Day 1

In the wee hours of the morning, thirteen adventurous Physics students from Catholic Junior College, together with two supportive (and beautiful) teachers, embarked on a journey to Perth, Australia to discover more about the secrets of the universe.

Photo prior to boarding the plane

Arrival at Perth

After a long 5-hour trip, they finally arrived at the Perth International Airport, before the starving group made their way to AnyTimeDeli to get some “Perth-y” pies and cupcakes.

anytimedeli!!

Yummy cupcakes at anytimedeli!

Filled and fueled, through the city of Perth they went to see some of the marvelous landmarks there.

After touring about the city, the group made its way to the King’s Park and Botanic Gardens to have a bird’s-eye view on the whole of Perth.

The whole group

Radio Astronomy

Gravity

Bioacoustics

War Hero Memorial at King's Park

The group also saw the wonderful Boab tree, which many would later relate to in their reflections. (Also note that the Boab Tree is referenced in “The Little Prince”, where the Prince claims that Boab trees are bad).

Boab Tree

After the wonderful time spent at the park, the group made to a local supermarket, Broadway, to stock up on supplies to last them the next few exhausting days.

Supermarket 8am-8pm

Everybody was assigned to their own respective rooms at the Hull Wing of Trinity College. After settling down, the group gathered at a comfortable lounge. Looking back at the day's experience, their two most beautiful teachers, Ms Chong and Ms Tay, asked them to describe themselves through what they have seen or learnt from their brief tour throughout Perth.

At first, some students stumbled at this question. Some of them even wondered why the teachers did this exercise in the first place. Ms Tay started off with a description of herself, using the beautiful bird's eye view all the students had of Perth City; she was someone who looked at the big picture, rather than the little details. This helped them significantly and they were able to relate their characters and their learning through what they have seen, felt, heard and even tasted throughout the trip. After going one round, it was Ms Chong's turn. She described herself using the supermarket.

The teachers then asked them about the essential attributes of a successful Physicist. Every student gave a characteristic of a physicist, some more. Everyone was right, since there aren't any "wrong" answers. Then Ms Chong, with a small smile on her face, asked: 

“Are these attributes you mentioned only applicable to a physicist or is it also useful for others as well?” (This was Ms Chong's main point, but is not an exact quote)

This was when they realised the trip was not just about learning more about Physics, but improving their characters. Finally she told them to be aware of our surroundings which is one of the most useful attributes as a physicists.

Here are some of the students' responses to the question:

What are the attributes of a physicists doing research?

Sathyasai: 
A physicist has to firstly follow instructions so as to ensure that the data gathered from the experiment is accurate

Lester: Curiosity is a paramount tool for a physicist to scale greater heights.

Hubert:

Critical thinking is essential for a physicist to analyse information gathered from his data and to bring in a hypothesis. It is also essential to calculate or predict the anticipated errors that can occur in the project.