1-31 Mar	Melanoma March www.melanoma.org.nz/news-events/recent-news
1-31 Mar	Hearing Awareness Month https://www.nfd.org.nz/hearing-awareness-month2020
1-31 Mar	Whio Awareness month https://www.doc.govt.nz/whioforever
3 Mar	World wildlife Day http://wildlifeday.org/
3 Mar	World Hearing day https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-hearing-day
4 Mar	World Engineering day https://worldengineeringday.net/
4-12 Mar	Sea week http://seaweek.org.nz/
8-11 Mar	Ak ASB Polyfest www.asbpolyfest.co.nz
9 Mar	World Kidney Day www.kidneys.co.nz
10 Mar	Deadline to apply for Otago Participatory Science Platform funding.
13-19 Mar	Brain Awareness Week www.neurological.org.nz
Moon	1Q Feb 27      FM Mar 8      3Q Mar 15      NM Mar 22

1. Sea week:
   • The NZ Seashore Guide by Sally Carson & Rod Morris is $39.99 for schools ordering online with the code SCHOOL https://www.pottonandburton.co.nz . Download a Teachers’ Guide too.
   • Pūkorokoro Shorebird Centre, Miranda open day Sun 12 March. High tide 11:24am.
2. Prof Anita Wreford speaks about what climate change means for agriculture in Aotearoa. 15 March 4-5:30 pm at Lincoln uni. https://bit.ly/3Z4BzU5
3. The 1^st NZ bug of the year 2023 is Ngaro Huruhuru Native Bee, Leioproctus fulvescens.
4. Physikos & NZIP conference 3-5 July Massey Uni Albany Campus. Early bird deadline 19 May. Abstracts by 31 March. Reg opens this week. Physikos flyer
   

Info

1. Mātauranga Māori
   • A video clip explaining kaitiakitanga https://youtu.be/BTTN_V5ZcBc
2. Student opportunities:
   • Innovative Young Minds offer 2 exciting programme options for young women in years 11 and 12. Applications close 15 March
     • Online: 17 – 21 April. Five half-day sessions, limited to 100 students. Find out more here.
     • Residential: 3 – 8 July. Limited to 40 students from lower N Island. Find out more here.
   • Women in Engineering is hosting a free, 3-day camp at Ak Uni during the Easter hols, 19-21 April. For females in Year 11, interested in science and maths, bright, creative, problem solvers, team players and future leaders. Registrations close on 1 March. Info here.
   • ANZCCART’s essay competition (aligns closely with the standard requirements for B3.2) is now open with the topic of animal testing resources. $100 prize. Deadline 29 Aug
   • Young Kiwi explorers (aged 18-22) are invited to apply to join a trip to South Georgia, Antarctica by 19 Mar https://inspiringexplorers.co.nz/

Resources

1. Biology:
   • Poster of rimurimu seaweed https://www.loverimurimu.org/s/Wellingtons-Seaweed-Guide-LoveRimurimu.pdf
   • A paper on the human hand https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajpa.24667
2. Agricultural and Horticultural Science:
   • Growing plants at elevated CO₂ leads to lower protein content in most staple crops. How do we identify genotypes that will maintain protein levels in our warming world? Research paper.
   • Lincoln Uni have made some resources for students – on Oenology and Viticulture and on sustainability of dairy farm management practices
3. Earth & Space Science:
   • a unit on light pollution https://www.seethedark.org/resources
   • Activity making weather vanes and collecting data over time to learn about global, prevailing, and local winds. https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_earth_lesson04_activity1
4.  Chemistry:
   • activities to explore the water cycle https://www.scienceinschool.org/article/2021/watery-world-hands-on-experiments/
   • PhET’s Build an Atom simulation to help students understand atomic number, mass number and charge https://view.genial.ly/6116d02db4ea040dccc242ab
5. Physics:
   • Students explore liquid crystal thermometers https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/uot-2420-liquid-crystal-thermometers-design
   • NASA on the science of sound in the context of a quiet supersonic aircraft https://www.nasa.gov/specials/Quesst/
6. Primary & intermediate:
   • Dr Universe answers science questions from yr 1-8 students https://askdruniverse.wsu.edu/
   • Heat, rocket and boat investigations around the theme of the Titanic https://pstt.org.uk/resources/curriculum-materials/Titanic-Investigations
7.  Science:
   • An infographic about the history of Atomic Theory https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=534966731965822&set=gm.2097884223746723&idorvanity=454808828054279
   • A UK resource highlighting science inventions from Eastern cultures https://www.1001inventions.com/
8. Education for Sustainability (EfS):
   • 20 min Video: How the greenhouse effect really works, at a senior level. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqu5DjzOBF8
   • EE in Focus is an American monthly newsletter – you can sign up for free https://www.neefusa.org/education/eeweek

MoE/NZQA

1. NZASE asked MoE about the progress of the new L1 standards. MoE said they expect most of the 2023 versions to be published on the NCEA website in MarchP, while ES1.4, SCI1.4 & CB1.3 will be published in early April. As these new standards draw on the same Significant Learning, teachers can use the 2022 versions currently on ncea.edu for planning purposes only, but with confidence.

Can You Help?

1. Vote for House of Science on One Good Kiwi so they are in for a share of the $100,000 prize. Go to the website or download the app. You’ll be given 10 coin tokens to flick to your charity.

Technicians

1. Tea bags can be useful for showing convection currents, e.g. here. But manufacturers change their formulations. This year Dilma tea bags do not work, try Pam’s classic tea bags, packet of 100.
2. SciPAD technician notes are available here https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ndv24kpyf8udgdz/AAA6fE0ysAG3ib13dTv5-dAta?dl=0

Cheers, Mike

Mike’s News is brought to you with the generous support of Warp Computers