Shelbyville: CSI: all played out

September 01, 2009

CSI: all played out

On Saturday the 29th August we ran our urban game event at the Ultimo Science Festival, and to our delight we had more than 35 families and groups take part, double what we'd anticipated! The day threatened rain and storms, but the weather gods smiled down on us, and it was sunshine that triumphed in the end.

The game, CSI: Creative Science Investigation, was played out as a hunt for scientific clues across Ultimo starting in the ABC building, continuing through the UTS and TAFE campuses, down Harris St, and culminating at the Powerhouse Museum where the world-changing scientific project was revealed to be the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), the international radiotelescope for the 21st century, and where the kids got to make their own radio dishes to add to the "mini array".

Here's a few snaps taken of the game on the day:

Many of the clues were to be found within the Science Festival exhibits.

The 'Data Collector' did double duty as the game-map. Clue 4 used the sequence of posts in the courtyard behind the ABC building.

Some of the gamesters with their Data Collector alongside one of the chalked clues on the sidewalk of Harris Street.

Finishing at the Powerhouse Museum, the SKA project was revealed, radio dishes were crafted, and whole bags of Milky Ways and Mars Bars were consumed.

And the radio dishes were added to the 'mini array', despite the havoc caused by the gusty winds.

The CSI design team (l to r): Janine, me, Rachel, Eve (Jana was gallavanting around Germany at the time)

Sidenote: Never under-estimate the authority and intelligence one can enjoy feeling when donning a lab jacket! Don't believe me? Try it someday, and see for yourself. Instant respect from complete strangers!

The rest of the CSI photos can be found on my Flickr site here (soon).

01/09/2009 10:30:00 PM