News Archive

Open Day is always the happiest day on the Crawley campus, with about 1,000 staff and students putting the University on show.

This year was not as busy as last year, but that was to be expected, in the year following our much-publicised Centenary extravaganza, coupled with the half-cohort from high schools, which meant half the usual number of year 12 students contemplating their futures.

The weather was great, there were no major incidents or hitches, and all the workers and volunteers seemed genuinely happy to be at work on a Sunday.

One organiser reported the beautiful sight of the full moon over Winthrop Hall as she arrived for the day. She saw the same picture 13 hours later, as she left to go home.

All the visitors seemed to have a great time.  We have reports of parents unable to drag their children away from the Physics display where students were freezing fruit, flowers and balloons with liquid nitrogen, then smashing them with a hammer.

We heard about a nine-year-old girl who completed almost flawless keyhole surgery in a simulator at the Medicine display.

Adults and teenagers seemed just as keen as children on getting a balloon to take home.

"I'd better study harder so I can get the marks to come here" and "I didn't know this campus was so beautiful" and variations on these quotes were heard throughout the day.

The red T-shirted student volunteers at the Help Points smiled tirelessly all day, turning confusion into relief.

And the turquoise T-shirted staff were led colourfully by the Vice-Chancellor, who wore matching turquoise socks and jacket.

For those of you who missed out, you can catch some of the atmosphere with photos posted on Instagram at #UWAOpenDay.