The 17th BrainSTEM Innovation Challenge concluded on Thursday 16 November with a brilliant presentation from the OLMC team at the Royal Society of Victoria. The team presented to a packed house including families, teams from schools across Melbourne and the President of the Royal Society, Rob Gell. The evening commenced with a tour of the Royal Society, its library and its collection of significant historical artefacts. Our team’s innovation product, developed with the guidance of their mentor from the University of Melbourne, was a 3D printed ceramic structure. The structure was embedded with chemical sensors and crystals of sodium bicarbonate salt, which is endothermic as it dissolves. This can act as a buffer to balance the absorption of excess carbon dioxide from the air which makes the oceans acidic and threatens the Great Barrier Reef.
Dr Susan Long
Science Learning Leader
