Natural Disasters

  • Level: Year 3 to Year 6
  • Duration: 60 or 90 minutes (90 minutes recommended)
  • Numbers: Maximum of 30 students per workshop
  • State: VIC & NSW
  • Price
    60 min: $450
    90 min: $560

Travel surcharge also applies based on location
Prices exclude GST

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Curriculum Links

Victoria New South Wales Australia

Explore the science behind nature’s most powerful forces. Investigate how tornadoes, earthquakes, blizzards, and volcanoes form, then apply your understanding by designing and testing an earthquake-proof building.

Activities

  • Discussion of the types of natural disasters and their effects, with a focus on the natural disasters that affect us locally in Australia.
  • Demonstration of the Earth spinning on its axis to cause day and night, and how this affects the atmosphere, climate, and weather, including extreme weather.
  • Exciting demonstration of convection currents in air.
  • Students create a blizzard and erupt a flurry of snow powder.
  • Students create a tornado in a bottle.
  • Slinky demonstration of earthquake seismic waves.
  • Students build houses using spaghetti and play dough, then test their designs against an earthquake.
  • Students create a chemical volcanic eruption.

90 minute workshops also include these activities (time permitting):

  • Cloud in a bottle demonstration.
  • Tsunami demonstration.

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand what a natural disaster is and the effects natural disasters can have.
  • Be aware of natural disasters that affect Australia locally, as well as those occurring around the world.
  • Extreme weather is the cause of many natural disasters.
  • The Earth’s rotation on its axis causes regular changes, including day and night, the seasons, climate and weather.
  • Understand how convection currents can cause cyclones and tornadoes.
  • Understand the formation of hail and snow in blizzards and storms.
  • Understand what causes earthquakes and how they spread.
  • Consider how building design is affected by earthquakes.
  • Understand what causes a volcanic eruption.
  • Explore how scientific understanding can assist in natural disaster management to minimise both short- and long-term effects, including early warning systems such as a 60-second warning.

Victorian Curriculum Links

  • Data from observations obtained through scientific inquiry can be used to develop explanations of natural phenomena VC2S4H01
  • Scientific knowledge, skills and data can be used by individuals and communities to identify problems, consider responses and make decisions VC2S6H02
  • Habitats can be described by their physical conditions; changing the physical conditions of a habitat, including by human activity, may affect the growth and survival of organisms VC2S6U01
  • The properties of natural and made materials, including fibres, metals, glass and plastics, influence their use and re-use VC2S4U05
  • Weather events and climate have impacts on the land, air, water and living things; human activity can affect climate VC2S4U08
  • Sudden geological changes or extreme weather conditions can affect Earth’s surface and atmosphere; the impacts of natural hazards, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, wildfires and floods, can be reduced by human actions and technological innovations VC2S6U06
NSW Curriculum Links
  • Recognises observable changes occurring in the sky and on the land and identifies Earth’s resources (ST1-10ES-S)
  • Investigates regular changes caused by interactions between the Earth and the Sun, and changes to the Earth’s surface (ST2-10ES-S)
  • Explains regular events in the solar system and geological events on the Earth’s surface (ST3-10ES-S)
  • Selects and uses materials, tools and equipment to develop solutions for a need or opportunity (ST2-2DP-T)
Australian Curriculum Links
  • Scientific understandings, discoveries and inventions are used to inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE083)
  • Earth’s rotation on its axis causes regular changes, including night and day (ACSSU048)
  • Sudden geological changes or extreme weather conditions can affect Earth’s surface (ACSSU096)
  • Earth’s surface changes over time as a result of natural processes and human activity (ACSSU075)
  • Compare results with predictions, suggesting possible reasons for findings (ACSIS216)