Osborne Physics & Engineering Days (OsPEN Days)
University of Waikato, Hamilton
14th Jun 2012 - 15th Jun 2012
Upper high school students and teachers are invited to lectures and demonstrations relevant to the physics curriculum and current research.
The OsPEn Days are run over two days at the University of Waikato. Talks and practical demonstrations, will focus on applications of physics, and will provide students with examples of how the physics they are learning at school can be used. Links will be made back to the NCEA level 2 and level 3 curriculum. As part of this day we will include a panel discussion on career paths in physics and engineering, including representatives from a number of New Zealand employers.
2012 Event
Speakers will include Rod White, from the Measurements Standards Laboratory of New Zealand, who in 2010 was awarded the prestigious degree Doctor of Science from the University of Waikato in recognition of his extensive work on the measurement of temperature. Additionally, former secondary-school teacher Steve Chrystall will talk about his recent experience at the NASA Space Camp.
There will also be an opportunity for students to partake in a competition on the day, involving the creation of a capacitor car. Each participating school will be sent a set of integral components for building a capacitor car approximately six weeks prior.
OsPEN Days 2012 Information
OsPEN Days 2012 Registration Form
Capacitor-Car Competition Details
Photos from OsPEN Days 2011 - Water Bottle Rocket Competition
Osborne Lectures were inaugurated in 1986 in honour of Dr Roger Osborne, who taught physics at Waikato University from 1970 to 1985. During this time he was responsible for organising and presenting a significant number of lectures for year 12 and 13 physics students in the Waikato region. Osborne Lectures continued this tradition by inviting secondary school students and their teachers to attend a 2-hour physics demonstration lecture. These lectures included 15 minute intervals with hands on demonstrations. They were presented yearly and taken to host schools around the upper North Island, Auckland, down the East Coast and across to Napier. As from 2002, the Osborne Lectures were replaced with the OsPEn: Osborne Physics and Engineering Days.
