On Tuesday 13^th June we went Behind the Scenes at The House of Science on Grey Street. On arrival we were greeted to a bubbling cauldron of orange juice – a party trick many of us may try in future created simply by adding dry ice to juice. Once everyone had a drink in hand and a few canapés to eat, Chris Duggan, House of Science CEO shared with us what she has achieved in the last 3 years since she first began her mission to bring science into the Primary School Curriculum.

Now over 75% of Western Bay Primary Schools are enrolled in the program and this year it is rolling out nationwide. A mere $300 per year entitles a school to one “science resource box” per week. The boxes can differ each week and are delivered out to the school on a Monday morning and picked up on Friday. They are packed with everything a teacher needs to conduct a science lesson on a particular topic. They include instruction manuals in English and Te Reo and all the resources required including basics like scissors and sellotape. Each box is sponsored by an organization and the House of Science needs to get more sponsors on board to meet the demand for the resource boxes.

As well as the resource boxes The House of Science also offers Professional Development for teaching staff as well as after school and holiday programmes for children.

As well as increasing our understanding of the House of Science and how it operates, at the end of the evening we were given an opportunity to improve our own science understanding. In the classroom down stairs Chris and her colleagues had set up a few science activities for us to get some hands on experience with.

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