|
W.
B. Yeats, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923, once said,
‘Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.’
It is providing this ‘spark’ that the MUPPETS program is all about;
building a foundation for further interest in young students about
science.
‘MUPPETS’ is the
Melbourne University Physics
Promotional, Education and Teaching Services , and has been running
from the School of Physics in various forms since 1984. Originally a
concept developed by Ken Amos in the School of Physics, it is now run
by physics academics Roger Rassool and Max Thompson. However, the
organisation and running of the program is predominantly voluntary.
WARP is the name of our
International Physics and Laser Show. Behind the scenes are a team of
about 20 people comprising staff, postgraduate and
undergraduate students from the School of Physics, many of whom have
had no experience in lighting, theatre, sound production or script
writing; but who are excited by science, are enthusiastic and learn
very quickly!
The
schools program consists of the WARP team visiting schools and
presenting a science show of carefully
selected demonstrations of basic physics phenomena. As well as the
science show, our physics staff and students assist in hands-on
activies with the school-children, building take-home instruments such
as telescopes, perioscopes and spectroscopes. All activities and shows
are provided free of charge, including all the take-home instruments!
We aim not only to excite students with the program,
but also the teachers, and provide them with new ideas for primary
level science activies. Another of our goals is to provide
these experiences to all school children regardless of geographic
isolation or socio-economic background. For these reasons, the MUPPETS
program is entirely free and a travelling show. We have recently
travelled across outback NSW and in regional Victoria and are looking into options for the
Northern Territory in years to come.
|
About Us 
