|
|
Editor's note
|
Why does a blue tongue lizard have a blue tongue? Why do our bodies jump if we slip over in a dream? If your brain got hurt, would your personality change?
That’s just a sample of the questions asked by students when our Curious Kids team toured four primary schools this week in collaboration with the Victorian education department.
Curious Kids is series from The Conversation where we find experts to answer questions from kids.
At Baden Powell College in Hopper’s Crossing, we brought neuroscientist David Farmer to answer queries from year 5 and 6 students who have been learning about the brain. In an hour, he answered a staggering number of impressive questions: why do brains need sleep? What does the brain stem do? Why do we dream?
At Neerim South Primary School, the Bureau of Meteorology’s Justin Peter met students who have been studying the water cycle, and answered queries on an astonishing array of subjects, including oceans, storms, lightning, clouds and, at one point, radiation in space.
Animal adaptation was the topic of the day for the students at Brandon Park Primary School, where pupils peppered ecology and evolution experts Amy Edwards and Danielle Eastick with rapid fire critter questions. How do some animals regrow limbs? Could we really bring a dinosaur back to life, Jurassic Park-style? Why do octopuses have eight legs and not ten?
And at Ringwood North Primary School, where students have been learning about health and well-being, anatomy expert Brooke Huuskes fielded scores of mind-bendingly tricky questions about bodies. Topics included what the appendix is for, why donor kidney recipients still keep their old kidneys, and whether we could one day rely on mechanical organs if our real ones give out.
Curious Kids aims to inspire kids never to stop asking questions about the world around them, and seeking evidence-based answers from trusted sources. If you share that mission too, we’d love your support. You can find details here on how to donate to The Conversation (it’s tax deductible).
|
Sunanda Creagh
Head of Digital Storytelling
|
|
|
Top story
|
Right now, your kidneys are getting rid of all things your body does not need. They do this by ‘cleaning’ your blood.
Shutterstock
Brooke Huuskes, La Trobe University
When my kidneys stopped working properly, my dad gave me one of his kidneys. Thanks, Dad.
|
|
Politics + Society
|
-
Denis Muller, University of Melbourne
On the day of the Christchurch mosque shootings, several media outlets repeatedly failed the test of necessity in showing graphic footage.
-
Dennis Altman, La Trobe University
The Democrats have 24 potential presidential candidates but, like Donald Trump, their two front runners are both men in their seventies: Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden.
|
|
Education
|
-
Larissa Christensen, University of the Sunshine Coast; Nadine McKillop, University of the Sunshine Coast; Susan Rayment-McHugh, University of the Sunshine Coast
Parents must encourage open conversations with their children from a young age.
-
Anna Halafoff, Deakin University; Andrew Singleton, Deakin University; Gary D Bouma, Monash University; Mary Lou Rasmussen, Australian National University
Australian society is made up of people from different backgrounds and faiths. Teaching school children about religious diversity and traditions makes them more tolerant of religious minorities.
|
|
Science + Technology
|
-
Andrew Quodling, Queensland University of Technology
It's time for social media platforms to be more open about how livestreaming works, how it is moderated, and what should happen if or when the rules break down.
-
Andrea Rassell, RMIT University
Sometimes photographic images are not able to capture and accurately represent science – especially at very tiny scales. This is where scientific visualisation comes in.
|
|
Environment + Energy
|
-
Trisia Farrelly, Massey University
We need a global treaty to combat plastic pollution, but a small group of countries is blocking real action.
-
Pauline Lenancker, James Cook University; Lori Lach, James Cook University
Invasive tropical fire ants spread by eating their fat useless sons.
|
|
Business + Economy
|
-
Jillian Ryan, CSIRO; Carla Litchfield, University of South Australia
When it comes to giant pandas, politics, economics and international diplomacy often eclipse conservation considerations.
-
Robert Breunig, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Australian evidence backs up the governments contention that immigration boosts rather than cuts living standards.
|
|
Cities
|
-
David MacKenzie, Swinburne University of Technology; Tammy Hand, University of South Australia
In 2008, Australia had a national homelessness strategy, plus a ten-point roadmap to reduce youth homelessness. Why has it fallen so far short of its goals, and what still needs to be done?
-
Tahj Rosmarin, University of Melbourne; Sidh Sintusingha, University of Melbourne
Kebab vans symbolise the success of 'bottom-up' multiculturalism, providing a way for the non-European cultural ‘other’ to become part of our way of life.
|
|
Arts + Culture
|
-
Susan Broomhall, University of Western Australia
Antoinette de Saint-Étienne was a Canadian First Nations woman of the 17th century whose beautiful singing voice attracted the attention of a queen.
-
Cherine Fahd, University of Technology Sydney
Rarely seen in the family album are photographs of funerals, burials and the suffering of those who are left to mourn.
|
|
|
Featured jobs
|
|
Griffith University — Nathan, Queensland
|
|
Auckland University of Technology — Auckland, Auckland
|
|
RMIT University — Melbourne, Victoria
|
|
University of Melbourne — Parkville, Victoria
|
|
|
Featured events
|
|
Monash University Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia — Monash University
|
|
MacLaurin Hall, The Quadrangle, Camperdown , Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia — University of Sydney
|
|
900 Dandenong Road , Caulfield East , Victoria, 3145, Australia — Monash University
|
|
Learning and Teaching building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton campus, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia — Monash University
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|