICAL GARDENS In the Term 2 holidays a group of 13 boys spanning Years 8 to 10, accompanied by two teachers, flew from Melbourne’s winter into Europe’s surprisingly blissful summer. The tour visited four countries – England, France, Switzerland and Germany. Starting our tour in London, we visited the Science Museum, the Natural History museum, the Greenwich Observatory and the Faraday Museum, along with Buckingham Palace, the Shard, and the Thames Barrier. Our visit to the University of Cambridge was one of the highlights of the trip. As we walked along the narrow cobblestone paths of the historic city, we could only look in awe at the centuries-old buildings whose alumni include an impressive 90 Nobel prize winners, and famous scientists like Stephen Hawking, Jane Goodall, Francis Bacon, Charles Darwin, and of course, Sir Isaac Newton. The university has nine museums and collections, which are open to the public throughout the year. We visited the Zoology Museum, one of Cambridge’s major attractions. The galleries showcase the diversity of animal life, from marsupials to monkeys, mammoths to manatees. We discovered there stories of extinction, survival, evolution and exploration. Our visit to Paris was short but memorable. We visited the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre. Less known to tourists, but of enormous interest to us, was the Cite de Science (the Science and Industry Museum), the largest science museum in Europe, which houses an enormous collection of exhibitions devoted to all the sciences – from space exploration and engineering to anatomy and geology. Switzerland was undoubtedly the most scenic place we visited, with its lush mountain vistas to its clear lakes, and the boys thoroughly enjoyed their time sightseeing in Geneva. Visiting the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) was easily the most engaging experience. The day consisted of a classroom experiment using cloud chambers to identify different particles, which was taught by a fellow Australian scientist. Later in the day we took a tour around CERN, which included seeing the Large Hardon Collider; the world’s biggest particle accelerator and Project AMS; a co-venture between CERN and NASA in the effort to detect dark matter in space. The other main attraction in Geneva was visiting the United Nations, where we took a tour of the Palace of Nations and learned how the UN runs and how it maintains global peace and prosperity. We ended our tour in the Bavarian city of Munich, a bustling town entrenched with culture. We also visited the Dachau Concentration Camp, where we learned about the atrocities that were committed in World War II. We ended our time in Munich visiting BMW Welt, where we experienced Germany’s renowned automobile industry. Overall, this trip has exposed our young minds to the rich science and culture from across countries in Europe, and I know that we will all cherish these memories for years to come. Our thanks go to Dr Bhargava who has been planning this trip for the last year, and to Ms Cardwell and Mr Patel, for their diligent organisation and supervision during this unforgettable trip. NEEL PAWAR – YEAR 10 30 Great Scot Number 154 – September 2018

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