By Ann Marie Angebrandt
AN $8 million centre, designed to teach students the latest techniques in forensic science and chemistry, could soon be built in Wyndham.
Known by its working name of the Victorian Science and Technology Discovery Centre, the facility will focus on forensic science – a field made desirable in recent years by crime shows – as well as food and water technology.
Likely locations include Werribee’s technology precinct, or the grounds of a local school, such as the Werribee Secondary College.
Wyndham City councillor Bob Fairclough, committee chairman for the project, said momentum was growing around the proposal.
“We’ve had meetings with local teachers and principals, business people and government, and the feedback is very supportive,” said Cr Fairclough, who is also a retired professor of molecular science at Victoria University.
Cr Fairclough said he hoped the project would be up-and-running within three years.
Werribee Secondary College principal Steve Butyn said the centre was badly needed for Wyndham students, but would be available to students state-wide.
The proposed institute would join three other specialist centres in Victoria aimed at promoting science in schools.
They include a space centre at Strathmore Secondary College, an eco-science school in Bacchus Marsh, and a gene technology centre at University High School.
Each works closely with universities, schools, government and business to develop a specialised science curriculum for students, as well as train them for science jobs.
Wyndham economic development director Greg Aplin said the science centre would be a perfect fit for the city given the science focus of the technology precinct.
“We’re a very good candidate for this kind of centre when you look at the very important infrastructure we have locally,” he said.
About $2 million of the total cost of the project is expected to be raised through business sponsorships, and the remainder, funded by the state government.
Michael Pakakis, director of Strathmore Secondary’s Victorian Space Education Centre, said its science centre had “taken off” in more ways than one since it was established earlier this year.
“We offer scenario-based learning with teaching backed up in the classroom,” he said.
Schools from around Victoria pay between $25 and $35 a day to participate in either a “Mission to Mars” or a “Mission to a Space Station” program.
Strathmore was able to secure funding for its science centre from the state government by promoting the long-term objectives of the project, he said.
“I saw how kids were wowed by science when we presented it in a space context,” he said.
“Everyone recognises we need creative ways to lift its profile.”
A recent study commissioned by Victoria University showed that students in Melbourne’s West averaged about 10 per cent lower in science VCE scores than the rest of the state.
The Department of Education did not respond to inquiries about the project.
