Question Field Youth Outing – May 7 2017

Question Field Youth Outing – May 7 2017

Most young Australians cannot escape the overwhelming nostalgia that hits them when entering Questacon, the National Science and Technology Centre. Instantly, memories of the many school science classes and excursions come flooding in. In our case, the youth from the NSW field were excited to spend the day exploring one of Australia’s biggest public science centres.

The first step into the exhibition launches you into the void of space and cool dark blue lighting and soothing music. The blue allows the exhibit pieces to stand out, instantly igniting curiosity in the hearts of its wanderers. The exhibition showcases the science behind flight, space travel, and the future of space travel. “Above and Beyond” features five main interactive activities and “Full Throttle” happened to be the one that we all flocked to. This activity allows users to virtually design their own aircraft and test it on a flight simulation game with a control board and a driving plane stick. The exhibition demonstrated how technology has been greatly integrated into our education. The majority of the exhibit was digital, with augmented reality activities, touch screens and computer monitor displays.

It was really exciting to try the many different activities like free-falling down a six-metre slide, freezing your own shadow, experiencing an earthquake or challenging a robot to a game of air hockey. The younger ones enjoyed Mini W as they played, discovered and learnt in an exhibition specifically designed for them. This provided them with a better understanding of who God is by viewing His creation. Creation-science can explain the evidence we see in the world around us. One of the most interesting things about the Questacon exhibitions is that they cover a range of science topics, from astronomy to zoology and everything in between.

One thing that struck me the most was exploring the many aspects of a spider’s life; from their unique diet, jaws and venom, to their adaptation, reproduction and growth strategies in different habitats. How do spiders see the world with their various configurations of multiple eyes? Do they see in colour? How does an individual spider produce and use several different types of silk? And why do peacock spiders dance? The answers to these questions will leave any Christian with strengthened faith in our Creator and teach us to depend on the Bible and what it says about the creation of the universe that “In the beginning, God created…” (Genesis 1:1). “Spiders” featured fascinating exhibits and interactive displays, along with 200 spider specimens including live Australian Tarantulas, Funnel-webs, Red-backs and giant Water spiders. Visitors can get up close to live specimens of some of Australia’s infamous spider species while learning how to identify potentially dangerous ones and how to apply first aid to a spider bite. The wildlife exhibits show the amazing variety of species that God created and demonstrate the variety within kind as stated in Genesis 1 during creation week. The exhibit certainly leaves an awe-inspiring look at the creative diversity of God!

Something that we do not realise as adults, is that every element of the Questacon exhibits are designed to inspire. With all the information that surrounded us, it was not hard to see how amazing our world is and that we serve a truly wonderful God. After finally completing all our exploring and discoveries, it was nice to take a relaxing lunch on the grass, with Lake Burley Griffin in view as well as the Parliament House.

~ Daniel Chehade