“At Lidcombe Public School, we have an outstanding student body they is very creative and respond to projects like this very well,” Principal Matt Lewis said.
The education unit provides 210 Stage 3 students (Years 5 and 6) with advice from experts studying in the field of astronomy, physics and lighting design.
The students also receive entry into the 2019 Dark Sky competition to win prizes and funding for their school.
Through the unit, students worked towards the solution to a driving question: How can we contribute to maintaining the Critical Light Threshold at the Siding Spring Observatory by helping our community take specific steps to reduce light pollution?
Students presented their ideas using different platform such as diorama, website, 3D printing, building circuits, coding, music video, Apps such as Green Screen, Ozobot interactive presentation and online video editors such as Moovly and iMovie.
The winner and runner up of this project will visit Siding Spring Observatory in August.
Lidcombe Public student Jackson Rennie said: “What I would do differently at home is turn off any unnecessary light that may be creating light trespassing.”
Student Shalona Acharya said: “My highlight for this project was conducting interviews and analysing data for my group especially because I got to dress up and act like a real reporter.”
Principal Lewis said: “I think this experience is one of the school events that they will remember for the rest of their lives.”
Shine light on pollution
HELPING Lidcombe Public School students make real world connections, ‘Dark Sky’ is a collaborative project between the Department of Planning and Environment and Dubbo School for Distance Education to build awareness about the impact of light pollution and the importance of maintaining a dark night sky.
