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The Australian Museum Hosts CONASTA

By: Nathan Slawitschka, Category: Lifelong Learning, Date: 16 Jul 2010

The 2010 national conference for the Australian Science Teachers Association held its welcome function at the Australian Museum.

CONASTA is the annual Conference of the Australian Science Teachers Association (ASTA). In 2010, the welcome function for CONASTA 59 was hosted by and held at the Australian Museum on Sunday evening, 4th July.

There were many good reviews of the welcome function as people soaked in the architecture and ambience that only the Museum can provide. Teachers from all over Australia were able to engage with the new exhibitions and activities that the revitalised Museum now offers. 

At this year' conference science teachers were to be given the opportunity to discuss and share information about new technologies and talk about the new Australian Curriculum. The conference covered three days, each day packed full of workshops and excursions.  

Keynote speakers were: 

1. Kathy Belov - Associate Professor of Animal Genetics, Thompson Fellow/ARC Future Fellow, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Sydney. Keynote Title: Devil vs tumour: Can we prevent the extinction of the Tasmanian devil?
2. Dr John Lawrence (Larry) Bencze, Associate Professor, Science Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto. Keynote Title: Student's Inquiry-based Actions for Personal, Social & Environmental Wellbeing.
3. Brian Boyle, Director, CSIRO SKA. Keynote Title: The Square Kilometre Array: Inspiring the Next Generation and beyond.
4. Barry Bruce, CSIRO Hobart. Keynote Title: De-mystifying white sharks - research on their behaviour and movements.
5. Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, Science Communicator , ABC Radio and Television Personality, Julius Sumner Miller Fellow at the University of Sydney. Keynote Title: Never Mind The BULLocks, Here’s the Science.
6. Tanya Monro, Professor of Physics, University of Adelaide. Keynote Title: Science at the boundaries.
7. Detective Inspector Nicholas Iorfino, Investigations Coordinator, Drug Squad, NSW Police Force.

Tags CONASTA, science teachers, conference, welcome,