Last Year in science, several of our Year 9 students had the opportunity to complete independent research projects as part of a CREST program run by the CSIRO. This program is designed to encourage Creativity in Research in Engineering, Science, and Technology. The chosen topics were diverse, ranging from investigations into the relationships between leaf texture and water loss to exploring whether the bounce height of a tennis ball is temperature-dependent. Additionally, some students delved into an investigation testing and supporting the ‘Five-second rule.’ All 19 participants in the program demonstrated creativity and perseverance, applying their existing knowledge and understanding of the scientific method to research topics of interest. Congratulations to all 19 students who achieved their Bronze CREST awards.
Year 9 student Freya shared her experience participating in this program.
The CREST project has been an intriguing scientific journey for me. At the start, I was a bit bewildered, but as I made progress, I learned a lot about applying my existing science knowledge to conduct a real experiment.
My CREST Project aimed to test the myth of the 5-second rule regarding dropped food on the floor, using cheese slices. The experiment involved dropping cheese on a tiled floor for 5, 10, and 15 seconds, and swabbing them onto agar plates. I captured images of each plate on Day 1, 4, and 5, utilizing ImageJ processing software to accurately count bacterial colonies. In conclusion, regardless of how long food is on the floor, it will pick up bacteria, but not always harmful ones. Surprisingly, after 5 days, agar plates with bacteria from cheese dropped for 10 seconds picked up the most bacteria.
I explored the CREST website, received support from my science teacher, and highly recommend participating in the CREST Project. The project taught me to apply curiosity, use my imagination and independence in choosing a topic, and we have the best science labs! Some students explored science experiments in sports and aspects of the natural environment. I was delighted that my efforts were recognised with a Bronze Award, and it was a greatly enjoyable experience!
