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.
Year 3–4
90 min
up to 30 students
$490 + GST
What students will do
Working as a group, students classify a tub of real specimens into an animal, plant and mineral matrix, sorting raw materials from their processed equivalents. They then process gelatine powder into a flexible plastic using hot water poured by the facilitator. Rotating stations let students compare materials for flexibility, elasticity and hardness using metal pipe, wire, eraser, rubber and plastic samples; test happy and sad balls that behave oppositely under impact; and use tongs to bend nitinol wire, watching it return to its programmed shape in hot water. An absorbency station with a dropper bottle and digital microscopes compares cotton, sponge, microfibre, Gore-Tex, paper and plastic at magnification. A ferrofluid demonstration closes the session.
Learning outcomes
- Classify materials by origin, animal, plant or mineral, and by whether they are raw or processed
- Describe how processing changes a raw material's physical properties and possible uses, using gelatine turned into a flexible film
- Test and compare physical properties including flexibility, elasticity and hardness across a range of materials
- Investigate elasticity by comparing the bounce of two visually identical balls with different internal structures
- Investigate shape memory in nitinol wire and explain how it returns to a pre-set shape when heated
- Compare the absorbency of natural and processed fabrics using magnification and a controlled water test
- Observe a magnetic liquid respond to a magnet and describe it as an example of a high-tech material with unusual properties
Curriculum links
- 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 ↗
- 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 ↗
- VC2S4I03Related
Formal measurements, including the use of familiar scaled instruments, can be made and recorded to represent and compare data. View on VCAA ↗
Often booked alongside
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.
Physical Sciences
Force & Motion
Students measure forces with a spring balance, test friction across surfaces, feel inertia first-hand, launch reaction rockets, and explore magnetism and static electricity.
Physical Sciences
Heat & Energy
Students investigate how heat moves by observing particle movement, comparing conduction through plastic and metal using an infrared thermometer, and testing how insulators slow heat transfer.
Bring Natural & Processed Materials to your school
Tell us your year levels and preferred dates. We'll confirm availability and bring everything with us.
Limited dates each term — one facilitator, one school per day.