Once again, our Year 7 students had the exciting opportunity to visit the Discovery Dome, a mobile planetarium that provides an immersive 3D experience. The dome experience serves as an engaging introduction to the topic of Evolution, which students will begin studying in their Human Technologies unit later this term.

Each year, it’s a delight to witness our students’ sense of wonder as they enter the dome. Their reactions of awe and thrill to the 360-degree immersive movie projected around them are always memorable. The film explores topics such as natural selection, sexual reproduction, and genetics, while also sharing a short tale of Charles Darwin’s adventures aboard the HMS Beagle.

The experience was expertly led by Lorne Ali, one of our valued external providers. Lorne brings a wealth of experience to the program and consistently delivers an unforgettable educational adventure.

The Evolution unit, part of HT Curriculum's Foundation Course, investigates how humans, like all living creatures, have an evolutionary past that continues to shape our current state of being. This includes every aspect of what it means to be human: physically, psychologically, and emotionally. By examining the evolutionary history of human beings, students gain a deeper understanding of why we experience life as we do today and how our thought processes and behaviours have taken their current form.

Throughout the unit, students also take part in engaging, hands-on activities such as: Pokémon Evolution, where they explore evolutionary principles through a fun and familiar lens; Evolution Arena, an interactive game that challenges their understanding of natural selection; and DNA Twister, where students work collaboratively to solve problems and construct a giant DNA helix model.

The Discovery Dome experience and the Evolution unit combine to provide students with a rich and dynamic learning experience, sparking curiosity and deepening their understanding of what it means to be human.