To support Year 12 students studying atomic and nuclear physics, UC collaborates with (formerly Rutherford's Den) to provide a curriculum-linked set of activities.
To make full use of the workshop and the Arts Centre Education session we recommend that your students have done at least some of the work for the Physics 2.5 standard.
The package comprises:
- 1 hour 45 min workshop session, in the brand new laboratories in the Ernest Rutherford building run by the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences at UC, using radioactive sources and Geiger counters to investigate the absorption of beta and gamma radiation by biological materials, along with a second activity measuring the half-life of a short-lived copper isotope.
- 1 hour 30 min session with the team from Arts Centre Education, learning about Ernest Rutherford, his gold foil experiment and the progression of scientific ideas on the structure of the atom. $5 per student. These sessions include activities that demand quite a depth of understanding. Students need an understanding of the Models of the Atom and The Geiger–Marsden/Rutherford’s Gold Foil Experiment.
- A tour of the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences highlighting pathways into careers and opportunity to look around the campus.
Many teachers use the day to prepare for or to assess the Physics 2.5 standard. A maximum group size is 30 so we would split you into two groups per day if you have +30 - 60 students visiting.
Book as many sessions as early as possible to allow sufficient planning time, especially for Arts Centre Education who have to relocate their resources from the Arts Centre.
To expedite this we request you book as soon as possible by contacting physical-chemical-outreach@canterbury.ac.nz with your preferred option(s). At this stage, we only require your school’s name, main contact name/email and preferred half/full day choice(s). An estimate of numbers attending based on previous workshops would be of assistance, but not necessary.
Available 2025 dates*
- 10 – 14 February
- 7 – 11 April
- 3 – 27 June
- 25 August – 5 September
- 20 – 31 October
*A number of schools have already booked so not all of those dates may be available.
View our live to identify if your preferred option is available to be booked before making your request. Once we have placed your booking we will let you know and the live list status will be updated automatically.
