At Swinburne, we offer a wide range of high-impact professional learning science workshops for teachers suitable for both primary and secondary school teachers. Backed by years of experience, these sessions aim to empower and equip you with the tools to deliver the national curriculum without the anxiety.

There are two types of workshop available. 

  1. Outreach workshops: These 90-minutes sessions are held at your school on topics that suits you. Learn about the formats and topics below. 
  2. Onsite workshops: These are held throughout the year at the Australian Synchrotron, KISOC and on campus at Swinburne on various topics.  Visit our event page to see upcoming sessions.
  • “Whether for classroom or specialist science, these PDs are amazing and incredibly useful to enhance anyone's teaching regardless of experience or background knowledge – there is something for EVERYONE.”

    Simone , Program participant

Outreach workshops

There are two formats of these workshops available:

Classroom science: These sessions are tailored for teachers before they embark on their chosen science topic. They come with activities, investigations and accompanying worksheets.  Prices start from $800, for up to 10 staff members.

Staffroom science: These sessions are an excellent way for staff to bond over explosions and coffee. Prices start from $1000 (excluding GST) and there’s no maximum numbers.

Topics offered are listed below. For more information, download our PrimeSCI Professional Development program flyer.  

Biological sciences 


Human Body Gallery (Year 3–6)

Convince students to respect their bodies by learning the ways the body works. Take the content beyond describing functions of the different systems and learn to use exciting hands-on activities to make the learning memorable.


Australian Biodiversity (Prep–Year 6)

Observe the wonder of germination and the promise of life in a little seed, study how plants adapt under different conditions, make a terrarium, and for those with microscopes, compare how plant structures differ depending on where they live.


Chemical sciences 


Mixing Matter (Prep–Year 2)

Develop a comprehensive approach to teaching properties of matter, states of matter, separating mixtures and creating chemical reactions. 


States of Matter (Year 3–5)

Learn how to show why atoms and molecules exist in different states of matter through a sequence of simple yet effective demonstrations and activities. This involves weather, heat, plate tectonics and the solar system.


Plastic Fantastic (Year 4)

Recycling is a concept most students are familiar with. But what are we recycling? And why are there so many different types of plastic? Find out how to get students to investigate plastics at the molecular level, make their own plastics and recycle plastic in amazing ways. 


Physical and Chemical Change (Year 6)

Go beyond ‘plug-and-play’ disjointed activities easily gleaned from the internet and learn how to communicate why atoms and molecules behave the way they do. 


Earth and Space sciences 


Mathematical Secrets of the Solar System (Year 5)

Show students what makes our planet the ideal place for us to inhabit, how days and years vary on different planets and how different cultures measure time. 


Weather and Seasons (Year 1–2)

How do we get day and night, as well as seasons? What does water have to do with our weather? Clarify these concepts, link them and deliver them powerfully to young children through a thoughtfully designed series of activities.


Digging Deeper (Year 4)

Living things have life cycles. So do rocks! Make the rock cycle, weathering, erosion and dirt the best things the students learn all year!


Physical sciences 


Light and Sound (Year 1)

Light and sound transmit through waves and they are compatible topics to teach simultaneously. Learn how to teach students what can happen when waves are stretched, amplified and forced to change directions.


Toys in Motion (Year 2)

Show students how different forces in our Universe work through the use of toys. Students are introduced to push, pull, gravity, tension and torque.


Hot Hot (Years 3–4)

Learn to demonstrate heat in action, get students to generate it using physical and chemical processes, see the changes that heat causes and understand how heat is transmitted.


Light and Colour (Year 5)

Learn how the laws of light can be presented in the classroom with clarity and precision. Also, make it easy to show how images are produced and how to draw simple ray diagrams. 


Electricity and Circuits (Year 6)

Expose and correct misconceptions about electricity and understand the fundamentals of electricity generation.

Looking for extra resources?

Visit our career practitioners page to view our latest offerings including online seminars, advice sessions, course guides, downloads and more. 

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Book your outreach workshop

Lock in your professional learning workshops and gain the confidence to powerfully deliver the national science curriculum to young minds.

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