Curriculum strand
Chemical Sciences Incursions
Materials, mixtures, states of matter and chemical change. Incursions covering the Chemical Sciences strand of the Victorian Curriculum 2.0, from Foundation through to Year 6.
$490 + GST per session, flat. No per-student fees. Bookings have a 2-session minimum.
What the Chemical Sciences strand actually covers
Chemical Sciences is the strand about what things are made of and how they change. It starts with sorting and grouping materials by their properties and working out why one material suits a purpose better than another. It moves into separating mixtures, including pulling materials apart with a magnet, and finding out that some changes, such as baking soda and vinegar, cannot easily be reversed.
In the middle years students link a material's properties to its uses and weigh up the environmental and social implications of choosing it. They find everyday examples of change of state and handle substances that behave as both solid and liquid, such as semisolids and gels. By Year 5 and 6 they investigate states of matter with super-absorbent polymers and use precise vocabulary to compare physical change with chemical change.
This is the strand schools most often tell us they avoid, usually because of the consumables, the clean-up and the confidence required to run a reaction in front of thirty students. We bring every consumable, run the session and take the mess away with us.
The programs below span three year bands. Each program page lists the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 content descriptions the session addresses.
Curriculum coverage
The distinct Victorian Curriculum v2.0 content descriptions addressed across the programs on this page.
- VC2S2U04Core
Objects are made of materials that have observable properties able to be described using the senses. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2S2U05Core
Materials can be combined, and mixtures can have properties that are different from their original materials. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2S4U04Core
Solids, liquids and gases have different observable properties, and adding or removing heat can cause a substance to change state. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2S6U04Core
Changes to materials can be reversible, such as melting or freezing, or irreversible, such as burning, and new substances can be formed in a chemical change. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2S2I03Core
Guided investigations, including making observations using the senses and informal measurement, can be used to explore and answer questions. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2S2I04Core
Data and information can be sorted and ordered using provided tables and simple representations to reveal patterns. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2S4U05Core
Natural and processed materials have a range of physical properties that influence how they are used and re used. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2S4I01Core
Observations can be used to pose questions and make predictions to guide an investigation. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2S4I03Core
Formal measurements, including the use of familiar scaled instruments, can be made and recorded to represent and compare data. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2S6I02Core
Investigations can be planned and conducted to test relationships and identify patterns, including fair tests where variables are changed, measured and controlled. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2S2U11Related
Pushes and pulls can change the speed, direction or shape of an object, and vary in strength and direction. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2S4U10Related
Contact forces and non-contact forces, including friction, gravity, magnetism and static electricity, can be exerted between objects and affect their motion. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2TDE2C01Related
Explain how technologies, including force and motion, affect the way products and systems move. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2TDE2C04Related
Identify how the characteristics and properties of materials and components affect the design of solutions. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2S4H02Related
Science knowledge, and the processes used to develop it, are used to meet a need or to solve a problem that directly affects people's lives. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2TDE4C04Related
Explain how the properties of materials affect their use in designed solutions. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2S6H02Related
Scientific knowledge, skills and data can be used by individuals and communities to identify problems, consider responses and make decisions. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2S6I05Related
Investigations, including their methods and findings, can be evaluated, including by identifying possible sources of error and drawing conclusions. View on VCAA ↗
6 programs in this group
Chemical Sciences
Christmas SciTech
Students grow a crystal Christmas tree, mould a bouncy snowball, unmask mystery liquids with a colour-change indicator, make instant snow, launch Santa's sleigh and build a snowball catapult to take home.
Chemical Sciences
Materials & Mixing
Students identify mystery liquids, trigger a chemical reaction, transform a powder into instant snow, use a colour-change indicator, and separate iron filings from sand with a magnet.
Chemical Sciences
Wonderful World of Materials
Students sort and test everyday objects for magnetism, bounciness and waterproofing, discover that magnetic force passes through barriers, and build a friction-powered spinning top from paddle pop sticks and elastic bands.
Chemical Sciences
Natural & Processed Materials
Students sort real specimens by origin, process gelatine into bioplastic, test elasticity and shape memory in nitinol wire, and examine absorbency under digital microscopes.
Chemical Sciences
States of Matter
Students identify mystery matter in sealed balloons, grow crystals, compare liquid viscosities, watch gallium melt at body temperature, and make their own polymer bouncy balls.
Chemical Sciences
Reactive Chemistry
Students investigate reversible and irreversible chemical change through real reactions: a polymer reversal, a sealed reaction bag and a teacher-led Elephant's Toothpaste demonstration.
Common questions
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Get a quote for Chemical Sciences incursions
Tell us your year levels and the term you're planning for. We'll confirm availability and send a quote — no per-student fees, no surprises.
Limited dates each term — one facilitator, one school per day.