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Basketball, fireworks, kung fu, Batman, coffee and Aboriginal culture have all helped to give Year 7 students at Maylands Peninsula Primary School a new insight to science.
The students worked with Science Communication PhD student, Muza Gondwe, to learn how to film, edit, and share stories about their cultures and their understanding of science.

‘He really enjoyed this. [He] could not stop talking about this project when he came home. It’s his first
time to make a film. He has never used a camera or thought about science in this way.’ [Student’s mother during the screening of a film produced as part of Muza’s project].

Through her project, Muza is raising awareness of the multicultural roots of science and engaging a wide range of students in science through filmmaking.

Her filmmaking program runs over three weeks during which students learn camera skills, editing and storyboarding. At the end of the program, students are awarded certificates at a screening of their films.

Muza’s research with three groups of students from Port Hedland, Malawi and Maylands suggests that filmmaking offers an enjoyable opportunity for students to showcase their culture as well as enable them to research and explore science.

The project is one of three being conducted by PhD students involved in the Science Education Enrichment (SEE) Project, an ARC Linkage Project that involves partners from UWA, Curtin University, the Gravity Discovery Centre (GDC) and the Graham “Polly” Farmer Foundation.

Researchers in the SEE Project are investigating the effectiveness of specialised science enrichment programs delivered through the GDC in influencing students’ attitudes to science, learning and engagement. They are also surveying teachers about their confidence and self-efficacy before and after excursions to the GDC.

The GDC is located 80 km north of Perth in Gingin. It is an informal science learning centre that focuses on modern physics, astronomy and biodiversity.

The GDC’s cosmology gallery offers a unique space in which students can engage in discussions about science and culture. The gallery houses multicultural artwork that depicts the beliefs of Hindu, Christian, Indigenous and Islamic faiths; astronomical photographs; and a timeline presenting the scientific story of the creation of the universe.